Weekly Garden Tip

September 17, 2006

By Gene Joyner, Extension Agent
Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service

Many types of tropical palms are a favorite in local landscapes because of the tropical look they can give. There are over 1,200 types of palms grown in Florida and large landscape nurseries and big garden centers generally have a number of choices.

Some palms make large specimens that don’t fit well in tiny landscapes. Others stay quite small and make good container plants for a porch, screen room or patio or inside the home itself.

Palms generally have few problems if they are fertilized regularly with a good quality palm fertilizer. The worst thing to happen to palms is a catastrophic event such as a hurricane which can totally destroy them. Barring that though most palms should be in the landscape for many years with very few problems and they don’t seem to have as many insect and disease pests as many other types of landscapes plantings.

This time of year palms are looking very well because of our frequent rainfall, but if you forgot to fertilize recently it’s not too late to go out and get some good palm fertilizer and start a good feeding program.

If you see new growth on palms coming out shortened brown and frizzled in appearance, this is a nutrient deficiency of manganese which can be corrected through using a good fertilizer containing manganese. If you see palm fronds being chewed, occasionally some caterpillars will eat palm leaves, but this is a minor problem for most landscapers. If you do have it serious enough to want to treat, Dipel or Sevin generally provide effective control.

This time of year many people like to prepare their landscapes for potential hurricanes, but don’t be guilty of over pruning your palms. Never take off green or healthy fronds, only brown, yellowing, or discolored ones.

Removing too many fronds makes palms more susceptible to hurricane damage and the so called hurricane cut or hurricane pruning done in many communities actually leaves palms at greater risk and slows down their growth dramatically.

If you’d like printed information on palm care, the Palm Beach County Extension Service has a number of free publications relating to palms that can be picked up at their offices during normal business hours. You can also get questions about palm care or problems answered free over the phone by contacting the Extension Service. Dial 233-1750 in the north and central county area or 276-1260 in the south county area.