Need advice regarding Palm trees

[rexxfan]

As a n00b from the north, pretty much the only trees I know how to deal with are maple trees and now I am confronted with palms. In particular palms that seem fond of having branches turn brown and fall over at random. Is this something that I could deal with myself (if I had a ladder and a saw, which I don't yet) or do I need a tree service of some sort? If the latter, any recommendations? My so-called all-in-one service company (with whom I have no major issues so far) does everything except trees. Here's a pic of the latest two branches to give up the ghost:

https://goo.gl/photos/AHms3Wa7GZK1ZBT88

Also, as to forum etiquette, would there have been a better section to post this to? Thank you kindly for any advice you can share.
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bc

[Boomer]

When we bought our house two years ago, I was rather enamored with the queen palms. I thought the fronds were lovely to see and I liked hearing the breeze whispering through them.

I schlepped 40 pound bags of fertilizer from tree to tree, twice a year, maybe even three times. I was a misguided Ohio girl who somehow had it in her head the fertilizer would keep those bottom fronds green.

Ohhhhh, how those queen palms grew and grew. I had learned that queen palms here are about a hundred miles too far north and were brought in to give us unsuspecting Midwesterners a dose of a postcard Florida. But ours were looking so good that I was beginning to succumb to hubris.

Then came reality. Those bottom fronds turning yellow are part of the queen's plan. And those fronds get farther out of reach and people have to arrive with chainsaws and ladders........and then I saw the SEEDPODS! :eek: Those have to come down, too. You will not believe how big they can get.

NOW, I am so over those trees. (And their days are looking more and more numbered.)

[DangeloInspections]

What you have is a queen palm, as Boomer stated. Of course, folks are quite opinionated about their palms......My opinion is just that, an opinion. I am NOT a Palm expert....

I believe that queen palms are one of the least expensive palms. This is why you see so many. Landscapers often plant them WAY too close to one's home and driveways. Pests, (read rats, squirrels and snakes) can sometimes get up into these palms. Squirrels can jump onto your roof and start sharpening their teeth the lead flashing of your vent pipes, thus leaving you with a hole that rain comes into your attic, etc. Not good.

Boomer is also correct about the seed pods. They could easily fall off and dent a roof or break a windshield.

The cheaper palms grow fast and high. Then you need to pay someone to trim them. If they are not trimmed correctly it can hurt the palm. Some (if not all) palms do not necessarily need trimming.....the fronds will have a "beard-like" look and eventually fall off. Animals can sometimes like this area to live in.

I personally like the slower growing palms, like the Pindo (Jelly) palm and the bismark palm. They grow slow and most of the time can be trimmed easily by yourself.

I have three Washingtonian Palms in front of my home. They were planted about 25 years ago. They are now too tall for me to do myself. I sold my 32 foot extension ladder. My tree guy trims them once or twice a year for around 20-25 bucks each.

I knew it was the right time to get rid of the 32' ladder and hire this out when a corn snake wrapped itself around the tree guy's arm when he was up there. He laughed and brought it down with him. If this happened to me I think I would have screamed like a girl, jumped off the ladder, broke my legs and would have had to give up doing inspections for awhile. Not a good thing. As a guy that does everything myself, this was hard for me to give up, but the snake convinced me it was the right thing to do.

Someday I might remove those three Washingtonians and replace it with a beautiful Bismark Palm. It's on my bucket list....

[Ecuadog]

... My tree guy trims them once or twice a year for around 20-25 bucks each. ...

I really like your posts, Frank. They are always helpful and informative. Would you share the name and number of your tree guy? I have a tall Washintonian that needs some attention.

[rexxfan]

So then I gather from the very engaging and colorful stories that I'd be wise to find myself a tree guy then? If you know of a good one, please do share. I've got a number of trees on the property (only one palm thank goodness ;-) and having someone to look after them all probably makes sense.
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bc

[Villageswimmer]

As a n00b from the north, pretty much the only trees I know how to deal with are maple trees and now I am confronted with palms. In particular palms that seem fond of having branches turn brown and fall over at random. Is this something that I could deal with myself (if I had a ladder and a saw, which I don't yet) or do I need a tree service of some sort? If the latter, any recommendations? My so-called all-in-one service company (with whom I have no major issues so far) does everything except trees. Here's a pic of the latest two branches to give up the ghost:

https://goo.gl/photos/AHms3Wa7GZK1ZBT88

Also, as to forum etiquette, would there have been a better section to post this to? Thank you kindly for any advice you can share.
--
bc


Just looking at your photo, the Palm could be fine. Bottom branches turn brown, die and often self prune. This is normal. You can prune the brown (only) branches off.

That said, it looks like a queen. It's still pretty small. If it were mine, I'd get rid of it now while it's still easy to do so. Queens have a lot of problems here. Just MHO. You could replace it with a palm that's happier here like a Sylvester or pindo.

[DangeloInspections]

I really like your posts, Frank. They are always helpful and informative. Would you share the name and number of your tree guy? I have a tall Washintonian that needs some attention.

His name is Chad Mako.....his number is 352-303-6181. He takes pride on being VERY knowledgeable about trees, etc..... I am not sure he will come to The Villages, as he lives south of here. While my wife thinks I live in The Villages because I am here every day....I actually live just a bit south of The Villages.....so I could not say for sure. I'm guessing that perhaps folks that are happy with their tree guy here will jump in and give good suggestions on who IS good.....Oh, and thank you for the kind words....I am always happy to help.

Frank

[raynan]

My husband bought a pole saw and trims the bottom fronds and pods on queen palms himself. Some on a 6ft ladder. When it gets to the point of going any higher than that, we'll call someone to do it. Not worth getting hurt.

[JoMar]

We use Abel Perez, A Greener Source. (352) 396-8579 Cell. Affiliated with Tomas Landscaping

[rde3036]

I had queen palms at my first house and they are a very pretty tree. The only problem is that they grow up to fifty feet in height which makes trimming an issue.

In the new house we've had Mule palms planted. These are a sterile hybrid of a Queen palm and a Pindo palm. They have fronds silmilar to a queen palm but have short trunks and only grow to 25-30 feet tall. I think the Mule palms look nicer than the Queens.

RE

[rexxfan]

My husband bought a pole saw and trims the bottom fronds and pods on queen palms himself. Some on a 6ft ladder. When it gets to the point of going any higher than that, we'll call someone to do it. Not worth getting hurt.

Hm, a pole saw, sounds like a smart (and economical) solution. Thank you very much. I'll look into that. As we're just getting established here we've been hit with a bunch of big expenses all at once and I'd rather not have to deal with another one just now if I can avoid it.
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bc

[Ecuadog]

His name is Chad Mako.....his number is 352-303-6181. He takes pride on being VERY knowledgeable about trees, etc..... I am not sure he will come to The Villages, as he lives south of here. While my wife thinks I live in The Villages because I am here every day....I actually live just a bit south of The Villages.....so I could not say for sure. I'm guessing that perhaps folks that are happy with their tree guy here will jump in and give good suggestions on who IS good.....Oh, and thank you for the kind words....I am always happy to help.

Frank

Thank you very much, Frank.

[leftyf]

I HAD 4 Queen palms about 40 feet tall. Impossible and too expensive to take care of. They were also expensive to get rid of. They are like the Magnolia tree, I love to see them on somebody else's lot.

[rexxfan]

I HAD 4 Queen palms about 40 feet tall. Impossible and too expensive to take care of. They were also expensive to get rid of. They are like the Magnolia tree, I love to see them on somebody else's lot.

Heh, I've got a magnolia on the other side of the driveway ;-)
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bc

[jebartle]

We trimmed all of our Palms TWO FEET below ground level... messy, high maintenance and the bugs love them.

[Retiring]

I didn't know there was such a variety of palms. I looked at several pictures and I think the Royal Palm is my favorite.

Are there many Royal Palms in TV?

[Cedwards38]

I'm a big fan of the Sylvester Palm. Not as tall as the Queen, but more full and far less messy. I love the way they look.
All the palms need fertilizer. The best is LESCO 8-2-12. Comes in granules and easy to apply. Just take a bucket full and toss it on the ground around your tree every other month or so. It really works.
Call these people, Fertilizer Direct at 352-205-7810 and they will deliver a large bag right to your garage for $50.

[villagetinker]

We just put in 2 Sylvester and 2 Canary palms.

[big guy]

As a n00b from the north, pretty much the only trees I know how to deal with are maple trees and now I am confronted with palms. In particular palms that seem fond of having branches turn brown and fall over at random. Is this something that I could deal with myself (if I had a ladder and a saw, which I don't yet) or do I need a tree service of some sort? If the latter, any recommendations? My so-called all-in-one service company (with whom I have no major issues so far) does everything except trees. Here's a pic of the latest two branches to give up the ghost:

https://goo.gl/photos/AHms3Wa7GZK1ZBT88

Also, as to forum etiquette, would there have been a better section to post this to? Thank you kindly for any advice you can share.
--
bc

The queen palm is relatively cheap, not for zone 9a but you can enjoy it until it dies. Generally, it gets too cold here for Queens and for Bismarks. Palms are actually grasses and need fronds cut relatively often. Do not cut the fronds if there is any green in it. Let it go until it is all brown. The green leaves make "food" for the palm. Fertilize only with Lesco 8/2/12 + 4 or BGI Palm Gain 8/2/12 +4 in March, June and September. The bags will tell you how much. It's better to err on the side of not enough that to apply too much. I still prune mine and I am a 72 year old woman. I use a 17' extension pole pruner. Before I prune a palm, I spray 70% isopropol alcohol on the saw part. If someone else is doing the work for me, I spray their saw. My guy has accepted it. Good luck. And you can stop at the government annex on the corner of Morse and 466 on Mondays to get info from the Master Gardeners about pruning palms.

[Topspinmo]

Depends on how you are with general maintenance and yard clean up? That looks like small or medium queen. Not that hard to maintain. If you keep on top of it. Would cut the seed pods out as soon as they bloom open. Cut the brown Fonds off leaving short stem, eventually they will fall over or fall off.

In about 5 or 10 years the tree will get too tall for you maybe too old to maintain it. That's when I would have someone pruned or taken out. Reguardless the Fonds and seed pods are very heavy. You don't want one falling on you!

[butterfly sue]

We planted Washingtonian palms. Told they are hardier than Queen palms and slow growers. After almost 9 yrs we tore them out. With houses here having irrigation the palm trees end up getting too much water and grow faster because of it. Ours were 25' and costly to remove. Why did we remove them? Couldn't be trimmed anymore w/o a cherry picker $$$, tallest trees in neighborhood (lightning concerns), took awhile but now had messy seed pods, and was a very windy day when branch fell off and tore neighbors side window screen. We then worried about branch falling and scratching our car up or the neighbors if they are parked in driveway. Rat was on roof of house one time when trimmers out and they scared it so it fell off the roof onto one of the landscapers feet who let out a yell. Rat climbed up palm to roof I guess.

So I encourage you to do some homework and figure out what tree(s) you really want planted in your yards. Look in the older sections of TV and see how tall other trees are etc. if anything take your time before acting as there is no rush

One last thing do not plant trees too close together. I have been noticing that lately. Give them room

[Shimpy]

I didn't know there was such a variety of palms. I looked at several pictures and I think the Royal Palm is my favorite.

Are there many Royal Palms in TV?

Nope, nor are there any coconut palms. We are too far north here and you'd have to go to south Florida to see them. Most people, when they think of Florida, think of the post cards that show the coconut palms on the beach. There is a big difference in climate between north central Florida and south of Okeechobee. The warm Golf Stream comes within a few miles of the coast in south Florida then turns back out to sea and this effects the climate greatly.

[Retiring]

Nope, nor are there any coconut palms. We are too far north here and you'd have to go to south Florida to see them. Most people, when they think of Florida, think of the post cards that show the coconut palms on the beach. There is a big difference in climate between north central Florida and south of Okeechobee. The warm Golf Stream comes within a few miles of the coast in south Florida then turns back out to sea and this effects the climate greatly.

Thank you Les.

[virgind]

Best thing to do is get rid of your palm trees they really aren't native up here and most are rat havens. And black ants. We had coconut palms in the Keys and they suck. You will find that people from south Florida do not have any palms in their yard.