Like all plants, palm trees need the right balance of nutrients in order to stay healthy. Here in Florida, it's fairly common for them to develop magnesium deficiencies.
A palm tree that's suffering from this deficiency typically has leaves that turn lemon yellow or orange along the outer edges of the oldest leaves, while the center of the leaves remains green. While any palm can suffer from magnesium deficiency, Canary Island date palms are most prone.
Preventing deficiencies is much easier than treating them. Follow a regular fertilization schedule using a palm special fertilizer that includes magnesium in a controlled-release form, and always read and follow all label instructions.
- Palm Production and Maintenance at the Fort Lauderdale Research and Eduction Center
- Palm Resource: Magnesium Deficiency
- Deficiencia de Magnesio en las Palmas (PDF; Spanish)
- Magnesium Deficiency in Palms
- Magnesium Deficiency of Palms (PDF)