We’re northerners
who moved into a new house in a growing retirement community in
central Florida. We admired the lovely queens swaying in the gentle
breeze in our neighborhood...we planted nine. Did we even think to
check on their suitability for our area and their pros and cons...no!

I faithfully
fertilized quarterly with the recommended 8-2-12-4. They were green,
they grew. I was going to catch the first pod my husband cut away so
it wouldn’t ruin the flowers below. Luckily for me I chickened out –
the pods are VERY heavy. Soon a step ladder wasn’t quite tall
enough, so we bought a bigger ladder. I continued to fertilize...and
they grew.

Then the bigger
ladder wasn’t tall enough and we began to hire the fellows roaming
the neighborhood with their chainsaws. And I fertilized, and the
queens grew, and they faithfully spewed out more seed pods.

And we watched the
nimble young men climb up the trunks with their chainsaws and we
began to fear for their safety and our liability.

And we called a
local tree service and they cut down all nine palms...and we breathed
a sigh of relief.

And now we see the
tree service pull up to neighboring homes and watch more queens being
removed.

And we console
ourselves with the thought that we helped the economy by buying the
queens, buying the fertilizer, buying the saws and ladders, hiring
the young men, and lastly buying the services of the tree removal
company.

ive got 4 queens in my front yard one is ill but the rest are well after time they do drop seeds if you don't cut them off but fast growing I wouldn't say . in the photo I have 3 royal palms and a oddball palm small one far right/ the smaller royal was the same size as the oddball on the far right I used to have to push the fronds aside as I walked down to the canal. this is 6 years later there huge

I have had many queens. I second what Eric has already said. It is a beautiful tree, but it is not a self cleaning tree so you do have to keep it trimmed up to keep it looking nice. If you don't mind doing that or paying someone to do that, it's not a big deal. I have some that came with my current house that tower over the second story, and I pay $35 per tree from a licensed and insured tree trimmer. Usually only has to be done once a year

There tiny coconuts hurt when you step on them.

To all: So the problem is mostly the messy seeds they drop. And having to have them "trimmed up." What does that mean? What do they trim - the inflorescence and the old fronds? Mine are in areas where seed dropping wont harm anything. No one walks in those areas. I have the fertilizer for them but wont encourage excessive growth. They will most likely not need much watering as they're just this side of the drain field. The sand stays slightly damp due to capillarity. Our lot is 1/2 acre.

juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl - What do you plan to replace the Queens with?

The palms did provide welcome shade, especially for the lanai. With that in mind, we added an island bed in both the front and backyards. After researching various small tree choices, we settled on Nachez crepe myrtles and planted one in each bed. They have lovely bark, white flowers, are disease resistant, grow well in this area, and will eventually grow into small shade trees suitable for our lot size.

Sorry...typo. That should be Natchez.

greenthumbs, nobody may walk in that area, but the seeds will sprout and you'll soon has a mess of little tiny palms coming up everywhere, because squirrels love to bury the seeds all over the yard.

I like my Queens. They grow in my front lawn. I let the seeds fall but they do not seed because the lawn guy mows every week. I got a King seedling from a friend and stuck it with the Queens. Thought it was a cute idea!

One King with three Queens! LOL.

Well the King seedling grew 6 ft in 3 years. I am amazed at the fast growth.

Jane

I'm surprised your lawn guy hasn't chewed you out about the seeds. Mine asked me to pick them up because they dull his mower blades.

The lawn in that area will be mowed regularly so seedlings shouldn't be a problem. In fact I just may leave that area alone and let nature reclaim it. My neighbor on the south side did that with the entire end of their property and it actually looks pretty good. And less mowing. BTW, how large are it's seeds when they fall?

Here's my Queens on my front lawn. I love them and I've never watered. Planted a seedling King next to them.

Here's the baby King

I have a huge Date Palm in the same area. You can see it in the background.

nice...