We have several Royal Palms in our front and back yard on the island, and some survived the winter just fine, but sure enough, the ones with the most northern exposure are looking a little sad right now.
A Message from R. Lewis Landscaping
What I am seeing in our neighborhood
landscapes that need help are two Palm
Tree varieties that are not looking good
from this winter, the Royal Palm and the
Foxtail Palm. Again, the temperature
differences between Padre Island
and the mainland resulted in little or
no damage on the island versus much
more damage in Laguna Vista and Bay
View area. Both the Royal and the
Foxtail palms are palms that can tolerate
a maximum low temperature of 28
degrees. Remember the last of the three
major cold fronts that we had this winter
had lows that hovered at 29 to
35 degrees for over a two
day period. The results
are browned palm
fronds that are going
to be around for a
while.
On the island I
am seeing new
growth emerge
and the brown
growth is
disappearing.
Over in Laguna
Vista most of these
palms will recover,
but will definitely need to
be given T.L.C. throughout this
spring and early summer. What to
do? Well, like everything else that
had damage, keep them watered
like normal. Leave the brown
fronds on the tree until the tree
has recovered. If the brown
fronds bother you, then cut them back by 50 percent and they will
look much better. As your Royal and
Foxtail palms recover and put on a flush
of new fronds, the old brown growth
will lie over and make room for the new
growth to emerge. At this point a gentle
tug will dislodge the old growth.
In regards to fertilizer, these palm
varieties need to be fed in spring (now),
summer (June) and fall (September) and
use a palm tree fertilizer that provides
not just the three numbers of Nitrogen,
Phosphorous and Potassium, but include
trace elements of Calcium Magnesium
and Sulfur. Here locally, you will find
several palm tree fertilizers. The one
I suggest is the Espoma
Palm-Tone. This is a
great organic
fertilizer that
works very well
on Royal and
Foxtail palms.
Another product
that will benefit
these palms is
Epsom Salt.
Royal, Foxtail,
and Queen Palms
in this area suffer
from a deficiency of
Magnesium and the
Epsom Salt (magnesium
sulfate) is the remedy. You can apply
this at the same time you fertilize. On
the back of most packages of Epsom
Salt it will have the dosage for plants.
Plenty of warm sunshine and T.L.C.
will restore these palm trees to their
normal beauty.
R. Lewis
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