Satakentia trunk split advice

[Satbch]

Just notice the trunk has a split in it after getting a ton of rain last week. Any advice as to what to do is greatly appreciated. 

[V-Cycle]

Seal it with some pruning paint, I would.  It should be fine.

[richnorm]

I just leave them alone when this happens (with other sp) and they seem to come through unscathed.  But it is scary!  Good luck.

[Satbch]

In one day the split has increased in length quite a bit and is noticeably deeper. I looked at the pruning paint at Lowes and it was basically just a black rubber spray. I wasn't excited about spraying this on the trunk because I'm sure it won't ever come off.

[Satbch]

Talked to the grower that I bought it from. He said he lost a Satakentia in his yard from the same problem and said mine is probably toast. He feels it's from the large amount of rain we got back about a week or 2 ago here after being dry over the last few months during our dry winter. He said that he feels this species is fragile unless it's moisture exposure is consistent.

So maybe lots of rain followed by a week of warm 80+ degree weather and the palm goes into hulk mode growth which can be death to Satakentia. 

This palm has a mate down from it in the same planter that looks fine. It hasn't grown as much as the one with the split I think because it doesn't get as much direct sun. So the question is do I put a different Palm in to replace it or roll the dice with another Satakentia. This species is one is my favorite Palms in my yard. I stare at it from my kitchen table every time I eat. Kinda bummed. 

[Ken Johnson]

I would bet the palm will not die. I can see from looking at it that it has suffered before and I agree the rain caused it to swell and split.

Some palm gardens benefit from constant watering. In Florida we can get growth all year so fertilizer is important in the winter too.

[Satbch]

Thanks for the encouraging words Ken. It gives me some hope. I've been using Harrell's pro fertilizer every 2 months for the last couple years including the slower growing season.

Good news is there is no progression in the size of the split since yesterday. I'll continue to hit it with fungicide every day for the next week or so.

Ill post another pic in a few days. 

[Satbch]

There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of change since Sunday. 

[Dave-Vero]

I've had smaller splits on Carpentaria, never on the two Satakentias.   I concur with expert advice above.  Satakentia is from a climate with fairly constant rain, so our dry winters might be difficult.  

[Steve Mac]

Whenever I see that happen to any of my plants, I always, always, use an old aboriginal trick, and

go inside and have a beer, and I haven't lost a plant yet.

 

[Really full garden]

This is the split on my Satakentia. It is like the Grand Canyon. It measures 2.5 inches deep. It has had this split from the time it began to form a trunk. This has been this way for 7-8 years.

It is going to hit 101F here today and with my sandy soil ( 95% sand 5% soil) it is impossible to keep this palm well watered.

[Palm Tree Jim]

6 hours ago, gtsteve said:

Whenever I see that happen to any of my plants, I always, always, use an old aboriginal trick, and

go inside and have a beer, and I haven't lost a plant yet.

 

Great advice!

[Satbch]

Well I've had a few beers as advised and the Satakentia is still kicking. A spear opened recently so the beers must have helped. The trunk split however is becoming closer to the crater you've got scottgt and has definitely moved further up the the crown. 

[Satbch]

Still kicking!

[Dave-Vero]

And I worry about our Florida climate getting too dry or too cold.  Your palm is somehow putting out very healthy looking leaves.  Don't worry about the crownshaft being green rather than purplish.  With mine, the color took a decade to begin developing.  

 

[Satbch]

Thanks Dave. I have 2 of these about 10 ft apart from each other. They are such great growers for me and always look good. They don't seem to show any issues from our well sprinkler water, the salt spray from the brackish lagoon 50 ft away (ocean spray is about 1 mile away) or the constant sea breeze. I was so surprised also they didn't show much signs from the 100 mph winds we had last October from Hurricane Matthew. I just need to make sure to keep these guys better watered after our rain slows down Nov-May. 

[Satbch]

The trunk split is now contained in the trunk and doesn’t extend to the crown.  I’m in the clear. Irma ripped a few fronds off and but other than that it looking pretty good with its scar. Our temps dipped down to 37 a couple weeks ago without any noticible damage but we rebounded with lows in the 70’s last week. No noticeable cold damage. Just need to make sure she gets plenty of water and fertilizer during our dry season. 

[Tracy S]

Who knew beer had curative properties for palms?

The palm looks really healthy. Good work.

[Satbch]

Beer seems to cure most of life’s woes :)

[Tracy S]

Agreed!

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Good to hear it pulled through.  

[Kim]

Thanks for posting the follow up pic -- your palm looks rough & tough!    I like the "beer cure" and plan to use that in the future.

[Satbch]

It is doing just fine 5 years later and the Satakentias are one of my favorites in my yard. Split was contained to the bottom of the trunk.

Edited August 11, 2022 by Satbch

[kinzyjr]

@Satbch Thank you for sharing some good news and nice photos

[Satbch]

Really cool to see how much trunk they've grown in the last 4 year.

[3 Milesfrom Gulf of Mexico]

That's impressive!

[Kim]

Incredible growth! Your palm looks fantastic! I had forgotten about this thread. Back to beer...! Looks spectacular.

[palmfriend]

Hi,

I was a bit concerned when I checked this threat the first time years ago but it seems that it is pulling through. 

Living in Okinawa with countless numbers of this species even on our smaller island I was not able to give any 

advice since I have never seen this phenomenon over here. It is probably as described above - too much rain after

a long dry season - the palm might have difficulties to handle it...

However, thank you for your update - beautiful palms!

 

Lars

 

[Satbch]

That definitely seems to be the case here on the east central Florida coast Lars. We can get pretty dry in January to mid February when our temps drop. I think they need consistency with water especially when they are establishing their roots here because their growth rate (although slows some during the cold) is pretty consistent.  It's also been 10+ years since we've really seen temps much into the mid 30's.

Love these palms!

Ryan