My Washingtonia is dying

[PalmatierMeg]

My husband noticed today that our Washingtonia robusta is dying - actually it is almost dead. Last time I looked way up high it was hale and hardy. Its decline and imminent death came on quickly and we are sure we know why. Those of you who frequented the forum about 3 years ago may recall I documented the loss of all our queens and both mules due to a virulent, fatal fusiarum wilt. This same wilt also attacks Washies but, as the years passed, we believed ours escaped this plague. Obviously not, which has me worried about our other species of Syagrus (planted before the queens croaked - I've sworn off all Syagrus since). Now I know I can no longer grow Washies, though that doesn't grieve me. They are ubiquitous as queens and certainly as invasive. I have a back yard sprouting seedlings to pull up.  If you want a handful of 1-leaf seedlings as a memorial to our almost-departed Washy let me know (US residents only). I ask only that you pay shipping.

How do I know the wilt is killing my Washy? For one, wilt destroys a palm with lightning speed, often just a few weeks from full health to brown death. Second, a telltale sign of wilt is that leaves die on one side before the other succumbs. In the following photos, I got a closeup of a particular leaf. About 2/3 of it is dead, the remaining 1/3 still green. The palm is so tall and so far gone that I had trouble finding even this example. The irony is I am surrounded by unfed, unwatered, totally neglected garbage palms that cling to life while my pampered darlings fall like cord wood. Time to call our tree guy.

I took the following photos of the latest carnage. Be forewarned before you look.

 Last photo below is a closeup of the center leaf above. Note that the upper 2/3 of this leaf is brown and dead, the bottom 1/3 still green. Classic evidence of fusiarum wilt.

[topwater]

Wow.  I noticed this summer that every robusta in town looks terrible, the filiferas seem fine.  Here's my last two robustas, sorry for the bad pics but the wind is howling right now. 

[topwater]

The smaller of the two looks better.  I don't grow queens but my neighbors Texas City trinity (queen with two roebeliniis) look awesome. 

[PalmTreeDude]

Dang, this sucks! Sorry about your loss.

[topwater]

Neighbors queen. 

[PalmatierMeg]

49 minutes ago, topwater said:

Wow.  I noticed this summer that every robusta in town looks terrible, the filiferas seem fine.  Here's my last two robustas, sorry for the bad pics but the wind is howling right now. 

Definitely look bad but why I couldn't say. They look almost wind burned. Have you had severe drought? W.r. isn't as tolerant as filifera, I believe. If it they have wilt, I would expect filifera & hybrids to get it too. The two species are close enough related to hybridize. Then again, my Washy held it off for 3 years. I read TX has a problem with a wilt - does it affect Phoenix only or other species?

[PalmatierMeg]

27 minutes ago, PalmTreeDude said:

Dang, this sucks! Sorry about your loss.

Does suck and I'm darn tired of it. This disease seems to like hanging out in my yard while ignoring everywhere else.

Actually, for over a year I've noticed large Washies along roads and in commercial parking lots collapse and die. And I wondered, "Could it be.....?" This species is way overplanted around here. Maybe landscapers will turn to Livistonas.

[Palmaceae]

What a bummer Meg, I hope it does not affect any other of your palms. I have seen quite a few Washies in the area that are dying or dead.

[Stethoscope]

56 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Does suck and I'm darn tired of it. This disease seems to like hanging out in my yard while ignoring everywhere else.

Actually, for over a year I've noticed large Washies along roads and in commercial parking lots collapse and die. And I wondered, "Could it be.....?" This species is way overplanted around here. Maybe landscapers will turn to Livistonas.

Meg is there an objective way to prove it's wilt? Lab test from leaf sample, etc? 

[PalmTreeDude]

2 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Does suck and I'm darn tired of it. This disease seems to like hanging out in my yard while ignoring everywhere else.

Actually, for over a year I've noticed large Washies along roads and in commercial parking lots collapse and die. And I wondered, "Could it be.....?" This species is way overplanted around here. Maybe landscapers will turn to Livistonas.

They should use some alternatives for awhile, maybe to eliminate the disease. I have been hearing, and some people on this thread have been saying, that the Washingtonia filiferas have shown to be a little more resistant to this disease. Livistonias would be great, even royals would look better too. 

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

Dang.  Sorry for all of your troubles.  I hate to see any palms die.  Even the common ones.   I hope you get things figured out and no more of your palms become infected.   

[BS Man about Palms]

[PalmatierMeg]

22 hours ago, Stethoscope said:

Meg is there an objective way to prove it's wilt? Lab test from leaf sample, etc? 

Not that I know of but if there were the cost would astronomical and pointless. Disease is fatal and untreatable. Once you notice a problem, the palm is a goner. Observation and awareness of symptoms are the primary ways to diagnose it. If I remember right one symptom is discoloration of the trunk interior, which you can't see till the palm is cut down. I've read it is transmitted by unsterilized cutting tools but there must be other vectors if all the dying Washies I've seen in Cape Coral also have wilt.

I'm already pondering a replacement.

[Kris]

Dear Meg,

Very sorry about the loss,Washies are my fav too..around 2 washy filifera were planted both rotted during our monsoon rains.Now one that was planted making soil amendment and is placed in raised bed above the garden soil.Is growing well for me.

But after seeing those stills above,i doubt some day even our washy could catch that infection.Since every month we have sudden rains and the humidity level suddenly rises.All leather garments including footware fungus grows easily and quickly on them.

Btw this year did you have lots of rainfall there ? Because i personally feel that the infection is in the air and not in the cutting tools.

Love,

Kris.

[Walt]

 If there is any consolation at all, I've read that Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. palmarum. is basically host specific and mainly attacks queens and Washingtonia robusta, so maybe the rest of your palms will be safe from this dreaded disease. In my case, it would be devastating since I have so many queen palms. Another problem with this disease, aside that it's fatal, is that there's no preventative for it.

So far I've lost no palms to Fusarium wilt, however, I've lost six mature queens to ganoderma butt rot and one large bismarckia to palmetto weevils. Now I have a double (mature) queen palm in my front yard, and one has conks and bleeding lower trunk, so by early next year I should be paying (again) to have them removed. I just only two weeks ago spent $1,000 to have nine slash pines cut down (most were small) that were killed by pine bark beetles. That's in addition to four large slash pines that I had to have cut down over the course of three years, also killed by pine bark beetles. Then there was the bank account depleting cost of cutting down many red bay trees about eight years ago, all killed by the laurel wilt disease. I guess things could be worse.

[PalmatierMeg]

Kris, we had a rainy summer so you may be on to something. I'm also wondering if my huge Washy was infected way back but because of its size didn't show its terminal symptoms till now. But better to lose common queens & Washies than rare species.

Walt, your have had a time of it. I don't have most of the trees you mention but the expense of taking them out hurts. This Washy is going to hurt our pocketbook big time compared to the queens. It was so tall we could see it from way down the highway - a landmark palm. I've also had pink rot take out a variegated Adonidia, Bentinckia nicobarica & piccabeen.

[Walt]

8 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Kris, we had a rainy summer so you may be on to something. I'm also wondering if my huge Washy was infected way back but because of its size didn't show its terminal symptoms till now. But better to lose common queens & Washies than rare species.

Walt, your have had a time of it. I don't have most of the trees you mention but the expense of taking them out hurts. This Washy is going to hurt our pocketbook big time compared to the queens. It was so tall we could see it from way down the highway - a landmark palm. I've also had pink rot take out a variegated Adonidia, Bentinckia nicobarica & piccabeen.

Meg: Last week I cut down about five small slash pines, and I plan on cutting down at least 10 more. I'm not taking any more chances of them growing large, then being killed by the beetles. All the slash pines that died were healthy, and that somewhat confuses me as I've always read the pine bark beetles attack stressed and sick trees.

The very day I had my palm trimmer and tree trimmer cut down 9 slash pines, he pointed out to me a very large one that appeared to be dying. Well, it's dead now. I'm becoming alarmed as my property has so many large slash pines on it. It will drive me to the poor house if I have to cut all of them down -- not to mention what my place would look like in the aftermath.

The only consolation to losing the slash pines is that it reduces the amount of litter (pine needles, cones, and fallen limbs, etc.) that I must constantly clean up. Getting and removing and/or burning up tree litter (to include palm frond and spent inflorescence) liter is 80% of my maintenance, with respect to my property. If I weren't retired there's no way I could keep up with everything.

Take pics of the W. robusta removal and let us know if the tree removers remove it without hurting your other palms and plantings.

[topwater]

On 11/19/2016, 5:43:20, PalmatierMeg said:

Definitely look bad but why I couldn't say. They look almost wind burned. Have you had severe drought? W.r. isn't as tolerant as filifera, I believe. If it they have wilt, I would expect filifera & hybrids to get it too. The two species are close enough related to hybridize. Then again, my Washy held it off for 3 years. I read TX has a problem with a wilt - does it affect Phoenix only or other species?

Maybe you're right, perhaps they are just stressed from heat and lack of rain. However, fusarium wilt has been found in the Galveston area recently. I guess I'll find out soon enough. I've lost 4 of 6 robustas to lightning so I definitely feel your pain. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Our W.r. was getting so tall it was a candidate for lightning. Only the invasive Australian pines are taller but seem to be lightning-proof, darn it.

Walt, I haven't noticed many local (southern) slash pines dying off but I'll keep a watch out. I have only 1 4' small one given to me at a local sale. I also have one tiny sand pine.

If the wilt kills off most of the local queens and Washies, that might be a plus, as was the record cold 2010 that wiped out most Adonidias and rendered the rest seedless for the next two years. The local BBs corrected that deficiency.

Our tree guy is very good. He took down all the huge queens shading my back yard without killing anything and only a broken frond or two on the rest. And that is one dense jungle.