Q. We had 3 healthy palms in our yard for many years. Just
recently, we had to have one removed, but were not able to determine why it
died.
palms in the base as I suggested, I don’t see a problem. They look healthy.
Just some notes, I see some common bermudagrass growing at the base where the
irrigation is occurring. Let me just make some general comments. Palms are
typically an oasis plant which means they like to have a lot of water nearby
but don’t do well if the roots are constantly wet. They like to be able to tap into
an available water supply.
Palms use a lot of water considering how skinny they
are and our perception that they are a desert plant. That’s why I mentioned
they are really an oasis plant rather than a desert plant. Some desert plants
will grow with limited rainfall out in the middle of the desert while some
others will grow close to a perennial river bed where they get water from
flooding and that water then disappears for a long time. We call these riparian
species like Mesquite.
So a true desert plant will have ways of growing in the
desert and surviving during long periods of drought. They have several
different mechanisms that they can use to survive. Palms on the other hand
don’t have a good mechanism for surviving drought. That’s why we don’t see them
growing in the desert where Mesquites grow or out in the middle of the desert
with no apparent water supply. When you see palms growing in the desert, here
you are almost certain to find a fairly permanent water source nearby.
irrigate palms they should be watered thoroughly and the soil allowed to dry
fairly well but not too dry. You will not treat them the same way you would
treat mesquites and acacias for instance or even cacti. So make sure that your
water supply is giving them an abundance when they are watered, perhaps 15 to
20 gallons, and then don’t water them again until the soil begins drying down.
In the summer this might mean irrigations twice a week but in the winter time
this could be twice a month.
In between these two seasons you will vary the
frequency of when you water but not the amount that you water. You will still
water with the same gallons each time but you will change how often you apply
it based upon the seasons.
your palms look healthy.