Any Suggestions? Palm Struck by Lightning Today.... 4th of July

[Palmaholic John]

Anybody have any suggestions that might save my tree?  My 40ft Royal Palm (Satellite Beach, Florida) was struck today by lightning.  The new shoot/spear blasted apart all over the yard and there's an exit hole(s) at the base of the tree.  Other than that, the tree looks fine.  Does anyone have any experience with their palms getting struck?  Could my palm survive?  Is there anything I can do to aid in it's chances to pull through?  Fertilize?    Thanks.

[PalmatierMeg]

Photos? Doesn't sound good though if lightning hit the top, traveled down through the trunk and blew a hole at the bottom. That's a direct hit by any definition and happens quite frequently in FL. Most palms don't survive direct hits. At this point all you can do is watch and wait

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Sorry to hear. I'd say watch it. But nothing you really can do. Some palms end up with a double crown from a split and I'm still not sure how that happens!

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Lets see some pics.

[kinzyjr]

If it starts "bleeding" from the crown, I suggest a chainsaw over a bow saw.

[Moose]

Royals get hit by lightning often in Florida. Because they are usually so full of water, the electricity simply passes through them and goes to ground.

The spear is not a big problem, there are more getting generated fro the meristem. If your meristem got super heated because of resistance, the palm is toast.

Having an exit wound on the trunk, sounds like there was a resistance problem. The charge existed out the side rather than going to ground.

Without photos and from your description, my guess is that you will witness a rapid decline to your Royal.

Sometimes lightning simply does what it wants.

[NatureGirl]

Sorry to hear John, that was a bad and unexpected storm ystdy morning. I know of two people who's palms were struck, both died. One was a large Canary Is Date, the other a tall Coconut.

[Bill H2DB]

  Here is a news story about a coconut palm-house-lightning event yesterday in Satellite Beach , Fla.

 

http://www.wesh.com/article/lightning-strike-in-satellite-beach-blows-hole-in-childs-bedroom-ceiling/22049621

 

[Bigfish]

Chainsaw.

[pj_orlando_z9b]

3 hours ago, Bill H2DB said:

  Here is a news story about a coconut palm-house-lightning event yesterday in Satellite Beach , Fla.

 

http://www.wesh.com/article/lightning-strike-in-satellite-beach-blows-hole-in-childs-bedroom-ceiling/22049621

 

I saw this on WESH last night and wondered if it was related. Scary stuff for sure!

[SEPalm]

This makes me want to put lightning rods on my royals.

[Palmaholic John]

Thanks for the replies everyone.  I snapped some photos this morning but I'm having trouble uploading them.  A neighbor said he actually saw the lightning strike.  Sounds like it hit the middle Royal near the street and somehow bounced to the Spindle at the corner of the house.  The Spindle's leaves suddenly drooped yesterday afternoon but the Royal's leaves look normal still.  I'll keep trying to upload the pictures.  Thanks again.

[Mike Evans]

Just leave it there, the woodpeckers will love you.

[Dave-Vero]

Watch it, of course, and be ready for removal.  Trunks rot fairly fast but do provide opportunities for woodpeckers and such.  Palm trunks in general have a lot of fairly weak "filler" between the vascular bundles, which are distributed throughout the trunk--totally different layout from "real" trees.