Dypsis lutescens is a large palm tree that can grow up to 20ft tall and 15ft wide. It tree grows in clusters forming think clumps of many stems. The Areca Palm has a smooth silver-green trunks, which are topped with arching feather shaped fronds.

There are usually around six to egith yellow-green leaves on long petioles curve upwards creating a butterfly look. That is why Areca Palm is often referred to as a Butterfly Palm. The Areca Palm has pinnate type leaves that can grow up to 5-7ft long. Each leaf has around 90-110 leaflets arranged in a V shape.

Mature palms have ringed cane-like trunks which has similar characteristics to the Bamboo Palm. The Areca Palm is also often called Golden Cane Palm because of the yellow colored petioles.

During late spring or early summer, the Areca Palm produces small bright yellow flowers that grow from below the leaves. It has male and female flowers on the same inflorescence. After few months of blooming, flowers are followed by light green to yellow fruits that turn yellow-orange when ripe. Fruits have oval shape and are around 1 inch in diameter. Although they look pretty, they are not edible.

The Areca Palm is very popular indoor plant that can also be used outdoors to create a natural privacy wall or privacy fence.

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The most important and the most vulnerable part of the palm tree is the bud. Bud is where new leaves emerge. If the bud tissue of the palm has NOT been severely damaged, the palm should recover and start producing new leaves during the following summer. New emerging leaves might be deformed, partially brown or have other abnormalities. It might take from 6 months to one year from the freeze for the palm tree to recover. If the bud tissue has been severely damaged, the palm might not survive.

Step 1: Determine level of injury

First, you need to determine the level of injury. To see how extensive the damage is, gently pull newly emerging spear. Sometimes, new spear is very loose and pulls out easily. Check to see if the bud is still alive. If it is green, the palm tree can be saved.

Step 2: Pruning

Next, prune only dead branches and remove all the dying leaves around the bud, so it can dry out. Don’t cut back leaves with brown tips, since palms still extracts nutrients for new leaves from dying fronds. Be careful not to over-prune. The more green leaves you remove, the less food the palm can produce. Pruning too many leaves will only add to the stress.

Step 3: Liquid Copper

Now, we need to protect the palm from bacterial and fungi attack. Spray the palm with liquid Copper Fungicide. After the stress from the freeze, palm trees become more vulnerable to bacterial and fungal infections. Copper Fungicide has a unique formula that helps fight both. It should be applied no more than twice, 10 days between each application. Drench the bud of the palm with liquid copper using the force of the spray to clean it. This should reduce the chances of bud rot due to microorganisms.

Applying Copper Fungicide around the base of the palm will suppress development of the root diseases. One of the products I found to be very effective is Bonide Products Copper Fungicide. It works very well against fungi and bacterial.  Since it’s made from natural product you can use it for organic gardening.

Step 4: Fertilizing

Few words about fertilizing. Do NOT fertilize your palm trees right away, wait until late summer or fall. Most people start fertilizing as soon as they see brown leaves. Fertilizer is NOT plant food. Despite it saying “Palm Food” or “Plant Food” on the labels, fertilizer is a mixture of nutrients used to make soil more fertile and promote plant growth. Plants produce their own food, using water, carbon dioxide and solar energy. Think of the fertilizers as vitamin supplements. You can’t make a sick, diseased, malnourished person healthy with vitamins. When you start fertilizing your sick palm tree, you are asking it to start growing, which creates even more stress on the poor tree. Wait till late summer or spring and apply slow release fertilizer. For more fertilizing tips read my Fertilizing Palm Trees article.

Step 5:  Freeze Protection Spray

If there are more freezing days coming your way and you worry about palm trees getting even more damage, protect it by spraying it with Freeze Pruf. This amazing water-based, eco-safe spray enhances the plant’s natural mechanisms to resist freeze damage, shielding it from ice crystal damage, and increasing its ability to survive cold temperatures by reducing the freezing point of water inside the tissues of the plant.

It actually improves healthy plants’ natural cold tolerance by approximately 2° to 9° F. It’s like moving your temperature zone 200 miles south! The biodegradable formula is designed to resist washing away by rain or snow and application lasts up to 4 weeks with normal precipitation. Freeze Pruf is very easy to apply and is safe for kids and pets.

To save cold-damaged palm tree you need to have a lot of patience. Don’t give up and remember that sometimes the damage is so severe, there is nothing you can do. By the end of spring you will have an idea weather you need to replace your palm.

Related articles:

• Palm Tree Cold Protection

Usually, palm tree owners, that live in the warm climates, don’t need to worry about cold weather. But with unpredictable winters in the last couple of years, freezing temperatures don’t come as a surprise.

Cold weather can effect palm trees in different ways. First, freeze can damage the palm tissue in the trunk, which may limit the ability of the palm to provide leaves with enough water. Unfortunately, palm trees can’t regenerate conducting tissue and will die after a while. Cold temperatures can also slow down the root activity and growth rate of the palm. Here is an article on How to Save Cold Damaged Palm Tree.

If your palm tree haven’t been severely damaged, you need to help it with the recovery and also prepare for the next winter. There are number of things you can do to prepare and protect your palm tree during cold temperatures:

1. Freeze Protecting Spray

This step is probably the most important. To protect my palm trees from sudden freeze, I spray them with Freeze Pruf. This amazing water-based, eco-safe spray enhances the plant’s natural mechanisms to resist freeze damage, shielding it from ice crystal damage, and increasing its ability to survive cold temperatures by reducing the freezing point of water inside the tissues of the plant.

It actually improves healthy plants’ natural cold tolerance by approximately 2° to 9° F. It’s like moving your temperature zone 200 miles south! The biodegradable formula is designed to resist washing away by rain or snow and application lasts up to 4 weeks with normal precipitation. Freeze Pruf is very easy to apply and is safe for kids and pets. So, if you have time only for one thing, spray your palms with FreezePruf.

2. Planting Spot

If you are planting a new palm tree, find a spot that has wind protection. Winter winds get very cold causing the most damage.

3. Fertilizing

Palm tissue deficient in nutrients is less cold tolerant. Thus, it is important for the palm tree to receive right amount of fertilizer. Fertilization insures optimum nutrient levels preparing palms for cold winter weather. Fertilize your palms during late summer or early fall.

4. Copper Fungicide Spray

Stressed by cold temperatures, palm trees can become vulnerable to bacterial and fungal infections. To give a palm tree additional protection and cold tolerance, spray it with “copper fungicide”. It has a unique formula that helps fight both bacteria and fungi. When you are expecting cold weather, spray your palm with liquid cooper few days in advance.

One of the products I found to be very effective is Bonide Products Copper Fungicide. It works very well against fungi and bacterial.  Since it’s made from natural product you can use it for organic gardening.

5. Apply Mulch

Mulch around the base of the palm will protect the roots from cold damage. Add about 3 -4 inches of organic mulch around the palm. I use Scotts Organic Classic Black Mulch because it’s made from natural forest products, not waste wood and it lasts for over a year. Great product.

6. Warm Cover

During cold days cover it is a good idea to cover your palm. If you palm tree is small, you can cover it with a weighted down box or a blanket. Don’t let the tree sit under the cover for more than 3 days in a row. After 3 days, uncover your palm during the day to provide it with some sunlight. If it is a large palm tree, use a blanket, burlap or other warm material. Wrap it around the trunk and secure it with a duck tape. You should remove all the covers once the weather is warm again. Avoid using a plastic for covering, as it may traps moisture underneath that will freeze and cause more damage.

7. Heater and Light Bulbs

Another way to warm up your palm, is to place a small heater underneath the cover or put some light bulbs. Be careful, when using any source of heat under the cover. It should not touching the material nor the tree. You can also, use Christmas lights around the trunk of the palm to keep it warm.

I hope these tips will help you prepare your palm trees for cold weather. Let me know if you have any questions. ~Susan

Related articles:

• How to Save Cold Damaged Palm Tree
• Cold Hardy Palms

One mealybug will not hurt your plant, but they multiply quickly and if a plant is badly affected, the mealybugs may overwhelm the plant. Mealybugs can kill your palm by sucking all the juices out of the plant.

Recommended Treatment

One of the things you can do is to rub your plant with a mix of soapy water and alcohol. Make a solution of 1 part alcohol to 1 part water with some dish soap mixed in, wash down the entire palm. This should slow them down. To get rid of mealybugs completely I recommend spraying your palm with Safer Brand Insect Killing Soap.This spray always worked for me on all kind of scale insects. It’s organic formula will help you get rid of mealybugs but won’t harm beneficial insects. Hope this helps. ~ Susan

This disease can be caused by various fungal pathogens, Phytophthora species and Thielaviopsis species, as well as by bacterial pathogens. While bud rot tends to occur after a tropical storm or periods of excessive rain, bacterial bud rot tends to occur after the bud has been damaged by cold weather. More »

Ganoderma Root

This disease is caused by the fungus, Ganoderma zonatu , which can infect many types of palm trees. The first symptom of infection is the withering and drooping of older fronds. More »

False Smut

False smut or Graphiola leaf spot is caused by Graphiola species. This disease is most common in areas of high humidity. Small, black, wart-like bodies are seen, often with yellow filaments protruding from the middle of the raised spots. More »

Leaf Spots

Leaf infections called “leafspots” are caused by a variety of fungi and some bacteria on many trees. Leaf spots can be circular to elongated, brown and possibly oily in appearance. The spots will vary in size and color depending on the plant, the organism involved and the stage of development. More »

Scale

If you found a lot of little circular, brown colored scales on your palm tree you are in trouble. It’s called “palm leaf scales”. You would never guess but palm leaf scales are actually a mature female small insect. They literally are just a small headless, legless bump and once the female has matured, it is unable to move from where it has planted itself. More »

Mealybugs

They belong to a family of unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm climates. Mealybug females feed on plant sap, normally in roots or other crevices. They attach themselves to the plant and secrete a powdery wax layer (therefore the name mealybug) used for protection while they suck the plant juices. The males on the other hand, are short-lived as they do not feed at all as adults and only live to fertilize the females. More »

Palm Trees usually are described by it’s appearance and cold tolerance. They can be separated into few major types depending on their trunk, leaf structure, growth rate, size, and cold tolerance. Aside from these basic segregations, palms also differ in salt and drought tolerance, leaf color, fruit and flower production.

Palm Cold Tolerance

Southern Palm Tree Type. Southern palm trees like warm tropical weather and can’t tolerate cold lower than 32-35F. They are perfect for landscapes in USDA Zones 9b-11. Well established palms can tolerate low temperatures for a short period of time but will get damaged if the cold temperatures last for more than one day. Better established palm can withstand/tolerate lower temperatures.

A lot of people think that palm trees can grow only in warm climates like Florida and don’t realize that you can also grow palm trees in other 40 states.

Northern Palm Tree Type. Northern palm trees, also called cold hardy palms, can tolerate low temperatures down to 10-15F. There are also very cold hardy palms that can survive even lower temperatures. The Windmill Palm can tolerate cold down to 5F, the Saw Palmetto Palm can tolerate cold down to 0F. The Needle Palm is one of the most cold hardiest palms that can tolerate cold down to -5F. If you live in the USDA zones 7a-8b, you should be able to find a palm tree cold hardy enough to grow in your area. Here is a list of most popular cold hardy palm trees.

Palm Growth Rate and Size

Palm trees growth rate and size vary. Palm trees like European Fan Palm, Pygmy Date Palm Tree, and Lady Palm Tree, slowly grow up to 10ft tall with a spread of 5ft wide. These palms are considered to be small palm trees, also known as dwarf palm trees. They are perfect for small landscapes and can be used as a focal point or under larger trees.

Fast growing palms like King Palm, Carpentaria Palm and Queen Palm can very quickly get to 40-50ft tall. Some palm trees, like Royal Palm, can grow up to 100ft tall with a spread of 50ft wide. How tall and how fast palm tree grows also dependence on the environment. Palm trees like humid warm weather and will grow faster in tropical climates like FL than in South Carolina. You can speed up palm’s growth rate by applying fertilizer.

Palm Tree Trunk

Some palms have solitary trunk others multi-trunk.

Multi-trunk Palm Tree Type. Multi-trunk palms usually are small shrubby plants, like Needle Palm and Lady Palm, that have multiple stems growing right from the ground.

Solitary Palm Tree Type. Single trunk palms can be also broken down into two types those that have a smooth trunk covered with old leaf scars and those that have trunk covered with old leaf bases in a criss-cross pattern. Some of the single trunk palms have a beautiful cownshaft at the top of the trunk. Crownshaft is a leaf base formation that is created by the overlapping of the fronds. It is usually green but sometimes can be a different color like purple in Mount Lewis King Palm or bright orange in Lipstick Palm.

Palm Tree Fronds

Palm leaves can have two main leaf structures, pinnate and palmate.

Pinnate Palm Tree Type. Pinnate are feathery fronds shaped like birds feathers. Separate leaflets extend from the central leaf stem’s side. Some popular palms that have pinnate type leaves are Areca Palm, Bottle Palm and Pygmy Date Palm.

Palmate Palm Tree Type. Palmate are fan shaped fronds that stretched out from a central point like fingers. They are usually supported by long stems that are covered with sharp spines. Some popular palms with palmate shaped fronds are Bismarck Palm, Chinese Fan Palm, Mexican Fan Palm, and Windmill Palm. Small fan palms are great for creating a striking focal point in your landscape.

Palm tree types listed above belong to basic groups that can be narrowed down into smaller subgroups based on other criteria like salt, drought, and wind tolerance, fruit and flower production, and light requirements. You should consider these main factors when buying a palm tree for your garden. Choosing right palm for your environment will ensure a healthy and beautiful growth.

Real Palm Trees
realpalmtrees.com
520 W. Green St.
Englewood, FL

This nursery is at the top of my list because it has a great variety of most popular palm trees and also some rare and exotic palms. They have excellent web site which helps them sell a lot of palm trees online. The best part is, when you buy online, you can get palm trees at a discounted price, plus free shipping. Another reason why I like this nursery is because each palm comes with Certificate of Authenticity which guarantees highest quality palm tree. All of their palm trees are properly grown and acclimated to the correct hardiness zone to insure success in planting. Real Palm Trees offers 100% satisfaction guarantee or you money back. Before going to any other nurseries I would recommend visiting them first.

Excalibur Fruit Trees
5200 Fearnley Road
Lake Worth, Florida 33467-5650
Phone: (561) 969-6988
Fax: (561) 641-3028

Excalibur Fruit Trees is of course is one of my favorite nurseries. This place has it all and in any size starting from tiny to fully grown plants. People get amazed when they visit this nursery with the selection of tropical trees and palms they offer. The owner of the nursery, Richard Wilson collects plants from all over the world, so with every visit you will discover something new. Definitely visit them if you live close by.

Top Tropicals
47770 Bermont Rd,
Punta Gorda, FL 33982
Phone: 941-575-6987

They have a wide selection of tropical plants, not as wide as Excalibur, but if you are looking for a popular palm trees they got it. The prices are a little bit higher and no free shipping like Real Palm Trees, but quality of the palm trees is good. The owners Mike and Tatiana, originally from Russia, are very friendly.

Exotic Palms
rarepalm.com
25000 S.W. 152nd Avenue
Miami, Florida 33032
Phone: 305-246-3125

This palm tree nursery has a good selection of  tropical plants and palm trees.  They don’t sell their palm trees online and don’t offer free shipping. You have to call for the price. Steve, the owner of the nursery is very knowledgeable and will help you pick the right palm tree for your garden.

Excelsa Gardens
12839 25th Street North
Loxahatchee, Florida 33470
Phone: 1-800-649-5348
Fax: (561) 790-3197

This nursery has a small selection of palm trees but if you live in the area it’s worth stopping by.

Eldon Accessories
6654 NE 25th Avenue
Ocala, Florida 34479
Phone: 800-685-1533

This is a medium size nursery located in Ocala, FL. They don’t have large variety of palms trees but offer good customer service. You don’t need to make an appointment to stop by to look at plants. They also do a good job shipping plants, although shipping is not free.

I am updating this list of Palm Tree Nurseries on the regular basis. A lot of great nurseries have been closed in the last few years. Let me know if you can recommend a good Florida Palm Tree Nursery and I’ll add it to my site.

Please let me know if you have any images of the Majesty Palm, so I can add them to my site. Good quality photos will help others with their palm tree selection.

Back to Majesty Palm Tree main page.

Phoenix dactylifera can grow up to 100ft tall with a spread up to 30 ft wide. It has a single broad, gray trunk covered with ornamental diamond-shaped pattern of leaf scars. Trunk is about 16 inches in diameter. The date palm trunk is vertical, cylindrical and columnar of the same girth all the way up. The trunk is covered for several years with the bases of the old dry fronds, making it rough, but with age the trunk becomes smoother with visible cicatrices of these bases.

About 100-120 large fronds form a thick canopy up to 30 ft wide. Leaves are greenish or bluish gray, pinnate, feather-like, with about 150 pointed, 1-2 ft long leaflets arranged in V-shape ranks that run the length of the petiole. Leaflets are modified near the base into sharp 3-4 in thorns. It requires some maintenance since old frond bases persist on the trunk if not removed.

The True Date Palm produces white or yellow flowers that grow in clusters supported by 4ft long inflorescence. True Date Palm is dioecious, male and female flowers are born on separate plants. Male flowers are white and female flowers are cream and yellow. Only female plants produce dates and only if a male tree is nearby.

Flowers are followed by edible fruit, called ‘dates’ that grow in clusters among the leaves. The True Date Palms will fruit at approximately 8 years of age. Green dates turn orange red or dark-brown, depending on variety, as they ripe. Dates are oval-cylindrical, 1.5 – 3 inches 3–7 cm long, and 0.5 – 1 inches in diameter with a single seed inside, that is 0.5 inches long.

Dates have high nutritional value. They are important source of food for people in the Asia, Africa, South America, and Middle East. Sometimes dates are used to produce ice-creams, syrups, alcohol drinks, syrups, vinegars and alcohol drinks. Seeds are used to make soaps and cosmetics.

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Dypsis decaryi can grow up to 50ft tall but usually is about 30ft. It has single smooth, upright, trunk, 9-13 inches in diameter, brownish-gray, ringed by the scars from the fallen fronds. Overlapping leaf-bases grow from three distinct points of the trunk, forming a triangle, hence the name Triangle Palm.

Leaves are pinnate, or feather-like, arching almost upright, about 10ft long and 3ft wide, segmented, bluish-green above and beneath, supported by brown petiole covered in a whitish bloom.

The Triangle Palm produces yellowish green flowers that are held by 4 ft long branched petioles emerging from the lower leaves. The Triangle Palm is monoecious, male and female flower are born on the same plant. Flowers are followed by round black inedible fruit about 1 inch in diameter. This beautiful palm blooms all year long, thus making it especially colorful.

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