News - One Two Tree

Palm Trees are Slow to Recover

The last hurricane season was very hard on many of South Florida’s palm trees. Royal, Foxtail and Bismarck palms are few that still show considerable damage. As long as the spear or bud was not broken, the tree will most likely recover. Fronds do not repair themselves. Thus, these trees may show wind damage for up to a year. Many of these trees may experience a decline in appearance over the next year as a result of the loss of fronds and root damage as a result of twisting.

A good fertilization program is essential to most of our palms. This is primarily due to the fact that most of the palms we plant are not native species. They live in different soil types or different climates. Palms suffer quickly and conspicuously from improper mineral nutrition, whether to due insufficient or incorrect fertilization. Some nutritional problems are difficult to diagnose accurately because symptoms of several mineral deficiencies may overlap. The following are some common nutritional deficiencies:

Nitrogen	– An overall light green color and loss of vigor
Potassium	– Early symptoms are translucent yellow spots on lower fronds. These may progress to become necrotic spots. In severe stages, the trunk of the tree will narrow (pencil pointing). Without immediate treatment, the palm will die.
Magnesium	– Leaves on the oldest fronds will develop yellow bands. Tip may become necrotic.
Manganese	– New leaves will emerge chlorotic, weak and reduced in size. Succeeding leaves will look withered, frizzled or scorched. Will continue into death of the bud.
Iron	– Uniformly chlorotic new leaves. Green coloration will be restricted to the veins. As the deficiency processes, tips of leaves will begin to die.

These nutritional deficiencies take considerable time to correct. Depending upon the palm and the degree of deficiency, it may take a year or more for a palm to recover. It is much easier to prevent these problems my preventative treatment; a balanced fertilization program.

These are also a host of insects that may damage palm trees. These include: scale, aphids, mites, skeletonizers, Royal palm bug, weevils and caterpillars. There are also a host of disease problems, such as: leaf spots, bud rot, butt rot, wilt and lethal yellowing. Most insects related problems can be treated after an infestations. But some, like most disease control must be preventative in order to provide control.

If you have any questions about this article or any other turf or ornamental related topic, please contact us:

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