Recovering Sylvester Date Palm

[tstex]

Hello to all,

Our Sylvester Date Palm I believe has made the turn.  It was down to 9 degrees here.

Before the freeze, there was not a huge hairlike root-mass that is just subsurface near base of trunk.  Is this normal?  I do not pile mulch or anything next to trunk.  No dirt or other has been washed away.   Hou in May-mid July has had copious rains.  June had 17”.  Prob another 15” in May to Mid July.   Tons of runoff too.

The first few branches are 75% dead due to post freeze, while some of the later ones have a little yellow towards the tips.  But, the crown now seems to be producing thicker & healthier foliage. I have not fertilized yet and was waiting until it is firmly established.  If anyone has comments or suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[D. Morrowii]

I know some Phoenix species have those exposed roots at the base and I think its normal. Someone else here will know better than I though. Your palm looks to be recovering well!

[sonoranfans]

sylvesters here often have those adventidious roots as they get older, and they are almost always healthy when I see them like that.  It may suggest those shallow roots have a function at least at a shallow depth just under the soil.  I have a royal and a kentiopsis which have lots of adventidious roots, very healthy trees for sure.

[tstex]

Thank you.  We really feel blessed that this palm made it.  The palm removal companies have been parlaying huge fees around here bc of the freeze.

Does anyone have a suggestion on fertilization since the palm is prob out of a major stress cycle? Also, the last time i fertilized was last fall when there were little to no surface roots.  Would applying fertilizer burn these roots and cause any harm?

Thanks again, tstex  

[sonoranfans]

1 hour ago, tstex said:

Thank you.  We really feel blessed that this palm made it.  The palm removal companies have been parlaying huge fees around here bc of the freeze.

Does anyone have a suggestion on fertilization since the palm is prob out of a major stress cycle? Also, the last time i fertilized was last fall when there were little to no surface roots.  Would applying fertilizer burn these roots and cause any harm?

Thanks again, tstex  

Go ahead and put some down, dont overdo it though.  Make sure its palm fertilizer though, not sure what you can get there but 8-2-12, NPK plus 2-3% Fe and 3.5-4% Mg would be a palm formulation.

[tstex]

Thank you Sono, appreciate it..best tstex 

[SEPalm]

Those exposed roots are common especially in Sylvester palms that have irrigation spraying the lower trunk. The more new roots the better for the palm to uptake water and nutrients. Give the root area a good soaking before applying fertilizer then soak in good after applying. Root burn is usually caused by applying the fertilizer to dry soil.

[96720]

Too many palms have roots like that and it’s a pain to plant under them you have to use an ax instead of shovel 

[tstex]

10 hours ago, SEPalm said:

Those exposed roots are common especially in Sylvester palms that have irrigation spraying the lower trunk. The more new roots the better for the palm to uptake water and nutrients. Give the root area a good soaking before applying fertilizer then soak in good after applying. Root burn is usually caused by applying the fertilizer to dry soil.

Yes, thanks on the application process....it's a real common mistake to apply fertilizer to dry soil then apply water.  We just had 1.2" of rain last night (7/30) so adding some add'l water, then the fertilizer to spec, then water again would be perfect timing.  There's also a product called "super-thrive" and is mainly prescribed for when planting new vegetation or when transplanting.  I used this during post freeze bc it is supposed to help w stress.  Perhaps this aided in it's recovery.  It only takes 1-2 drops per gallon.  It's never failed me on a new install or transplant [Yet I only transplant in very early spring when no more freezes and heat is not crippling). 

[tstex]

17 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

sylvesters here often have those adventidious roots as they get older, and they are almost always healthy when I see them like that.  It may suggest those shallow roots have a function at least at a shallow depth just under the soil.  I have a royal and a kentiopsis which have lots of adventidious roots, very healthy trees for sure.

Adventitious roots are plant roots that form from any nonroot tissue and are produced both during normal development (crown roots on cereals and nodal roots on strawberry [Fragaria spp.]) and in response to stress conditions, such as flooding, nutrient deprivation, and wounding.  

Sono, great call on root ID type.  These could have developed in great quantities as a result of both stress [freeze] and the 27-30" of rain/flooding we received in 3.5 months..

Again, thanks for everyone's comments

Edited July 31, 2021 by tstex