Help- Dying palm with strange white looking flowers in crown

[Intexas123]

Hi, 

 

 I have a small palm tree which has had its leaves discoloring for few weeks and are now completely dead. I looked inside the top and found these white flowers type of things some of which are decaying. Can't understand at all what is happening here. When then discoloration started, I had added some palm specific fertilizer to the soil but that does not have seemed to help. 

Appreciate any help.

[Merlyn]

Unfortunately that one is D-E-D dead.  I'd dig out the entire trunk in one piece, using the dead trunk as leverage to push it back and forth.  If you have a reciprocating saw with a 12" blade you can cut down around the perimeter of the trunk and slice 90% of the roots in one swell foop.  A sharp shovel will work too.  The roots are relatively easy to cut through, unlike something like an oak tree.  Removing most of it without grinding or chainsawing will help contain whatever killed it.  If you grind that stump it'll likely fling fungus-laden bits all over the yard, which might contaminate your other palms.  If that's too difficult you can always just cut it off at ground level and spread sulfur powder on the top to retard fungal growth.  Here's an example of what the roots look like underground, this is a Sylvestris that I transplanted a few years ago:

 

 

[Intexas123]

Thanks Merlyn. it does look dead but I was still hoping I could somehow revive it but I guess not. 

 

But is it safe to put a replacement tree or should I do some treatment before I do so ? 

 

 

[SeanK]

Sadly, it's dead as stated. After removal, I'd drench the soil with a fungicide and delay planting until next spring.

Those "flowers" are actually mushrooms. That looks like a Jelly Palm. Surprised that it died.

[Merlyn]

1 hour ago, Intexas123 said:

Thanks Merlyn. it does look dead but I was still hoping I could somehow revive it but I guess not. 

But is it safe to put a replacement tree or should I do some treatment before I do so ?

It depends on the reason it died.  In many cases the disease that kills a palm is still present in the soil at that spot.  If you have any pictures from a few weeks or a month ago, that would help diagnose the disease.  So for example:

• If the center of the palm quit growing and died first (the new spears and the new leaves) and then the oldest fronds slowly died afterwards, then it was probably a crown infection like Phytophthora.  That's a disease that any palm can get, but if caught early it can be treated.  It's usually ok to re-plant, but you'd just have to pay attention to the replacement.
• If the oldest fronds died fairly slowly with a "normal" tan-brown color, progressing over several months, then it could be a trunk rot like Thielaviopsis or Ganoderma.  Sometimes this will have visible signs on the outside of the trunk, sometimes not.  Thielaviopsis shows up as "weeping" spots on the trunk, and Ganoderma shows "shelf-like" mushroom conks on the side of the trunk near ground level.  Neither of these diseases are treatable, so if either is confirmed then it's not a good idea to plant any palm in that exact spot.  Of course, the only way to really confirm this is to take a sample to a lab for testing, but if you spot either feature you can be sure that's what killed it.  But it could also be a Phytophthora root rot, which is treatable with normal fungicides.

As you can tell, it's kind of guesswork without a lab test.  That's why in many cases people just say "don't plant another palm in the same spot."  It's also entirely possible that it died from pool water chlorine, or a sprinkler hitting the trunk and causing rot, or a chemical spill, soil contaminant, accidental spray of weedkiller, lightning strike, etc.  If you have the option of, for example, moving the orange bird of paradise to the dead palm spot and planting a palm where the orange birds are...that might be a good idea.  Putting down something like sulfur powder and Fosetyl-Al or a copper-based fungicide on the ground now, and replanting in the spring is also a good idea.

[Intexas123]

Merlyn, 

 Thanks a lot again. Attached is the photo from sometime back when it first start deteriorating. 

[SeanK]

Looks like it died from the outside, inward. Is that part of a water landscape?

[Intexas123]

Yeah. it is. 

 

DO you think I can just remove it and put in a new one or do I need to do some treatment before I add a new one. 

[SeanK]

I still recommend a soil drench and wait until spring to plant.

If a Palm is ok there, maybe a multi -head Mediterranean Fan Palm.

Edited October 5, 2023 by SeanK

[Merlyn]

I'd agree with SeanK, it looks like it died from the outside inwards, i.e. the oldest fronds died first.  Given the very short length of the fronds, it looks like it's been suffering for a couple of years.  Normal frond length on a Butia is somewhere around 10 feet, with a big curve.  Those look more like 3 feet.  I'd *guess* that it has had some long-term infection and/or lack of fertilizer for 2-3 years.  Without a lab test it's probably impossible to guess what finally killed it, but I'd remove it ASAP and follow Sean's suggestion.  Remove the whole trunk and as many of the roots as are feasible, then soil drench with a copper-based fungicide or something like Fosetyl-Al or Banrot.  Replacing it with another palm like a Butia/Pindo is probably a crapshoot guess.  It might do just fine, or it might get affected by the same problem that killed this one.  I'd definitely check for any pool leaks in that area, that's known to kill palms over time.