Sabal palms oozing sap. Indian River county Florida. (Central east coast)

Thoughts, comments, suggestions?  

Post this in Discussing Palms Forum. This one is for IPS members.

Lightning?

Pretty certain not.  Plant bed (15x25) has at least 5 Sabal palms and a triple Phoenix Roebellini and various other low shrubs. Only two Sabals are affected and they are about 10 apart. No other signs of lightning strike. Incidentally, the crowns of the two ‘oozers’ look perfectly normal. There was no problems noted when we were at this property last Monday. ( 1 week ago)

Are those woodpecker holes?

I can’t say for sure. There are plenty of woodpeckers around.  We have been in the landscaping business for over 30 years in Florida and have never seen this in a palm. We’ve asked around other landscapers, arborists and even the retired county ag agent. Everyone is just kinda scratching their heads. 

13 minutes ago, Turfs Up Inc said:

I can’t say for sure. There are plenty of woodpeckers around.  We have been in the landscaping business for over 30 years in Florida and have never seen this in a palm. We’ve asked around other landscapers, arborists and even the retired county ag agent. Everyone is just kinda scratching their heads. 

If it is Woodpeckers, they're going after something else already present in the trunk ( some species of Beetle Grub(s) perhaps ).. I say this because we have at least 3 sp. of woodpeckers here that will tap on the neighborhood Washingtonia but i've yet to see anything close to this kind of drainage from any holes they create. Deeper they drill means they're after something tasty.

Regardless, i'd advise the homeowner it is time to remove the oozy palmettos since, as it looks now, at least to my eye,  the trunks are likely structurally compromised internally, ...and could snap / collapse in a tropical storm / hurricane.  Client wants to keep them?, be sure they know the risk so that they cannot say you / your company did not advise them beforehand when one or both come down later on.

The holes look like they are from boring insects, but that is a lot of discharge, which would make me think bacterial or fungal infection. Has anyone used climbing spikes to trim fronds from these trees lately? I would try contacting a university. 

Anyone here familiar with Thielaviopsis paradoxa symptoms in sabal palms?

Woodpeckers. Specifically the Sapsucker is commonly responsible for making lines of holes and then yes, sucking the sap out of trees. They are common in Florida in the winter but are usually seen on actual trees like maples which have a higher sugar content. It is odd to see so much damage on a Sabal but as you can see, it does have a lot of sap coming out. Perhaps the birds picked this specific one based on that characteristic.

Is there not native in Florida the Sabal weevil?

16 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

Is there not native in Florida the Sabal weevil?

Yes.

18 hours ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

Woodpeckers. Specifically the Sapsucker is commonly responsible for making lines of holes and then yes, sucking the sap out of trees. They are common in Florida in the winter but are usually seen on actual trees like maples which have a higher sugar content. It is odd to see so much damage on a Sabal but as you can see, it does have a lot of sap coming out. Perhaps the birds picked this specific one based on that characteristic.

Sapsuckers will make holes in palms, but the shear volume of sap/ooze coming out is what is the weird part. The holes are mechanical damage, but there is likely something wrong with the palm.

Edited April 12, 20233 yr by amh

Weevils attack the meristem but not the trunk, I believe. The holes are from woodpeckers. I’ve seen the trunk of a palmetto in Matlacha Park that had rings of woodpecker holes in its stem. But I saw no sign of oozing. Definitely something else wrong with the palms in those photos.

I lived around and worked with Cabbage Palms for over 50 years. I found this blog while searching for what that sap is since in all my life I never have seen it... Until yesterday, I saw it coming from a trunk that had been cut 2 weeks ago. I have never seen it oozing from a live tree either. In the St Johns River swamp in this area, there are countless trees with the exact same etching from bottom to top but never that sap running out as is in the images.

Those are absolutely woodpecker holes. Well, some may be from climber tracks too.

Can anyone tell me where to find more information about the substance? It has to be something the ancient natives would have used for something. It is somewhat oily, but not flammable. It is tacky and almost like rubber. The tree had been cut for 3 weeks and almost a quart has accumulated in a glob on the cut surface of a 14 foot section.

10 hours ago, Tom Sowell said:

Those are absolutely woodpecker holes. Well, some may be from climber tracks too.

I think one of my Veitchia has some of that from the climbers here in the yard.

Wish I could tell you more about that substance. 

Astor has an interesting location below Lake George that should provide a decent microclimate. 

All that said, welcome to PalmTalk!