Help! Mature date palm coming out of the ground

[Corky]

Help! I have a beautiful mature date palm in my backyard here in Sydney, Australia. It provides lovely shade during our hot summers (we’re currently at the start of spring and it has been dry). I recently had the tree trimmed. I noticed in the last few weeks that the tree is ever so slightly at an angle and realized that part of the base is coming out of the ground. Photos attached. Does anyone have any ideas of how I might save the tree and avoid it falling over in a storm?! Thank you!

[Merlyn]

@Corky welcome to PalmTalk!  Could you try a different method of uploading pictures?  They all turned into black boxes online.

[Jegs]

Yeah, no luck with the pictures

[Corky]

Adding corrected pics...

[Phoenikakias]

Everything seems ok and there is actually no reason for any cocern. The palm is merely producing new roots.

[Jonathan]

Has it always had a bit of a lean or is that pretty recent? If it's new I'd be concerned, if not then would agree with comment above ^^^

If it's growing new roots, it wouldn't hurt to mound a bit of soil around the base so they can grow into it and help stabilise the palm. 

Good luck!

[Corky]

37 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

Has it always had a bit of a lean or is that pretty recent? If it's new I'd be concerned, if not then would agree with comment above ^^^

If it's growing new roots, it wouldn't hurt to mound a bit of soil around the base so they can grow into it and help stabilise the palm. 

Good luck!

It’s had a bit of a lean but I’ve never noticed the roots coming out of the ground, hence my concern. I like the idea of adding soil but I’m not sure if it would give the tree enough strength - aren’t date palms top heavy? How long do you think would the roots take to new added soil?

[Harry’s Palms]

Most palms put out new roots every year . Some palms can actually put roots out above the soil line and , unless the palm is unsteady or loose , I wouldn’t be concerned. It looks healthy to me. A palm that size would have plenty of far reaching roots to hold it steady . We have super large ones here in my area that don’t budge even in strong storms. Harry

[Merlyn]

I'd take some pictures from a way back to document the lean angle.  That way you can see later if it's changed or is still at about the same angle.  Phoenix palms grow adventitious roots waaaay up the trunk.  There's one near me with roots up to 7-8 feet high:

[SeanK]

A photo from 10+ feet back showing the lean to the side. Perhaps some erosion near the fence?

 The access looks tight, else I'd suggest placing a boulder between the palm and the deck to support the CIDP. No wood structure will support the weight.

[Corky]

On 10/8/2024 at 11:43 PM, Harry’s Palms said:

Most palms put out new roots every year . Some palms can actually put roots out above the soil line and , unless the palm is unsteady or loose , I wouldn’t be concerned. It looks healthy to me. A palm that size would have plenty of far reaching roots to hold it steady . We have super large ones here in my area that don’t budge even in strong storms. Harry

Thanks Harry I appreciate your help. It seems like all is well, I had a tree person take and look and they said similar to most here that it’s putting out new roots and in general they’re very strong rooted trees. They also said so long as the new fronds up top are growing straight up there is no need for worry.

[Corky]

On 10/8/2024 at 6:28 PM, Jonathan said:

Has it always had a bit of a lean or is that pretty recent? If it's new I'd be concerned, if not then would agree with comment above ^^^

If it's growing new roots, it wouldn't hurt to mound a bit of soil around the base so they can grow into it and help stabilise the palm. 

Good luck!

Thanks Jonathan that’s a great idea!

[Corky]

On 10/9/2024 at 2:22 AM, SeanK said:

A photo from 10+ feet back showing the lean to the side. Perhaps some erosion near the fence?

 The access looks tight, else I'd suggest placing a boulder between the palm and the deck to support the CIDP. No wood structure will support the weight.

Hi thanks SeanK a boulder is a good idea too as the tree has definitely got more of a lean in the last 3 years. 

[Corky]

On 10/9/2024 at 12:41 AM, Merlyn said:

I'd take some pictures from a way back to document the lean angle.  That way you can see later if it's changed or is still at about the same angle.  Phoenix palms grow adventitious roots waaaay up the trunk.  There's one near me with roots up to 7-8 feet high:

Hi Merlyn I found a photo from 3 years ago, it had a slight lean but it’s much more so now. But it is very healthy so I’m going to try to keep it happy.

[SeanK]

If you use a boulder, pick a nice one as it will be there 100 years. Also, a flat smooth face where it contacts the CIDP.