Royal Palm Root Question

[Stingray727]

I have some Royal Palms I grew from seeds. They were started in a containers.  They were planted in the ground about 6 months ago. The soil has compacted a little and we have had heavy rains - 2 inches in under an hour.   The question:  New roots are forming above the soil line.  I planted the trees in large holes 36" x 36" holes. the holes were backfilled with the original soil.  The crown was even with the outside grade or the yard and the transition was flat. I used the extra fill to build a ring 16" out from the trunk to help keep the water from spreading out during the dry spring we had. It seems that the soil had eroded and settled a little. The new roots are forming and exposed to the air. Should I add some sand or soil around the trunk or leave the soil level alone?  I have included pictures.   Thank you

 

 

[Ben in Norcal]

Yes, I would mound a bit of soil or do some thick mulching there.

[NOT A TA]

Welcome to the forum Stingray!

I'd do both things Ben mentioned, add soil up to the top of the root initiation zone and mulch on top of that.

My next door neighbor has Roystonea regia he started from seed 30+ years ago when he bought his house. He's been slowly loosing one every couple years the past 8-10 years. His question to me came up because he has one that's been "penciling" the past couple years and wanted to know if it could be saved,  and he sees me growing lots of palms. I tried to explain to him (different first languages) that in a natural setting the debris from the tree would keep piling up at the base of the tree, rotting, and making soft humid compost so the new roots at the top of the root initiation zone would easily grow through out into new soil and also help make the tree more stable for our hurricanes as well. Eventually, I got him to at least spread a thick layer of mulch which seems to be helping (at least temporarily) because as you can see the latest frond is much bigger than the remaining previous fronds. No changes in irrigation or fertilizer.

[Stingray727]

• Thank you for all of the info.  I will add the soil/compost today. I want to give them the best care possible.  The hardest part is keeping the horses away from the fresh fronds.  we have horse panels set up around the palms so the palms are not getting any foot traffic but the horses are trying to lean over the rail and eat the fronds.  I can't wait until the palms are tall enough that they can't be reached.