Is my Queen Palm sick?

[Panda]

We live in Houston Texas and have had this queen palm for about 10 years. This year, we have had a few below 0 temp nights. On the trunk of the palm (not the very bottom but about 2 feet up), we noticed that there is an area that is very brittle - almost like a bird pecked on the trunk. We are not sure what this is or if it needs to be treated. Lawn guy picked at it and pieces will just fall off but he didn't know what it was.

I've attached a pic. All the leaves are green - none are yellow. The top looks very healthy. I've been doing a bit of research online and all the illnesses say that the leaves turn yellow but ours is a healthy green color.

Hoping someone here knows if this is something we should be worried about.

[Sabal Steve]

Queens definitely aren't hardy down to 0F. How long ago did you see those temps?

[WestCoastGal]

I don't know, but have seen other's photos here with palm trunk damage so hopefully someone will see your photo and have an educated guess. The damage we had to our mule trunk is different than your tree's.

If I had to venture a guess from what you posted, it would be that the freezing temps affected the flow within the trunk and caused contraction and expansion and started to split the bark. Did you see any sap streaking down on the outside at all? I did notice what looked like a few holes though in the damaged area. That made me think woodpeckers or some wood borers. Any close ups of those areas?

[Panda]

We had 0 temps for a few nights (probably around 4-5) this past winter in the January-February timeframe. But it wasn't really extended since we are in Houston.

There is no sap. At first, I thought it was a woodpecker!

I will post more close up picks.

[PalmatierMeg]

In my experience queens are pretty much toast below 20F. Are you saying you hit 0F?

[Panda]

Sorry, we never hit below 20. We were around 32 degrees - freezing - for a few nights.

[PalmatierMeg]

OK, that's very different. Queens laugh at 32F. I don't have the expertise to tell you what's wrong with yours. Do you see signs of insects boring into the trunk - sawdust, grubs, oozing?

[Panda]

No signs of insects, even after taking pieces off to see if there is anything underneath.

[Alicehunter2000]

Woodpecker + subsequent insect damage or rot......just a guess......looks bad. It also looks (from the picture) like it may have started with woodpecker holes.

[Jim in Los Altos]

We live in Houston Texas and have had this queen palm for about 10 years. This year, we have had a few below 0 temp nights. On the trunk of the palm (not the very bottom but about 2 feet up), we noticed that there is an area that is very brittle - almost like a bird pecked on the trunk. We are not sure what this is or if it needs to be treated. Lawn guy picked at it and pieces will just fall off but he didn't know what it was.

I've attached a pic. All the leaves are green - none are yellow. The top looks very healthy. I've been doing a bit of research online and all the illnesses say that the leaves turn yellow but ours is a healthy green color.

Hoping someone here knows if this is something we should be worried about.

IMG_0606.JPG

Has any tree trimmer ever climbed this palm with spikes on his boots? That could start this process after damage to trunk progresses to tissue death and subsequent decay and flaking off. Queens are very hardy though and I doubt yours is in any danger of decline.

[amazon exotics]

cut it down and plant a "mule"

[Panda]

No one has climbed with spikes. A ladder is always used to trim the palm.

Our lawn guy started taking pieces of it that's why it looks so bad. He thought it was termites which freaked us out. It wasn't that bad initially - just like a woodpecker pecked on it.

No cutting it down!

We did fertilize it on Saturday. Does anyone thing Liquid Copper Fungicide will help?

[Patrick]

I have seen damage like this on queens before. It looks like cold damage to me, and the damage on the trees I've seen showed up several years AFTER a big freeze. How big is your queen?

Think back, has it been through any severe freezes in the years you've had it?

I think it's cold damage that happened long ago that is just now starting to show up. Your tree is still alive, it's not in decline, it just looks bad. Plant a vine like a passion flower to grow up the trunk and cover it up if you want to.

Looking at weather.com, it looks like some of your record lows have gotten pretty low- in the single digits F.

[Cikas]

Queens definitely aren't hardy down to 0F. How long ago did you see those temps?

I think he means 0C ( celsius ), not 0F ( fahrenheit ).

[Panda]

I would say the palm is about 15-18 feet tall. We never got into the single digits. The lowest was probably 32 F for a handful of nights. But we do have a lot of neighbors with palm trees. In fact, we also have Fan Palm, Pineapple Palm, Pygmy Palm, Sago Palm. This is 1 of 4 of our palm trees. Hopefully she is ok.

[Jimbean]

Something like that would typically lead to long term damage to the palm.

How often do you water? What kind of soil do you have?

[Jimbean]

Also, can you post a picture of the whole tree itself?

[Sabal Steve]

Panda, also feel free to check out our cold hardy forum - It provides information on dozens, if not hundereds of palm trees that may grow in your area.

[Panda]

Not sure what soil. We haven't watered as much being it is winter. It has been about one time a week. It's been pretty manual since if it rains, we won't turn on the sprinkler.

I'll post more pics of the entire tree and closer shots of the area. Had to travel for work this week.

[Nursebmf]

Sorry for the bump, but I'm also in the Houston area (Friendswood) and am having the same issue with one of my queens. I'll post pics.

Hope it's not a goner! Any advice would be appreciated!!

It's a mature palm also, est about 30 FT. Worried about structural integrity if (when, rather) we have another hurricane.

Also, crown looks beautiful. No issues there

Edited April 30, 2014 by Nursebmf

[Nursebmf]

Next pic

Edited April 30, 2014 by Nursebmf

[Nursebmf]

Last pic

Edited April 30, 2014 by Nursebmf

[Palmdude]

I would have to replace that or plant another palm right next to it to hide the damage on the trunk, it would drive me nuttier to look at that.

[Pando]

Just my opinion, but I would take it down (the tree with a hole in it). Strong winds may break that tree and blow it over, damaging property or worse. Queens grow so fast that it's not worth the risk.

Incidentally, just a few hours ago today a strong wind gust blew down a large queen at my rental property - it missed the tenant's car by a foot and the roofline by 2 feet. I got really lucky. This was a nice, healthy tree, but apparently roots gave way (as I had planted it a few inches too high about 7 years ago).

[Collectorpalms]

This is a follow up to the previous thread " Palm Trunk Erosion" As you can see numerous people in the area had freeze Damage show up later. People forgot how cold it was during those 2 or 3 events. It was a combination many hours of 18-23F, fierce winds and one day that failed to go above 32 with freezing precip all the way down the coast. That caused the outer layers of tissue to freeze and eventually rot, And depending how bad it is they do snap. I had it happen to one of mine in a thunderstorm. Also, I just recalled, there was a very tall Robusta at the College Station Taco Cabana drive through that snapped the following year or 2.

Edited April 20, 2016 by Collectorpalms

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

27 minutes ago, Collectorpalms said:

This is a follow up to the previous thread " Palm Trunk Erosion" As you can see numerous people in the area had freeze Damage show up later. People forgot how cold it was during those 2 or 3 events. It was a combination many hours of 18-23F, fierce winds and one day that failed to go above 32 with freezing precip all the way down the coast. That caused the outer layers of tissue to freeze and eventually rot, And depending how bad it is they do snap. I had it happen to one of mine in a thunderstorm. Also, I just recalled, there was a very tall Robusta at the College Station Taco Cabana drive through that snapped the following year or 2.

Exactly.  Agreed 100%