[KGL Landscaping]

The handsome Sylvester palm has a robust central trunk that is sometimes swollen at the base and lined with diamond-shaped leaf scars. The diamond patterns deepen as the tree ages. A slow-growing palm, the Sylvester can eventually reach up to 20 feet in height. The crown is full and curves attractively in an almost spherical shape. The eye-catching blue-green to silvery-green foliage is composed of many fronds that rise directly from the trunk. Each frond can be up to 10 feet in length. The 18-inch long leaflets are arranged opposite one another, creating a smooth appearance, and the leaf stems are lined with thorns. The creamy white to pale yellow flowers appear on stalks up to three feet long below the crown and are followed by clusters of fruits that are purplish-black when ripe. The dates are one-inch long ovals and contain a single seed. They are edible and can be dried, juiced or made into jams and jellies.

A native of India, the Sylvester is a surprisingly hardy palm, easily withstanding occasional winter temperatures as low as 15 F. They grow beautifully in almost any well-drained soil, even sand. They are drought resistant but grow more quickly and exhibit better color when watered regularly. Try to keep the earth uniformly moist without overwatering. Sylvester palms love The Villages sunshine. Plant them where they will get plenty of direct light and have room to grow. Some pruning may be necessary to remove old fronds, which die away and ring the trunk like a skirt. Remember to wait until the fronds are completely brown and dead before removing them. This is a must, despite the undesirable look of the palm, because of the rich nutrients they hold to feed the central trunk. We hope the information we provided will be beneficial to both you as the homeowner with do it yourself tendencies as well as potential clients looking for in depth information as well as those who have a professional company caring for your palms. There are several types of "the Sylvester" that companies have introduced into the Villages over time. But there is only one we prefer, which is the true Silver Medjool Sylvester Palm. Its the most tried and true original variety with the hardiest standard. Thank you and we hope our tidbits of info will guide you in the right directions when selecting and/or caring for your Sylvester Palm.

[KGL Landscaping]

pic of sylvester

[Serenoa]

Is it advisable to plant one 3 ft from a driveway? Or is it not as close as it appears in the photo?

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by KGL Landscaping

The handsome Sylvester palm has a robust central trunk that is sometimes swollen at the base and lined with diamond-shaped leaf scars. The diamond patterns deepen as the tree ages. A slow-growing palm, the Sylvester can eventually reach up to 20 feet in height. The crown is full and curves attractively in an almost spherical shape. The eye-catching blue-green to silvery-green foliage is composed of many fronds that rise directly from the trunk. Each frond can be up to 10 feet in length. The 18-inch long leaflets are arranged opposite one another, creating a smooth appearance, and the leaf stems are lined with thorns. The creamy white to pale yellow flowers appear on stalks up to three feet long below the crown and are followed by clusters of fruits that are purplish-black when ripe. The dates are one-inch long ovals and contain a single seed. They are edible and can be dried, juiced or made into jams and jellies.

A native of India, the Sylvester is a surprisingly hardy palm, easily withstanding occasional winter temperatures as low as 15 F. They grow beautifully in almost any well-drained soil, even sand. They are drought resistant but grow more quickly and exhibit better color when watered regularly. Try to keep the earth uniformly moist without overwatering. Sylvester palms love The Villages sunshine. Plant them where they will get plenty of direct light and have room to grow. Some pruning may be necessary to remove old fronds, which die away and ring the trunk like a skirt. Remember to wait until the fronds are completely brown and dead before removing them. This is a must, despite the undesirable look of the palm, because of the rich nutrients they hold to feed the central trunk. We hope the information we provided will be beneficial to both you as the homeowner with do it yourself tendencies as well as potential clients looking for in depth information as well as those who have a professional company caring for your palms. There are several types of "the Sylvester" that companies have introduced into the Villages over time. But there is only one we prefer, which is the true Silver Medjool Sylvester Palm. Its the most tried and true original variety with the hardiest standard. Thank you and we hope our tidbits of info will guide you in the right directions when selecting and/or caring for your Sylvester Palm.

Thanks for the great information. We planted a double Sylvester a few years ago. We love the trees. At the time of planting, we had the trunks diamond cut. My question is: do the trunks need to be diamond cut again, and how often, or just left "natural"?

[Cedwards38]

I love the Sylvester too, and had one planted in my front yard with a bubbler installed to keep it watered. This Spring it seems to be turning yellow, as are most of the other Sylvesters in Sanibel, and there are some small brown spots on the leaves of the fronds. I bought some palm fertilizer at the John Deere store in Leesburg and hope that is helping. Should I be worried?

[angiefox10]

Top 10 Palm Tree Care Mistakes

"
Palm Trees are very easy to grow but even easier to kill if you don’t know what you are doing. Here are the most common palm tree care mistakes that owners make:
1. OVER-WATERING a new planted palm. You will notice the palm tree leaves turning brown or yellow and falling off quickly without drying first. To avoid this mistake, you need to make sure the palm soil has good drainage. You can do it by adding 30%-50% sand to the soil mix when you plant your palm. A new planted palm tree should be watered every day for the first week.
2. NOT ENOUGH WATER. If you don’t provide your palm tree with enough water, the tips of the leaves will start turning brown. Most of the palm trees like MOIST and WELL DRAINED soil. To find out if your palm tree is getting enough water, check the moist level of the soil the next day after watering. The soil should be moist down to the root of the palm tree. If you are not sure how to check the moisture level, go here Watering Palm Trees.
3. ROOT DAMAGE. Adding fertilizer to the soil when planting a palm is a common mistake. This is almost guaranteed to kill your palm. Palm tree roots are very fragile, and adding fertilizer so close to the root ball could damage it. A palm tree with damaged roots is more likely to get diseases and die. New planted palms should not be fertilized for the first 3-4 months. Give them some time to establish.
4. FERTILIZER BURN. Burning palm tree with a fertilizer by putting it too close to the trunk. It’s very easy to burn the palm tree trunk. Once the trunk is damaged it is harder for the palm tree to battle diseases. Keep a 2 feet distance from the trunk when fertilizing.
5. NOT FERTILIZING your palm tree. Your palm tree needs nutrients for a healthy growth. We take vitamins every day to be healthy. Palm trees are like us. They need their vitamins to get stronger, grow faster and fight with pests and diseases. You need to fertilize your palm trees during the warm months 4 – 5 times a year. More info about Fertilizing Palm Trees.
6. BAD SOIL. Not providing a palm tree with good soil. Good soil will allow the palm tree root to develop properly, keep the moist so your palm gets enough water and provide good drainage. I always get asked – what is the best soil? Canadian peat moss. Cheap soil = poor results. No one asks me what is the absolutely worst soil you can buy, but I’ll tell you anyway – It is soil mixed with fertilizer.
Every gardener I know said it killed everything in their garden. These days it’s hard to find good soil, because every soil has fertilizer added. I personally use [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O85RX2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=flopaltre-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creative ASIN=B001O85RX2"]Premier Pro-Mix[/ame] because it provides a superior growing environment for palms by increasing drainage and oxygen.
7. WRONG CLIMATE. Planting a palm tree in the climate that is too cold, too hot or too dry. Many gardeners buy palms without checking if they can grow in their climate zone. Tropical palm trees that like warm and humid weather don’t do well in the desert, with dry winds in the summer and cold temperatures in the winter.
Just get a different palm tree. There are so many cold hardy palms that can tolerate drought and cold weather. All you need to do, is to check which palms grow in your weather conditions. You can check it by going to Hardiness Zone Map.
8. SUNBURN. Planting a very young palm tree in the full sun without providing a cover. The palm leaves will start turning yellow and might look colorless in some areas. If you don’t cover your palm, the leaves will begin to dry and turn brown. If your palm tree is from a greenhouse or shade-grown environment, it is NOT USED to full sun. You need to acclimatize it first. For acclimatizing instructions check this article Planting Palm Trees.
9. OVER-PRUNING. I keep seeing articles online that tell people to cut brown part of the leaf because it will save the palm tree from wasting nutrients on the dying leaf. Makes sense right? Wrong. Palm trees need dying leaves for nutrients, and when you cut them off, your palm tree doesn’t like it. Palms move nutrients from the older fronds to the new growth. Palm fronds should be cut when they are as close as possible to the trunk. Do NOT remove any fronds that grow at 45 degree angle or greater. If your palm tree looks like a rooster tail, you over-pruned it.
10. HURRICANE PRUNING. It is not unusual during hurricane season in Florida to get a knock on the door by a team of palm tree professionals, offering to prune your palms. They might say that removing extra weight from your palm tree will save it during hurricane. Makes sense, right? Wrong. Your palm trees need all the leaves they can get to protect the new growing fronds from wind.
I think this covers the most common mistakes. I hope you find this article useful. Let me know if you would like to share your experience or have good tips to add to Palm Care Mistakes. Have a great day!"
~Susan Brian

[gomoho]

Thanks AngieFox - some good stuff

[KGL Landscaping]

Nine times out of ten its always best to hire a professional maintenance company to do an analysis on your palm trees. This way they can adjust the irrigation, pruning, fertilization needs. It is money well spent.

[gomoho]

What would something like that cost - say for one palm?

[tommy steam]

Shop around for these trees ,they are expensive and there can be a difference in price for them.

[gomoho]

Thanks Tommy, but I was referring to the cost of a professional analysis the OP mentioned.

[Serenoa]

to KGL, in case you missed it the first time I asked: Sylvester palms typically develop a crown in the range of 10 to 15' wide, and you said in your original post that "Each frond can be up to 10 feet in length." Isn't the palm in the picture going to eventually hang over the homeowner's driveway a little too much? As slow as sylvesters grow vertically it's not like the crown will be all overhead. I can already see shadows on the driveway. I just don't like seeing palms being planted too close to driveways, sidewalks, houses and then the homeowner eventually becoming unhappy with it & end up having it removed. Wouldn't a sabal palmetto, a queen, or a washy been a better choice for that location? I realize TV lots are small & you often don't have a lot of room to work with, but why plant something that will eventually cause problems?
And in no way am I implying that I haven't made the same mistake myself.

[KGL Landscaping]

Originally Posted by Serenoa

to KGL, in case you missed it the first time I asked: Sylvester palms typically develop a crown in the range of 10 to 15' wide, and you said in your original post that "Each frond can be up to 10 feet in length." Isn't the palm in the picture going to eventually hang over the homeowner's driveway a little too much? As slow as sylvesters grow vertically it's not like the crown will be all overhead. I can already see shadows on the driveway. I just don't like seeing palms being planted too close to driveways, sidewalks, houses and then the homeowner eventually becoming unhappy with it & end up having it removed. Wouldn't a sabal palmetto, a queen, or a washy been a better choice for that location? I realize TV lots are small & you often don't have a lot of room to work with, but why plant something that will eventually cause problems?
And in no way am I implying that I haven't made the same mistake myself.

the Sylvester is not planted only 3 foot away from driveway. It is 8 foot from the house and 5 foot off driveway. As you can see the fronds grow from the center. In less than a year this palm will be properly pruned and a reputable maintenance company will trim the lower fronds up out of the way. Pruning is a must for ALL plants and palms to stimulate growth and to ensure proper shape. This palm will not cause a problem for the homeowner and they actually can stand underneath it or drive the golf cart past it with extra clearance . This was taken into full consideration before planting. Which is why we chose this particular size and height of palm to begin with.

[Serenoa]

Originally Posted by KGL Landscaping

the Sylvester is not planted only 3 foot away from driveway. It is 8 foot from the house and 5 foot off driveway. As you can see the fronds grow from the center. In less than a year this palm will be properly pruned and a reputable maintenance company will trim the lower fronds up out of the way. Pruning is a must for ALL plants and palms to stimulate growth and to ensure proper shape. This palm will not cause a problem for the homeowner and they actually can stand underneath it or drive the golf cart past it with extra clearance . This was taken into full consideration before planting. Which is why we chose this particular size and height of palm to begin with.

Are you kidding me?? You should NEVER cut green healthy fronds off of an
established palm. You DON"T stimulate growth on a palm by pruning. Any reputable, professional landscaper that installs and/or maintains palm trees should know that.

I don't live in TV yet, nor do I even live in Florida, but I've been growing cold hardy palms in Alabama, Georgia & Texas since the late 70s. I do know a little about palms. But still, for anyone that may doubt my word over this landscaper here is a link to a general overview about palm pruning by the Brevard county extension office.

Palm Pruning and Maintenance

[gomoho]

Serenoa - I agree with you. I recently learned you should not snip a palm frond till it is hanging like a skirt because the rest of the tree receives nutrients from the dying frond.
Unfortunately we are looking for well manicured landscapes so they get snipped as soon as they look unsightly or might be in the way.

KGL - interested in your position on this.