Is my S. palmetto growing normally?

[Hardypalms]

Hi

Zone 7b, north of Atlanta-USA

This palm was planted in April 2022.

I protected it with great success during the colder months.

Now in July 2023, I find the crown slow to open. Is this normal?

I inspect close often and don’t see anything wrong.

The first 2 pics were when planted (April 2022) (Sorry first one is sideways, too late to edit)

The following 2 pics are March 2023

Then the last 4 are today mid July 2023

I fertilized it in the spring with 2 Jobe’s palm spikes and about to give them 2 more for the summer then 2 more in the fall.

Are they slow to develop the crown after being hurricane cut?

 

Thxs

 

Pat

[PalmatierMeg]

The recent photos show it is putting on decent growth now the heat is on. Earlier growth was slowed by winter weather.

I suggest you don't spend good money on "plant spikes". I don't think they are effective and pack scant nutrition in a lot of waste. Get a slow release palm/shrub centric fertilizer with the majors and all the minors. Spread it around the trunk out to the drip line and save yourself swinging a hammer.

[Hardypalms]

1 hour ago, PalmatierMeg said:

The recent photos show it is putting on decent growth now the heat is on. Earlier growth was slowed by winter weather.

I suggest you don't spend good money on "plant spikes". I don't think they are effective and pack scant nutrition in a lot of waste. Get a slow release palm/shrub centric fertilizer with the majors and all the minors. Spread it around the trunk out to the drip line and save yourself swinging a hammer.

Meg

Can you give me a couple of brands?

Thxs again

 

Pat

[SeanK]

Looks good. I suggest you give it a slow, steady watering for a 1/2 hour every day. Also, you should protect it the first couple of winters, even if they're mild. Use a string of lights or plumber's heat tape beginning in December. They're slow up our way; +5, -2 the first two years.

[jreich85]

The palm still looks healthy. I had three similar sabals planted hurricane cut and after a couple of years, one of them still doesn’t have a full crown yet; they can be slow. As long as it’s warm out, you can’t really overwater them and I felt that soaking mine regularly did help with growth. Palmgain is a popular fertilizer on here and would do you well.  Just keep an eye on the new growth and make sure it doesn’t appear to slow any more or become discolored. I had to fight off crown fungus in mine.

[PalmatierMeg]

15 hours ago, Hardypalms said:

Meg

Can you give me a couple of brands?

Thxs again

 

Pat

Brands and availability vary around the country. I've heard Palm Gain praised a lot here but it is very difficult for me to find. I was using Lesco tree/shrub 8-2-10 I believe but since covid any fertilizer is scarce and what little I found was $50-60 per 50 lb bags (I use 10-12 bags per event). This year we used Sunniland 6-6-6 or 10-10-10 which was $23 per 40 lb bag. Seeing as how we hadn't fertilized in nearly 2 years - covid again - I was happy to find that. So far we fertilized 2x so far - once in Feb. and again in May. Right now we are in fertilizer blackout through Sep. 30. We hope to hit everything once more in Oct./Nov.

[Merlyn]

Anything with a slow release formulation and a mixture similar to PalmGain should be okay for Sabals.  You just want to avoid any fast release generic fertilizers, as they could burn the new roots your palm is growing.  I've had good luck with the generic Vigoro 8-4-8 and Sunniland 6-1-8 mix.  I'm going to buy some Lesco stuff from SiteOne and try that this summer.  At that size/stage of recovery I'd probably do 2 handfuls spread randomly in a ~10 foot diameter circle around the palm.

[Hardypalms]

Thank-you everyone. I m looking into another fertilizer and will water a little bit more.

 

Thxs

 

Pat