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charles_andrew_boyd

Please Help - My palm trees are dying

9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago

Hello Everyone,

I live in Dallas, TX and moved into my current home in March of 2015. There are 3 needle palms in my back yard that I believe were planted in 2006. To date I've done very little to maintain them. I've given them very light trimming down low in the Fall and they receive water in the summer months from my sprinkler system that waters this particular flower bed and my lawn (I'm fairly conservative with my summer watering, but keep my grass healthy with minimal water). We've had a fairly mild winter this year in Dallas, with only 4-5 days with below freezing temperatures - with lots of uncharacteristically warm days getting into the 60s and 70s. We've had some precipitation. I don't feel that these palms have been under/over watered. In winters past they stay very green during the winter. That said, something is causing them to turn brown, and you can see the one on the left is the worst, middle slightly better shape and the one on the right seems to be in the best shape. I'm wondering if I'm dealing with disease or malnutrition. If anyone has any insight on what I can do to save these palms it would be greatly appreciated!

Charlie Boyd



Comments (11)

  • 9 years ago

    those look like Mediterranean Fan Palms (Chamaerops humilis), not Needle palms (Rhaphidophyllum hysterix) to me. In any event, something is very wrong obviously. Given the WARMTH of this season, this is not cold damage. I doubt it is moisture related as well. Is there a pool area off to the side? Is it chlorinated?

  • 9 years ago

    Hard for me to think it's weather related either as the last 2 winters we had lots of ice and snow and it didn't phase them. It is a pool nearby, that uses chlorine but I'm not having any leaking issues, very unlikely pool water is coming in contact with the palms. Also, chlorine content is very very low in the winter. Could it be disease?

  • 9 years ago

    I would check the dirt underneath bark to see how dry your soils is.

  • 9 years ago

    Is your thought that it is too wet?

  • 9 years ago

    No, too dry.

  • 9 years ago

    Checked the soil, plenty moist and I feel like we've had plenty of rainfall this fall and winter to supply them with adequate water. Should I try and fertilizer or fungus / disease treatment?

  • 9 years ago

    NO FERTILIZER, will only make a bad situation, worse. I don't know what is the matter with your palm..., most palms are not really subject to disease and most are moderately pest resistant. I can only think that there is something in your soil that it harming it. Were any pesticides or other chemicals used in the area?

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago
    1. If soil has plenty of moisture then there may be chemical imbalance. Do any water or drainage pipes run near the palms? Any possibility of pets or wildlife urinating on them? How about an act of vandalism? Has anyone been on your property that you had a disagreement with or acted suspiciously? Can you check the soil pH of the worse looking one?
  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    No odd drainage or pipes nearby, we get a lot of rabbits in our backyard but we don't own any pets and we can rule out vandalism as well, no one enters my back yard but my family. I also dont use any pesticides and fertalize the lawn with scotts fertalizer (just fertalizer, no weed n feed). I'll check the Ph and report back.

  • 9 years ago

    I own a digital soil meter and tested the soil all around the worst palm. Ph is low measuring 3.5 to 4.5 in most places.

  • 9 years ago

    That looks like freeze damage to me. Freeze damage doesn't usually show up immediately, sometimes it'll start showing up several days after. I checked the weather for Dallas and it looks like on the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th of January, Dallas had low temperatures of 27F, 21F. 17F and 24F. On the 7th, the high was 27F, which means it was below freezing for at least 24 hours. I think 17 degrees is pretty close to the temperature limit for chamaerops. You posted this on the 13th, which seems like an appropriate time frame for freeze damage to show.

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