Palm Looks Sick, Need Advice...

[toicy4ya]

Hi Guys,

 

I have a palm in front of my home. One of the trunks appears to be sick. I was informed by my gardener that it might have a fungus. He recommended cutting off the trunk at the base so that it does not spread to the rest of the palm tree.

 

I have included some pictures below. Can you please offer me some advice on the best remedy?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Jimbean]

My first guess is a boron deficiency

[Brucer]

Try cutting off all the fronds, and getting up on a ladder to see if there is anything in the top living there.

The others look fine, so it could just be grubs or something.  I have a few of these, and have never seen this before.

[toicy4ya]

Yea, I'm stumped. I have no idea what is causing it and am afraid that it will spread to the other palm trunks. It hasnt grown any new branches in months. The few that it has have gotten kind of yellow and are all droopy. It has a couple of little branches at the very top that look dry and arent growing. I attached a couple of close up pictures of the palm. Of the five palm trunks this is the only one that looks like this.

 

[Merlyn]

It looks like maybe a crown rot.  Try squirting a little hydrogen peroxide in the center top.  If it bubbles up you have a crown fungal infection.  Regular household stuff works great.

[NickJames]

To me, it looks like manganese deficiency. 

[Palm Tree Jim]

If it does not recover for you over some time, you can cut the trunk at the base and the rest of the plant will continue to grow.

I have done this many times with much success. Phoenix is a tough plant.

[Tracy]

On 1/17/2023 at 5:16 PM, toicy4ya said:

One of the trunks appears to be sick. I was informed by my gardener that it might have a fungus. He recommended cutting off the trunk at the base so that it does not spread to the rest of the palm tree.

 

1 hour ago, Palm Tree Jim said:

If it does not recover for you over some time, you can cut the trunk at the base and the rest of the plant will continue to grow.

I have done this many times with much success. Phoenix is a tough plant.

 

11 hours ago, Merlyn said:

It looks like maybe a crown rot.  Try squirting a little hydrogen peroxide in the center top.  If it bubbles up you have a crown fungal infection.  Regular household stuff works great.

Try what Merlyn suggests with the hydrogen peroxide.  Depending on where you are located the speed that you should expect recovery will depend on the growth season for your climate, but these are pretty fast growers in general.  Pygmy Date Palm or Phoenix roebelenii, and they are solitary palms.   Each of those trunks was an individual plant, just group planted to give it the effect of being a clumping palm.  Consequently, if it doesn't show signs of recovery after a few weeks and continues pushing out new fronds like this, you can cut it down as your gardener and Jim suggest, with no harm to the other trunks.  Good luck.

[toicy4ya]

Hey guys, so I cut the trunk off several months ago. Lately ive noticed two of the smaller trunks shown below are also beginning to look a little sickly. Can someone please take a look at the following pictures and offer some advice on what might be causing this? Does anyone know if there is a professional company I can call to visit my home and take a look at my palm trees and landscaping perhaps sample the soil to see what may be causing this?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

[Johnny Palmseed]

Have you fertilized this palm? Roebeleniis are not large palms but they typically produce many fronds. They love water and need some fertilizer to look their best. Especially since the heat is coming on. It also looks like there is not much mulch left around the palm. You could possibly fix your problem with palm specific fertilizer, water and mulch. What part of Florida are you in? Locals can give more specific advice.

[Looking Glass]

I don’t know what is wrong with your palm, but here’s what I would do….

Don't leave this up to “The Gardener”, they are mostly just labor, rarely know anything about plants or palms.  

Go to the garden center and get 2 bags of composed cow manure and spread it out a few feet around the base.  Top that with several inches of shredded, non-dyed wood mulch.  

Get some high quality palm fertilizer and distribute a cup around the the base out to the drip line, and get some langbeinite and distribute a cup of that the same way.   

Hand water it every day - to every other day - with a hose with one of those garden wand heads, if it doesn’t rain.   Repeat the fertilizing every 6 weeks.   Don’t use weed killer/weed and feed, of any kind, near the palm.   Stop trimming away yellowing fronds until fall.   Cut off only fully brown fronds.  

Do this over the the spring and summer and if it’s fixable, you should see good results.  These palms can outgrow a lot of problems.