King palm fronds rapidly turning brown - how can this tree be saved?

[PixelsaurusRex]

The Bay Area heat wave appears to be accelerating frond death on my King Palm. Several new dry brown fronds this week.

The tree was planted earlier this year. It arrived with several fronds having their ends snipped off and those were the first to go brown.

Any tips on how to help it recover?

This palm receives a lot of sun and is watered via irrigation 3x per week. I apply Moon Valley's Super Palm Juice once every month. During the heat wave, I also started additional deep watering.

 

[Jim in Los Altos]

Adam, the more water the better. They like even swampy conditions. You’re not far from me if you’re in Saratoga. King palms should do well for for you. I have several groves of them here and the hot sun has affected them minimally. The fence behind them likely traps some heat as well.. Keep them wet and they should adjust. They really prefer partial shade but full sun is okay. 

Edited September 9, 2022 by Jim in Los Altos

[Tyrone]

I agree with Jim. Every day soak that rootball with a puddle of water. They will recover but not well without moist to wet soil. These palms grow along river banks.

[PixelsaurusRex]

Thanks for the wonderful advice @Jim in Los Altosand @Tyrone! 

I'm off to soak that palm!

[DoomsDave]

1 hour ago, PixelsaurusRex said:

Thanks for the wonderful advice @Jim in Los Altosand @Tyrone! 

I'm off to soak that palm!

Nice to meet you!

Jim and Tyrone beat me to it: the more water the better! They’re Swamp Things, literally.

Keep them happy and they’re gorgeous.

Below are some of my Archontophoenix. 
 

 

[BayAndroid]

Ouch! They got BBQ'd. It was very intense here at my house. Even with heavy watering, my smaller double kings got bronzed pretty well done on the southern facing sides. Here's the part to look forward to, my biggest king (which I still give a lot of water to) was 100% unscathed, which I was very impressed by. I used to be too worried to heavily water, but with time I got used to the fact that these trees need it. 

[PixelsaurusRex]

Wow, beautiful palms @DoomsDave! Inspiring!

Btw, my king palm came from the nursery with the ends of several fronds snipped off. Is the idea that those fronds will die and fall off, but the overall tree can still survive with new growth?

[Jim in Los Altos]

5 hours ago, PixelsaurusRex said:

Wow, beautiful palms @DoomsDave! Inspiring!

Btw, my king palm came from the nursery with the ends of several fronds snipped off. Is the idea that those fronds will die and fall off, but the overall tree can still survive with new growth?

Nurseries routinely snip off any brown tips on palms and other plants so they are cosmetically more pleasing. 

[PixelsaurusRex]

Hi everyone! 3 weeks later, I've been giving that King Palm plenty of deep watering!

Landscapers snipped off dead branches and the attached photos are the result.

Is there anything else I can do?

[enigma99]

In my opinion the green one might make it and the others are toast. I would just saw them at the ground and go with a single. Continue to flood them

[3 Milesfrom Gulf of Mexico]

Fire your landscaper.  Turn the house on trickle at the trunks.....come back in a week.  See if you get new growth. 

[PixelsaurusRex]

Thanks @enigma99and @3 Milesfrom Gulf of Mexico!  I'll keep watering and look for growth.

Going forward, what palm care should I expect from a landscaping service? They set up the irrigation system and occasionally trim trees

[Billeb]

8 hours ago, PixelsaurusRex said:

Thanks @enigma99and @3 Milesfrom Gulf of Mexico!  I'll keep watering and look for growth.

Going forward, what palm care should I expect from a landscaping service? They set up the irrigation system and occasionally trim trees

Honestly….to me it’s one of those things “if you want it done right, you have to do it yourself”.  Vast majority of landscapers….

A: don’t give a crap about anything in your garden

B: don’t know anything about what’s in your garden. 
 

Literally cut, blow and on to the next. IF I hired a gardener, I would tell him not to cut anything unless I told him. I wouldn’t want me as a customer. 
 

-dale

[PixelsaurusRex]

@BillebThat's helpful, thanks! 

For sure, they clearly don't understand how to take care of a King Palm. If I'm lucky, the most they'd do is an adjustment of the irrigation water head.

I'd like to learn so I get better. Is there something about the way they cut in that photo that was sloppy? Should they not have removed those dead branches?

[Billeb]

41 minutes ago, PixelsaurusRex said:

I'd like to learn so I get better. Is there something about the way they cut in that photo that was sloppy? Should they not have removed those dead branches?

I think one of the hardest things about planting new trees and new gardeners (not saying you are new to gardening. just a general comment)….is the need for “the perfect” looking trees.  Everyone wants this but unfortunately this is a bit of a long game. It takes time and will power not to over prune and trim trees. The thought of letting dead fronds fall off instead of helping them or trimming almost dead growth is a difficult thing but it has to happen. There is zero need to cut branches off unless there is zero green to include the boot.…zero. 
 

Regarding your trees, like @enigma99 stated, it looks like 2 of the 3 are done. The one is obviously sunken in while the other is chopped.  Just cut those at the base, and continue to water the single. Or even easier….start over. Arch’s are cheap. You may have better luck in the long run replacing. 
 

-dale