Damaged palm tree advice

[drodda]

Hi all,

I bought a house in SW Florida that has a few palm trees that are damaged. They're about six years old and 10 feet tall. I'm new to areas where palms can live, so would very much appreciate some input on their condition. Looking at the damage to the trunks, will they fill in and repair themselves like a lot of other trees will? Are these guys goners that I should remove and replace with ones that don't have this kind of damage? No clue what caused it, but a neighbor suggested maybe carpenter ants.

Thank you!

[John Case]

Many people use a wound sealant that will cover the damaged area. All that needs to be done is to remove any rotted or fungused areas and then apply the sealant. Also, apply an antifungal over the wound prior to sealing. There are others that know more than I but think this will help. It does not appear that these trees are in any trouble at all right now and doing a little care here should solve your problem.

[Ken Johnson]

HI and welcome.

That looks like car bumper and the likes type damage. Other than being unsightly it poses little risk to the palms until they are taller. Then hurricanes will test them...

[Palmaceae]

Actually the 2nd picture looks like irrigation is hitting that part of the trunk, do you have irrigation there? Also if I were you I would remove the grass around the palms and mulch them, that would help your Royal palms immensely. Where in SWFL are you?

[drodda]

Thanks for the help!

bepah, I'll look into that.

Ken, that's one of my main concerns if they're permanently weakened by this. If they're likely to get flattened whereas a tree without this damage would hold up to a hurricane, I might be better off doing something about it now before they're tall enough to take out the power line that runs overhead nearby.

Palmaceae, there is a sprinkler head about 12 feet away off to the left in the third picture. I'll check the stream to see how hard it's hitting on that side. I expect the well water is why it has turned black there.

I've read that having the grass right up to the trunk isn't good, and that is on the list of things I need to address. The only problem with mulch in that spot is it's a swale. When the rains come, wood mulch will float away. Maybe gravel around them would accomplish the same thing.

I'm also in Cape Coral, near Diplomat and Burnt Store Rd.

[Palmaceae]

Thanks for the help!

bepah, I'll look into that.

Ken, that's one of my main concerns if they're permanently weakened by this. If they're likely to get flattened whereas a tree without this damage would hold up to a hurricane, I might be better off doing something about it now before they're tall enough to take out the power line that runs overhead nearby.

Palmaceae, there is a sprinkler head about 12 feet away off to the left in the third picture. I'll check the stream to see how hard it's hitting on that side. I expect the well water is why it has turned black there.

I've read that having the grass right up to the trunk isn't good, and that is on the list of things I need to address. The only problem with mulch in that spot is it's a swale. When the rains come, wood mulch will float away. Maybe gravel around them would accomplish the same thing.

I'm also in Cape Coral, near Diplomat and Burnt Store Rd.

Welcome to Cape Coral! I am just south of Diplomat but on the east side of town near Pine Island road.

[Gonzer]

Looking at the damage to the trunks, will they fill in and repair themselves like a lot of other trees will?

Read up on the differences between trees with cambium layers and palms with vascular bundles.

[Ken Johnson]

If a hurricane knocks it into the power lines it wont be the only one... there will be thousands

Hang around here and you will get plenty of ideas for some cool new palms to replace them with and then some...

A visit to the Prall's house should get you started!

[DoomsDave]

drodda, welcome brodda

(Had to say that! The Devil made me. )

I've had palms with some nasty wounds, and sometimes they heal quite nicely. Won't hurt to seal them, and wait. If they rot worse, you might have a problem, but I'll bet they might at least partially fill in.

I think your second picture might heal up okay. As the palm grows that part of the stem will also bulk up. There might be a scar, but I don't think it will weaken it much.

Your first one, more problematic. I doubt it's ants; if they're there, they're a secondary problem, like a secondary infection. As the palm grows, it will also likely partially fill in those gouges, though not completely. I've seen the bases take on a life of their own as the plant gets really tall.

Keep us apprized!

[PalmatierMeg]

The City owns a 15' easement from the street that includes the swale where those royals are planted. It had and probably still has ordinances forbidding large trees in its easements. Some citizens chose to "guerrilla plant" royals in swales in a feeble effort to glean some panache like its neighbor "City of Palms" Fort Myers. All concerned ended up in court and I don't know how or if the matter was settled so Code Enforcement may still nick you with a hefty fine.

My opinion is those behemoths don't belong so close to a road. They will affect power lines so LCEC may someday trim or chop them down then pass the expense on to you. And when you get sewer/water/irrigation (and you will in the not-so-distant future) the contractors likely will tear them out to lay piping. In the meantime they will drop 50-70 lb fronds in the swale and the street. You should contact your home insurance agent to find out your potential liability and whether you need a rider to protect you. If your agent tells you the royals should go, heed his advice before they get any bigger. And don't replace them with other large trees. Leave your swales open.

Royals are cheap, prolific and easy to find. There are better palms available to a palm lover. Welcome to Cape Coral (and to PT).

[Walt]

I have what looks like similar damage to the trunk bases of one Adonidia palm and one Archonotophoenix alexandrae palm. Mine, I believe is from freeze damage. My palms' damage is on the north side of the trunks (the cold side exposed to the open yard).

The photo of your small royal palms shows shadows cast toward the road and open field, which indicates to me that the road and field area is to the north of these palms. Since the air is coldest nearer to the ground, it's possible this damage was caused (possibly in December of 2010, when my above palms were damaged, when I set an all-time low temperature in my open yard)by freezing water (wet trunk) and extreme cold air.

But regardless of how the palms were damaged, they will remain as such. If your palms are otherwise healthy now, they should be okay. Both of my palms mentioned above are doing fine, aside from a less aesthetic looking trunk base.

[drodda]

Allrighty then... Meg, my research concludes that you are correct that I've bought a house with outlaw trees. I've heard that getting on Cape Coral's code enforcement department's radar is something you don't want to do, so now I have more to address than I thought. Thanks for the heads up on that.

I'm in the North 5 utility expansion district, which is probably 10 years out, give or take a couple. By then, those trees will be a heck of a lot bigger and harder to move if that's what I want to do. I have a nice sized rubber tree that is probably in the danger zone too. Rats...

So, the question has changed from are they salvageable to are they worth transplanting.

Walt, I took the picture early in the day and the road runs north and south along the west side of the property. The damage on both trees is facing Southwest. I wouldn't rule out anything though. It hadn't dawned on me that the damage in on the same exposure in both cases, so maybe that's a clue as to what happened.

DoomsDave, that was just silly, haha. Thanks for the smile. There's no ants now, and I agree that I don't think it looks like ant damage, but I've lived most my life in Colorado. Ants don't eat houses and trees there, so I figured maybe it was plausible.

Ken, Prall's house? Wuzzat?

Gonzer, will do. Having the technical terms for the different types is very helpful. Yes, I'm a palm noob.

On the lighter size, here's a picture of the three little palms' big brother...

[Palmaceae]

Like I mentioned before it very well could be sprinkler damage, I seen it happen on nights that we have a freeze and the sprinklers are on and it hits the trunk. That's what the 2nd picture looks like to me.

[drodda]

I think that's likely. I just checked the sprinkler spray and it doesn't hit in that spot, but there's no telling how the previous owners had it adjusted. I've changed everything up with the sprinkler system, and don't remember how it was when we bought the place.

[PalmatierMeg]

You don't want to end up on Code's bad citizen list. We have an anonymous neighbor who turned us in for running a "commercial nursery" (my container garden), placing our garbage/recycling bins in front of the garage door rather than on the side of the house, having pots/trays visible from the street and who knows what else. So Code is now trained (like Pavlov's dog) to watch our property for potential violations. So, no, I don't sell plants.

Your royals should transplant okay but the expense might blow you away. They are common and relatively cheap. I got strap leaf seedlings you can have. I'd rather have Kentiopsis or Chambeyronias. Or if you want to go royals, try one of the other species beside regia.

[Moose]

Like I mentioned before it very well could be sprinkler damage, I seen it happen on nights that we have a freeze and the sprinklers are on and it hits the trunk. That's what the 2nd picture looks like to me.

Royals are water pigs, in my opinion the damage is not sprinkler related.