HELP YOUR PALMS RECOVER FROM OUR FREEZING WINTER!

I don't think any of us were prepared for the freezing temperatures we experienced. We were not educated in how to prepare our plants for the cold. Live and learn is the motto of life! 411MenifeeValley.com is here now to educate you, to give you the tools you need to keep your palms safe from the cold, as well as helping them recover from their cold injury.

Our palm trees have taken an awful beating from the unusual winter cold. Driving thru the neighborhoods of Menifee, we use to see beautiful flowing green palm fronds fanning through the wind on every street. Those once beautiful green leaves are now dried out blonde and brown dead branches. It's a very sad situation for both the suffering palms and the palm owners. A lot of money and pride goes into beautifying our yards. But it may not be too late to beautify our yards once again with some simple nurturing tasks.

First let's explain to you what the damage is to your palm and what can happen if not treated.

Cold weather slows down the growth of palms, reduces the activity of the roots, and often weakens the plant to the point where a disease can become active and kill the palm. Severe cold damage from frost or freezing temperatures destroy plant tissues and may severely reduce water conduction in the trunk for years. Often the only above-ground portion of a cold-damaged palm that is still alive is the protected bud. As warmer weather returns, primary or secondary plant pathogens often attack weakened plants through damaged tissue.

Palms that were severely damaged during the winter should be watched carefully during the subsequent spring and summer seasons. Damage to embryonic leaves within the bud may not show up until those leaves emerge (as much as six months to one year after the freeze). If leaves emerging during the spring and summer months appear deformed, partially, browned or otherwise abnormal , this may be indicative of this type of damage. In most cases, the palm will grow out of this later in the season.

Freeze damage to conducting tissue in the trunk may limit the ability of the palm to supply water to the canopy of leaves. Unlike typical broad-leafed trees, palms have no ability to regenerate conducting tissue in the trunk. Sudden collapse of some (or even all) of the leaves in the crown during the first periods of high temperature in the spring or summer after a winter freeze may indicate that this type of trunk damage has occurred. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done to remedy this, and loss of the palm will be inevitable.



Recovering Palms from Cold Injury

FIRST OF ALL... DO NOT CUT OFF THEIR FRONDS (LEAVES)!!!!!!

We know you want to, but DON'T! This is the most important step to recovery. Removing the damaged fronds now will keep your palms unprotected from any future cold weather we may have. We are not out of our winter yet! Once you cut off the fronds, the palm will naturally generate new growth. This new growth will be even more susceptible to injury from the cold weather and can further damage the bud of the palm. Also, your palm is currently taking nutrients from these brown leaves. You should wait until mid spring before cutting off any fronds. ONCE AGAIN... DO NOT CUT OFF THEIR FRONDS (LEAVES)!!!!!!

Be sure to keep your palms WELL HYDRATED during their recovery process. You need to FERTILIZE them (adding fertilzer into the surrounding soil) with a fertilizer that is high in MANGANESE . (Not magnesium!!! BUT MANGANESE!!!) Ask your local gardening shop if they carry LUTZ manganese ferterlizer spikes. You can also use a monthly application of a NUTRIENT SPRAY and spray directly into the bud of the tree. (This is the portion of the tree where the fronds come out).

The following formulation has been tested by the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Other products containing similar nutrients should work equally as well: ¼ to ½ teaspoon per gallon S.T.E.M.® (Peter's Soluble Trace Element Mix) Spreader sticker

The above steps will help reduce loss from cold damage and speed up recovery. Nutrient sprays should continue into the summer if the plants are young or newly established in the landscape. Older palms will benefit from a soil application of a granular palm fertilizer in the spring that is repeated every three to four months.

Possible Preventative Action The secondary plant pathogens that cause death of the bud soon after freeze damage are, in most cases, bacteria that are present on healthy palm tissue at low levels, but become a problem only after the damage is received. Consequently, there may be value in applying a preventative spray of fungicidal copper before freezing temperatures are reached in order to reduce these bacteria populations to the lowest levels possible. This strategy has not been tested, however, under controlled conditions. It is evident that palm tissue deficient in one or more essential plant nutrients is less tolerant of exposure to freezing temperatures. Thus, it is important that palms receive a balanced fertilization in late summer or early fall to insure that foliar nutrient levels are near optimum as winter approaches. Contact our local palm dealer, Pacific Palms (888) 90-Palms, located in Lake Elsinore and Perris. They are extremely helpful and informative as well as carry all of the best nutrients and fertilizers for our palms. They carry a beautiful selection of palms thar are resonably priced which are grown right here and already adapted to our Southern California climate. (Well, our typical climate anyway!)

by 411MenifeeValley.Com with some help from Pacific Palms