Home › Forums › WSB Reader Recommendations › Dying palm trees?
- This topic has 17 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 2 years, 11 months ago by ungenda.
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April 7, 2009 at 2:55 am #590412
treeloverMemberOur lovely palm trees are looking awful after our harsh winter. We can’t tell if they’re gonners for sure or if they’ll bounce back. Can anyone recommend a “tree doctor” or someone who could come take a look?
April 7, 2009 at 3:14 am #663648
JustSarahParticipant… I think this is a good example of a non-native species being, well, non-native. Palm trees aren’t supposed to thrive in the PNW. It kinda weirds me out when I pass houses around here with SoCal style landscaping! Good luck, though. I don’t wish death on any tree. ;-)
April 7, 2009 at 3:43 am #663649
treeloverMemberI agree with you. We inherited them when we bought our house and now we want them to live. Not sure how they made it this long…
April 7, 2009 at 8:04 am #663650
transplantellaParticipantThe immigrant plant that I really hate as a perpetual eyesore here is yuccas.
This is a desert plant. Seattle not desert. Yuccas always look sick and yellow and spindly here. And there seem to be so many of them! Who decided it was a good idea to plant yuccas all over Seattle?
April 7, 2009 at 12:23 pm #663651
ToddinWestwoodMemberI almost posted the exact same thing the other day. We have two. One looks terrible. I was going to wait it out. I really dont want to lose them.
April 7, 2009 at 4:16 pm #663652
WSMomParticipantI can tell you why I have a Yucca in my yard. It started out as a 4 inch spiky addition to a pot of pansy’s and never died. After three or four years surviving in a pot, I threw it in the ground and now it’s as tall as I am. That’s one tough plant!
April 7, 2009 at 6:08 pm #663653
CrazyDogLadyMemberOh my gosh, we inherited a Yucca in our yard, and we dug the whole thing out — so we thought! — last year, and this year it’s like nothing ever changed. It doesn’t look spindly at all; in fact, it seems our front yard gets enough sun all summer that the yucca thinks it’s in the dessert. Other than a voodoo curse, not sure how to kill it.
The palm trees, though — our next-door neighbor has one and it looks awful, like a big stick poking up out of the ground. It is showing signs of sprouting a few new blades from the top, though, at least as far as I can tell. Still, it’s not a pleasant thing to look at.
April 7, 2009 at 10:42 pm #663654April 7, 2009 at 11:57 pm #663655
AlcinaParticipanttreelover, you might try talking with Palms Northwest in Auburn.
http://www.palmsnorthwest.com/ Most palms took a bit of a beating last winter due to the weather, but the two most commonly grown palms here–Chinese windmill and Mediterranean fan are hardy to 5 and 0 degrees respectively http://www.palmsnorthwest.com/palm_trees.html
April 8, 2009 at 1:22 am #663656
ToddinWestwoodMemberCan we leave this a palm tree thread? Thanks.
Mine is like this one:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1012/717427937_187430fba6.jpg?v=0
Does anyoe know this species name???
April 8, 2009 at 2:09 am #663657
AlcinaParticipantTodd, what you have is a cordyline, not a palm.
Many cordylines lost all their leaves last winter and all that is left is the trunk. They won’t sprout new leaves on the top of the trunk if all are the leaves are gone, but what will likely happen is there will be new sprouts come up from the roots this summer, sort of making 3 or 4 new trunks, so they aren’t really dead.
The cordylines we have growing here are usually cordyline australis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordyline_australis
I love and grow cordylines so if you have more questions, let me know.
April 8, 2009 at 2:21 am #663658
ToddinWestwoodMemberThanks. I have noticed others around W.S. in the same shape as mine.
April 8, 2009 at 3:21 am #663659
treeloverMemberOur Chinese Windmill still looks great-yes it is hearty. Maybe the other “palms” are actually cordylines….the fronds look the same but they are all up and down the trunk-no outgrowing branches-I will need to take and post photos. None of the fronds/leaves fell out; just turned brown. Thanks for the input WSBloggers.
April 8, 2009 at 3:32 am #663660
miwsParticipantTodd, I’m glad that Alcina had the correct answer for you, because I was gonna guess they were Full Sail Ale trees! ;-)
Mike
April 8, 2009 at 3:33 am #663661
GenHillOneParticipantah, mystery solved…I’ve seen these leafless poles around – one yard and one parking strip I can think of – and couldn’t quite grasp the landscaping design…bet they are these cordylines. Boy, they really didn’t like the winter because I couldn’t even tell they were plants!
April 9, 2009 at 12:23 am #663662
ToddinWestwoodMemberOk, what should we do with it? Should we strip the dead leaves off and leave the stump until itsprouts a new shoot? Or should I take it down to ground level to promote new growth?
TIA
April 13, 2009 at 5:50 pm #663663
AlcinaParticipantTodd, sorry for my slow response. Yes, pull of any dead leaves that pull off easily, starting at the bottom of the leaf area. Whether or not you need to cut down the truck depends upon whether or not the very top leaves at the crown are still alive. If they are alive they will be firmly attached with some green still in the leaves. If so, just clean up the dead leaves that pull off easily and it will likely start growing new leaves from the crown in time.
If all the crown leaves are brown and pull off easily, it won’t get more leaves and the trunk should be cut down. Cut it off at an angle a few inches above the ground. It will likely sprout 3 or so new trunks surrounding the old one as the weather warms up.
May 15, 2022 at 2:59 pm #1034543
ungendaParticipantAlcina, are you still growing cordylines? I had two creating the perfect angular entry to my art deco themed house, but last winter got them (at least everything above ground). Looking for 2+ mature-ish specimens to swap in there while the others hopefully recover through the years.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/aHsSw7U9R4yaK8d97 -
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