10 New Palms - Advice on Care

[poolgreelife]

Recently had 10 new palms planted I believe two Sylvester’s and 8 Mules of it appears to be two different varieties.

I’m in zone 8b on the cusp of 9a and curious to know what care instructions I should be doing to make sure these do well.

Recently added a layer of compost and top soil and mulch to all. Sprayed with Liquid Copper Fungicide and have been watering like crazy.

Have some brown leaves and yellowing. Anything alarming?

[Reyes Vargas]

That is way to much mulch and way to high.  I would remove all that mulch and just leave like a 2 inch layer of it and keep it away from the trunk..  You are going to suffocate the palms that way.

[Fusca]

Looks like pretty typical older leaf die-off and perhaps some transplant stress in photo #2.  Spotting on the leaves of the mule in photo #5 is pretty typical during winter and they'll grow out of it.  I'd move the mulch away from the trunks some though - you don't want it up against the trunk.  Welcome to PalmTalk!  I have a cousin in Gonzales just up the road from you but she's not into palms.

[poolgreelife]

10 minutes ago, Reyes Vargas said:

That is way to much mulch and way to high.  I would remove all that mulch and just leave like a 2 inch layer of it and keep it away from the trunk..  You are going to suffocate the palms that way.

Great callout, just mulched yesterday will move away from trunk and bring down.

[poolgreelife]

8 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Looks like pretty typical older leaf die-off and perhaps some transplant stress in photo #2.  Spotting on the leaves of the mule in photo #5 is pretty typical during winter and they'll grow out of it.  I'd move the mulch away from the trunks some though - you don't want it up against the trunk.  Welcome to PalmTalk!  I have a cousin in Gonzales just up the road from you but she's not into palms.

Thanks for the feedback. First time owning Palms. Will move the mulch away today. When to fertilize?

[Merlyn]

I'd avoid fertilizing for a couple of months after transplant.  I sometimes give mine a hit of fungicide and water soluble fertilizer shortly after transplanting, but a really really low dose to avoid burning any roots.  I don't know if it actually helps or hurts.

For planting depth, it's hard to say with the mulch in place.  It looks like they may be very high.  You want the "root initiation zone" basically at ground level.  Too low can cause rot, too high causes "air girdling" and slow growth.  This is the best instruction sheet I've found for it.  You are better off very slightly high than low.  http://www.marriedtoplants.com/palms/palm-tree-growing-tips-mounding/