Landscape Horticulture -- Palms
- I have been removing the orange seed-like portions from the top of my sago plant. Will this hurt the plant or affect its growth next spring?
- I have a beautiful 20-year old Canary Island date palm that looks sick. The top fronds are flat instead of pointing up. Why are they declining?
- I heard there is a blight affecting the sagos with devastating results. Can I do anything to protect my plants?
- I have a majesty palm that is growing indoors under good light. It is growing, but it develops brown tips. What can I do to keep the palm green?
- We planted areca palms around our property that look yellow. If I fertilize them with a palm food, how long will it take them to look green?
- We moved into a house a few years ago and have a problem with the growths of two well-established sagos turning brown each spring. We tried, Epsom salts, but they still turn brown. What is wrong?
- My sagos are covered with a white moldlike covering that appears to be killing the plants. What can we do to control the problem?
- Will I harm queen palms if I cut off the seed pods? They are making a mess on my driveway.
- It seems our sago is having a baby. It's 3 years old and sprouting another sago from the base. What should we do?
- We moved into a house a few years ago and have a problem with the growths of two well-established sagos turning brown each spring. We tried, Epsom salts, but they still turn brown. What is wrong?
I have been removing the orange seed-like portions from the top of my sago plant. Will this hurt the plant or affect its growth next spring?
Sago seeds that have just matured are found in the brown ball-like structure in the center of female plants. Removing the seed does not affect the plant. Some gardeners like to use the seeds to start new sagos. The brown seed-producing structure that remains, shatters as new growth begins in the spring.
I have a beautiful 20-year old Canary Island date palm that looks sick. The top fronds are flat instead of pointing up. Why are they declining?
Canary Island date palms are susceptible to a giant palm weevil that feeds within the bud and sometimes the trunk tissue. The palm has only one bud in the top, and when it is destroyed the palm is lost.
Recently transplanted Canary Island date palms are most likely to be damaged by the weevils that are almost an inch long, and brown to black in color. The stress of cultural problems or construction may also affect palms. The only control is to prevent infestations with a spray of synthetic pyrethroid insecticide labeled for use with ornamental plants. The spray may be applied whenever the palm is under stress.
I heard there is a blight affecting the sagos with devastating results. Can I do anything to protect my plants?
Don't get too alarmed until you see the white snow like covering over your sago fronds caused by the cycad scale that is spreading up the Florida peninsula. It's already in the central and southern portions of the state and heading north to wherever sagos are growing.
Cold winter weather seems to have slowed it down a little, but affected specimens are starting to appear at plant clinics. Your best control is frequently checking the sagos for signs of the insects and treating as needed.
Presently an oil spray appears to give the best control. Apply the spray weekly to affected plants, treating the upper and lower surfaces of leaves and also the trunk. At week four use a strong stream of water to wash the insect residue from the plants. If the infestation continues, repeat oil applications as needed following label instructions.
I have a majesty palm that is growing indoors under good light. It is growing, but it develops brown tips. What can I do to keep the palm green?
Majesty palms are not the best indoor plants. They need high light levels to grow well and keep from turning brown. You also need to check the soil to prevent drying, and use a palm fertilizer to provide the nutrients needed for growth.
Perhaps the best idea is to move the palm outdoors to a sunny location where you can water frequently as the surface soil begins to dry. Also apply a palm fertilizer monthly to the surface of the soil or use a slow-release palm fertilizer following label instructions. Your palm should reward you with plenty of green fronds.
We planted areca palms around our property that look yellow. If I fertilize them with a palm food, how long will it take them to look green?
A good feeding may help green up these palms in a week or two, but they always will have a natural yellowish tinge. Check to make sure the root balls are staying moist. If the water runs around the outside of the root ball, the plants may begin to yellow and decline because of a lack of moisture.
You may have to build 4 to 6-inch berms around the edge of the root balls to help water move into the root zone. At each watering, thoroughly moisten the root ball and the surrounding soil until the palms are established.
Also, the areca palm is not reliably cold hardy, so be ready to protect the plantings from frosts and freezing temperatures this winter.
We moved into a house a few years ago and have a problem with the growths of two well-established sagos turning brown each spring. We tried, Epsom salts, but they still turn brown. What is wrong?
Epsom salts may be good for your feet after pacing about pondering this problem, but it's not going to help keep the new green sago shoots from turning straw brown. This crystalline material is a source of magnesium, and what you need is manganese. Sagos have a major need for manganese, and when it is deficient, they develop the new brown foliage often called frizzle top.
Stop by your local garden center, and obtain a packet of manganese sulfate. Follow the label instructions to apply this one-time treatment to the surface of the soil. It takes a bit for the sago to resume normal growth. This spring, shoots still may be affected, but they may not be quite as brown.
My sagos are covered with a white moldlike covering that appears to be killing the plants. What can we do to control the problem?
Entire communities are infested with cycad scales which are attacking mainly king sagos, but they may affect other related plants. Entire limbs, trunks and fruiting portions are covered with the small white insects that suck juices from the plants. Control is needed; otherwise, the pest will destroy the plants.
Use an oil spray available from your garden center to obtain control. If you wish, a homemade oil treatment can be made by combining 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil with 2 tablespoons of mild dish detergent in a gallon of water. Keep homemade mixtures agitated to prevent the ingredients from separating.
Apply an oil spray once a week for three weeks. Be sure to wet all portions of the plants. At week four, wash the scale residues from the plants with a strong stream of water. If the scale returns, repeat the treatment.
Yellow to brown fronds can be removed. Try to keep as many green leaves as possible on the plant to conti nue food production that supports new growth.
Will I harm queen palms if I cut off the seed pods? They are making a mess on my driveway.
The yellow to orange and slightly fleshy fruits can stain the driveway. Your palm won't mind if you cut off the flower- or seed-producing stalks. You will likely need a tall ladder or pole pruner to do a good job and trim the unwanted portions back into the tops of the palms.
It seems our sago is having a baby. It's 3 years old and sprouting another sago from the base. What should we do?
Sagos have been around since the dinosaurs and need little help with the birthing of a new family member. You have options when it comes to the youngsters. You can leave them to grow another plant fromthe base and form a clump of sagos or the new plants can be removed when a foot or so tall.
Taking the youngster from its mother is not always easy. Usually it has to be pried from the trunk with a flat-bladed shovel. When removed, it's best to give this new plant a start in a container of potting soil. Set the planted container in a filtered sun location to allow the plant to make stress-free growth. When rooted in the pot, the plant can be added to the palm or shared with friends.
We moved into a house a few years ago and have a problem with the growths of two well-established sagos turning brown each spring. We tried, Epsom salts, but they still turn brown. What is wrong?
Epsom salts may be good for your feet after pacing about pondering this problem, but it's not going to help keep the new green sago shoots from turning straw brown. This crystalline material is a source of magnesium, and what you need is manganese. Sagos have a major need for manganese, and when it is deficient, they develop the new brown foliage often called frizzle top.
Stop by your local garden center, and obtain a packet of manganese sulfate. Follow the label instructions to apply this one-time treatment to the surface of the soil. It takes a bit for the sago to resume normal growth. This spring, shoots still may be affected, but they may not be quite as brown.