Canary Island Date Palm Help in Queensland Please

[LOONEY]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm Shaun from Queensland Australia.  I am a bit of a black thumb but I'm really trying to learn.

I've got a couple of CIDP's which I planted from pots around 6 years ago and i love them and try my best to look after them with regular fetrilizer, neem oil to keep the mealy bugs at bay etc, The larger one currently has around 750mm of clear trunk with fronds around 3m long.  however i fear the big one is sick and has some sort of infestation.   From a distance it looks quite good and healthy, however the lower fronds have started yellowing, but up close things are not all too rosy

When trimming the tree back today, I noticed at the bases of the fronds there seem to be some sort of holes and brown patches, where I suspect the tree has some sort of borer or infestation. When i cut these fronds it doesn't seem to have anything in it, as i dissected it, but these holes/channels.

Furthermore when trying to trim the frond scars, i notice at the bottom of the tree the lowest 2 or 3 layers of fronds basically disintegrated into mush and left a large hole.

So i guess my question is

1: whether anyone has any ideas what's happening here?

2: can i save the tree? or is it likely on its way to the big mulcher in the sky?

 

Sincerley

 

Shaun

 

 

 

[AZ_Palm_Guy]

@LOONEY welcome to palmtalk! Hopefully some more experienced folks can chime in on this topic but in all honesty this CIDP looks great. For the lower fronds yellowing just remember as the palm grows it will begin to feed on the lower fronds. Nothing to worry about as it is a natural thing. 

 

Does this palm get hit with water from sprinklers? Could be a reason for the boots to be turning into mush. The boots will eventually fall off with due time. As for the small holes in the bases of the fronds, it could actually be termites feeding on the palm. How to cure that though is beyond me. 

[LOONEY]

Hey AZ Palm Guy, thanks so much for taking the time. No sprinklers here, where U live is semi tropical so we can get 50 inches of rain in a month.

 

As for termites, I hope not, I don't want them anywhere near my house lol. But I'll have to find some sort of pesticide at some point, I just hope it isn't too much damage for now.