The flowers (or leaves, I'm not sure what to call them) on my umbrella palm have turned very yellow and the tips are brown. I have it in a fountain and water covers the pot by about 1 inch. Can you tell me what the problem is?

Answer #1 · Gardenality.com's Answer · Hi Berry,

What you are seeing is usually normal for the Umbrella Palm. Have you fertilized the plant at all? You can use PondTabbs to fertilize with. I'm sure you can buy them at a local nursery that sells pond supplies, and I know you can buy them online. This fertilizer should help with the yellowing leaves and browning on the tips of the foliage.

Here's a link to an online supplier of PondTabbs....

http://www.watergarden.org/Pond-Supplies/Fertilizer/PondTabbs-PLUS-300ct

If the Umbrella Palm continues to worsen to the point where it is becoming more sickly looking come back to Gardenality and let us know. We will give you further instruction.

Hope this helps you.

Brooks Wilson)

Answer #2 · Berry Bolger's Answer · Thank you so much for the help. I haven't fertilized at all because I thought it might worsen my algae problem. I am going to try a tablespoon of bleach for that and I'll buy some PondTabbs at a local pond supply house. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again.)