What's with the palm trees??
 

Noticed a lot of brown, rust, yellow and dying palm trees on peoples properties south of RT 466A. I know that taking care of palm trees and making sure that they are healthy and grow is rather difficult but...if you spend around $500 or so to plant a large palm tree and see that happen would make me quite upset. Nice healthy palms make our place beautiful. Is it the watering, the fertilier used, the Villages soil, lousy palm in the first place? Who knows - just saying.

To really find out, take a picture of the palm and history of how it's watered and fed to the UF extension ofc plant clinic at the 466 Annex Monday and Thurs. 9 to 12 and 1 to 3.

My amateur guess is a nutrient deficiency. IFAS sites say an 8-2-12 fertilizer is best, and Lesco, which is hard to find around here, has good micronutrients.

Here's a common deficiency that causes yellowing...magnesium.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep266

The soil in my area is very poor....mostly sand and clay......1% top soil. The little rain we got today just ran off into the storm drains......nothing to hold the water.

If you are talking about Pinellas Place I believe many of those folks unfortunately bought from the guy off the truck. It has not been a nice experience for those folks.

Most likely a potassium or magnesium deficiency.

Palm Tree Potassium Deficiency

Could be the very cold snaps we had over this last winter. Some of the palms the landscape guys sell are not tolerant of the cold. If you go to the master Gardner clinics they will tell you what palms are best suited for this area.

Almost always a magnesium deficiency. Go to Home Depot for a palm specific fertilizer:
Attachment 42667

Really? Thanks.

Epsom Salts is Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO4). Magnesium and Sulfur are good fertilizers for a lot of plants, flowers, trees and grass. We use it often to feed our rose bushes :-)

UF says avoid the use of epsom salts as a stand alone fertilizer:
http://sumter.ifas.ufl.edu/FFL/docum...chureprint.pdf
so check this out for balance if you want to...

Take a look here: PP-54/PP100: Ganoderma Butt Rot of Palms

Was told by a landscape company that many of the palm trees get fungus that causes them to rot. Queen Palms, which the villages is full of, should not be planted this far north in Florida.......no cure.
Have to cut down the queen palms the landscaper paid $50 each and sold for $200+.

The biggest problem the Palm trees are experiencing is the drought. The trees need a lot of water which they are not getting. If you have Palms that are yellowing you might want to supplement your irragation system. I found our trees came back quickly once I started using the hose daily.

First I would like to know where you can buy a large , healthy palm tree for $500 or so. A large healthy palm is going to cost well over $500. So the problem may be who / where they purchased the palms

I agree. Many in the newer neighborhoods look bad. When first transplanted they go thru a bit of shock. The need A LOT of water in the first year. Once the fronds turn yellow, they will not green up again but the rest of the tree will stop turning yellow.
Proper fertilizer and adaquate water are very important.

Actually palms only require a lot of water when newly planted, once established they don't require much water. Think of the palms growing in the desert or even on a beach. Over watering is not good for a palm

I was at the UF plant clinic today and confirmed that the above is the most likely cause and fertilizer cure for palm yellowing. Epsom salts are less effective because that's on one nutrient and it quickly leaches. Lesco 8-2-12 plus 4 fertilizer is slow release, contains micronutrients and is also quite fine for turf. Other brands of 8-2-12 are available at big box stores.

Lesco is available at John Deere Landscape supply, Leesburg or from Fertilizer Direct, who will bring the fertilizer to your door, as cheaply as it's available retail, so I'm told. Big box stores have similar but not equal formulations of fertilizers. Palms are slow growers and slow responders to intervention. It may take up to a year to fully recover.

According to Master Gardeners, under watering of established palms is not likely the cause of yellowing where irrigation and/or rain are regular.

That is pretty much the condition in most of FL.

A lot of Northerners spend a lot of money trying to have that lush lawn and lush vegetation.

Just keep in mind we are all trying to get grass and plant to grow on a sand dune.....most of what is sold is for initial eye appeal with little regard for what is and is not local to the area.

Minimize the grass and maximize the local native plants.