Soft spot on king trunk

[rizla023]

Hello. I noticed a soft spot on my king trunk. It’s about 7 feet up, fairly small and nothing falling off yet, but wanted to share. 

No water source hitting it, not sure where it came from. 

Santa Ana, CA

[James B]

Seems like some kind of rot. I’d spray with liquid copper fungicide to see if that stops it’s from spreading. It could have started with cracks in the trunk due to an uptick in watering which exposed it to a fungal infection. 

[rizla023]

Posting in this thread again. Noticed today the one next to it has a good 18 inches of rotted trunk. all soft and can easily be taken off, about 1 inch deep.

should I take it off to expose the wound or should I leave the soft trunk? No direct sprinkler action so I have no idea what’s going on. These are 20-25 year old kings that are otherwise looking amazing. 

should I treat with any solution?

i will post video/images tomorrow. 

[Johnny Palmseed]

I agree with @James B. It could have been done long ago by a surge in water which expanded and split the trunk. I have a Pseudophoenix that did that. I removed the rotted area (which was filled with carpenter ants) and it kept on trucking. Now there is a hole in the trunk which looks unsightly but the palm did not die. I would recommend that you clean it out now and treat it with fungicide otherwise it will continue to spread and the palm will eventually rot out completely. Palms can recover from this but it will always be a weak point. I see you are in Santa Ana. Strong winds could snap the palm. Depending on the level of damage, you might want to remove and replace them now. 

[rizla023]

@Johnny Palmseed thank you for your reply. I have added pictures. What I’m hearing is I should pick off the soft parts and treat with a fungicide? Do you have particular products you recommend? I have the copper fungicide treatment. Thank you again.

[Johnny Palmseed]

I don’t think I used a fungicide but I sprayed the ants and left it. However, now I see another spot that has smaller ants and it is soft so I need to do something about that. 

 

[Johnny Palmseed]

Not sure why my pictures won’t attach now…

[Johnny Palmseed]

[3 Milesfrom Gulf of Mexico]

Spray some hydrogen  peroxide on the wound and see if it bubbles up.  

[rizla023]

Figured I’d update and ask for any other help.

I removed the wood that fell right off and I found a termite. It looks very healthy otherwise and nothing else is soft, so I’m not sure what to do. 

Santa Ana, CA

[Merlyn]

@rizla023 yep, that sure looks like a termite nest.  Below is a big link to an IFAS page on termite ID and treatment.  Some termites do get into palm trunks and will damage them to the point that they'll collapse without warning.  And of course you don't want them to spread to your house!  Some possible treatments are a systemic soil drench of Imadicloprid or similar insecticide, direct spray of the trunk area with a foaming insecticide, baits strapped to the trunk or on the soil, etc.  It might be worth getting a local termite pro to treat the palms and inspect your house.

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN1277

[rizla023]

One tree company came by and said it needed to go.. a 25 foot king that looks super healthy up top. They were not an arborist but I am trying to get more opinions. Anyone recommend a trusted arborist that knows about palms in Orange County, CA?

[ahosey01]

14 hours ago, rizla023 said:

One tree company came by and said it needed to go.. a 25 foot king that looks super healthy up top. They were not an arborist but I am trying to get more opinions. Anyone recommend a trusted arborist that knows about palms in Orange County, CA?

This is like trying to find a 3/4 ton pickup that gets good gas mileage, lol… Almost all “arborists” suck and aren’t actually arborists, and generally the ones that are don’t specialize in palms.

I would say it’s fine if you treat the termites and keep an eye on it.  Palms are the opposite of trees - their “vascular” system moves water and nutrients through the center of the plant, not through the outer layer.  That’s also why termites will eat them - because it’s all dead tissue on the outside of the trunk.

I see nothing here that makes me think death is imminent or your palm is going to fall over.  Just treat the termites and keep an eye on it.  I’ve seen palms with like 1/8th of a trunk left at the base still standing no problem.