Palm Tree Help

Oct 19, 2015
178
Burleson, Texas
Anyone know anything about palm trees? These were planted in February. They continue to grow new fronds but when the fronds come out they start to bend. At first I think it was getting too much water after planting and then with recent rains. Now I'm thinking it is getting too little water. I also know that it could take some time for new trees to settle in. Any idea?
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I do know you have to feed palms every month or three. And with palm specific food, not regular fertilizer. In fact, regular lawn fertilizer can be bad for palms. Whereas palm fertilizer can also be used on nearby turf.
 
I am quite angry with my 40+ foot tall palm trees. The mesquite trees finally stopped dropping stuff in the pool and now the palms are making an even worse mess. The ones I have are far from clean.

They were well established when we bought the house and I never fertilize.
 
Palm trees need a wide variety of micronutrients in concentrations higher than other plants. They tend to suffer from manganese and magnesium deficiencies. They also need healthy doses of potassium, copper and iron. If your soil is high pH and calcereous like mine, it's a doubly-hard problem to solve because high pH soils lock-up those micronutrients in insoluble forms. Your palms also look like they are constrained...that's not so good for them because their structural and water absorbing roots can run as wide as the tree is high (they don't develop much of a taproot). So it could also be that you have a significant root ball there which will make it a lot harder for the tree to grow. I like the landscaping you did, but honestly speaking, those palms need to be planted into a more open area and not constrained by the footer of a retaining wall.

I would definitely give them a good watering with some palm-specific plant food to see if the droopy fronds resolve. If not, you may have to get a professional opinion form an arborist that knows palms.
 
I went by a Callaways nursery today and showed the picture to the manager. He said by looking at the pics it was too much water. We had all that rain here recently and said it could take a while for the roots to recover but they would be fine. We're now approaching 100 degree days so a little water twice a week would be sufficient.


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My palms were planted recently, and I started having similar issues after about 3 weeks. Following some advice from another forum, I purchased a "Luster Leaf Soil Moisture Meter." About $11, it has a remote probe which gets to the roots, and it comes with a guide for about 150 different plants.

As it turns out, I was definitely over watering. No doubt about it. I turned off the sprinklers two cycles ago and my soil moisture around each palm is still at "10" in this 100 degree weather (moisture should be 6-7 for palms, never below 4...if it is 6-7 then DO NOT water). My palms already look better. This will help me protect my investment. In fact, the water saved should pay for the meter many times over.

Here is a link
https://www.amazon.com/Luster-Leaf-...01A5OR5I?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top
 

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You need a specialist to evaluate that Palm. It is sick but it could be any number of factors. A soil sample (using a proper probe depth) should be collected and analyzed for pH and nutrient levels. You also have a lot of palms growing in that planter. It's a very confined space for palm trees and I wouldn't be surprised if you have root balls that are all constrained. Palms typically send out their feeder roots long distances (as far as the tree is tall) to find water and nutrients. Inside that planter may not be the best location for a palm tree. Only a specialist can tell you what's going on. If you contact a local nursery or your county ag extension, they can probably point you to the appropriate professional.
 
You need a specialist to evaluate that Palm. It is sick but it could be any number of factors. A soil sample (using a proper probe depth) should be collected and analyzed for pH and nutrient levels. You also have a lot of palms growing in that planter. It's a very confined space for palm trees and I wouldn't be surprised if you have root balls that are all constrained. Palms typically send out their feeder roots long distances (as far as the tree is tall) to find water and nutrients. Inside that planter may not be the best location for a palm tree. Only a specialist can tell you what's going on. If you contact a local nursery or your county ag extension, they can probably point you to the appropriate professional.

The bad part is I have tried to find someone in North TX to evaluate and can't find anyone. I even emailed a couple of companies that make products for help to no avail. Luckily my other 2 are looking good.


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Even the nursery they were purchased from wont help? That's strange, usually they'll give advice.

Have you looked into your county ag extension? Sometimes local colleges and universities will partner with county agriculture departments to offer "free" services to the local citizenry. They can also help with disease identification because that can have wide range impact. As an example, I tried growing to fig trees in my front yard and had a lot of problems getting them to leaf properly and grow. I called up the UofA ag extension here in town and they actually sent someone out my way a few days later. He looked at the fig trees and told me to just pull them up and get rid of them. When I inquired why he told that they had contracted a local mosaic virus that is very common to the soils around Tucson and that they were essentially a lost cause. I stuck with them for over two years trying every thing I knew and, like he said, they just eventually withered and died. He was nice enough about it and he told me, if I wanted figs, to grow them in deep pots and use soil that was sanitized. The local soil is just no good.

So, if 2 out 3 are ok, it may just be a sickly Palm. Problem is, if it has a disease, then you need to get it out before it spreads to the others.
 
I have the landscaping company that installed them coming tomorrow. They are warrantied for a year and were planted in February. I'm pretty sure they won't know what's wrong either. I ordered a moisture probe earlier and it should be here tomorrow to help with watering.


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One man's treasure is another man's..... When we were clearing our neglected (60 years) lot, I had 117 cabbage palms removed...most 45-60 feet. They drop huge fronds all year long and you cannot get up to them to remove the dead ones. I still have probably twenty and at least 10 of them are going next week. I am saving just enough to still make the yard look like Florida. They are just very high maintenance, provide little to no shade, and when you look up, all you can see is the brown fronds underneath.

I am lucky enough to have some ancient Live Oaks that dominate the yard.
 
Landscapers came out and trimmed the tree. Said it needs more water but is still alive and should be ok. They will be back on Monday to add some organic fertilizer. Moisture meter arrived today also.

Is it the one I linked to above? I am in the same boat more or less. Did you measure the soil yet? What was the reading? I think you have to stick the probe in all the way (about 3 inches) to read the root level moisture.
 

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