[jtdraig]

We had McGowan Landscaping install some landscaping around the back of our house. A nice pindo palm was one of plants installed but it died. McGowan came back and replaced it and the replacement died. They also installed a third pindo and it died. McGowan said that the first batch of pindos were "bad"..it gets interesting. I asked them to come back and remove the dead plant, six weeks later they hadn't done anything so I dug it up. We dug around the area to see if construction debris or anything obvious was there. I even installed a new drainpipe across the back of the house to make sure that excess water wasn't causing the plants to die. Fast forward a few weeks, and my wife visited the Sumter Country Extension Office with a soil sample for testing. The Agent said that there was nothing wrong with the soil but that the first plant must have been infected with some kind of palm disease that rendered that spot no longer suitable for pindo palms..they will never grow there again. So, we are looking at alternatives. I don't bear any ill will toward McGowan but I just found this interesting enough to post for information.