What's going to happen to my queen palm.

[sfooz]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this site and was looking to get some help. Firstly, I'm 21 years old and I have loved palms ever since I can remember. I just recently moved outside of Houston Texas from new orleans(regretfully the northern side). So I decided to get my first palm tree ever andI have been obsessed with it ever since. It is a queen palm and I bought it at home depot with about 7 or 8 feet tall leaves. I planted it in early July and it grew to about 11feet(guess). I know that's late to plant it but it seemed fine. However of course I planted it just in time for the coldest damn winter ever, I think we even saw some teens at night. Anyways I bought frost blankets that I wrapped it up in during the cold days(which was quite a task considering it's size). The last time I took the blanket off(I took them off when it got warmer) one of the branches just snapped down. I don't know if I wrapped it too tight or if it was to cold but at first I thought it was fine because it was green but I didn't know it took time to show freeze damage . the lower leaves were completely fried after a week. The upper fronds were left with green leaves on the base. Well not knowing that it would stress the tree I cut all the brown off. Just down to where there were green leaves on the upper fronds. It looks terrible like a bad poodle cut. But anyways the trunk is still green and it has green leaves. But the leaf that is coming out is all brown I even looked down as far as I could and its just brown. I've read about spear pull so I tried tugging but the spear won't come out it's in there like a rock. It's growing out a little along with the other fronds getting longer. Is there hope for this tree or do y'all think it doomed? I can provide pictures if needed. Thanks so much for any help.

Sam

[John Case]

Pictures would definitely help; but from your description, I think the palm will do fine given your attention to it during the winter. There are a couple of others here on PalTalk in the Houston area who have a ton of palms that can be grown there. Hopefully one of them will be able to hook you up.

Welcome to the merry group!

[Collectorpalms]

I do not live too far from spring and the lows and temps were about the same. I had about 25 all sizes to 20-30ft and I have nine that are alive I think. Some had green left, but when i cut them at the base I could smell rotten stench. I had some in a non heated greenhouse that might have died, just from the prolonged cold, and not anything below 30! Try syagrus Litoralis ( which i have available) or the Butia x syagrus Hybrids. They are the more long term palm for our area. However, the queens are cheap, and most store fronts have already replaced their dead looking ones. ( no lessons learned). Not sure about home owners though, the box stores are NOT selling them out as fast as before and their prices on same sizes doubled from last season on a lot of them.

Ryan Fuller

ryan@collectorpalms.com

Edited April 15, 2010 by Collectorpalms

[sfooz]

I do not live too far from spring and the lows and temps were about the same. I had about 25 all sizes to 20-30ft and I have nine that are alive I think. Some had green left, but when i cut them at the base I could smell rotten stench. I had some in a non heated greenhouse that might have died, just from the prolonged cold, and not anything below 30! Try syagrus Litoralis ( which i have available) or the Butia x syagrus Hybrids. They are the more long term palm for our area. However, the queens are cheap, and most store fronts have already replaced their dead looking ones. ( no lessons learned). Not sure about home owners though, the box stores are NOT selling them out as fast as before and their prices on same sizes doubled from last season on a lot of them.

Ryan Fuller

ryan@collectorpalms.com

Cool thanks, Im actually in the woodlands. just didnt think people would know it. but when u say cut them at the base what do you mean?? how do i do that??

[Collectorpalms]

Cool thanks, Im actually in the woodlands. just didnt think people would know it. but when u say cut them at the base what do you mean?? how do i do that??

[NBTX11]

All the queen palms around here appear dead. It will be interesting to see how many of them survive. I chopped mine down a few weeks ago. Would it have survived? Don't know, but I got tired of messing with it. I'm too impatient to wait and find out.

[Collectorpalms]

I'm too impatient too, I have many more plants that I want to plant now. However, I didnt get around to removing a 5 to 7 ft Mule and a Syagrus Litoralis that had spear pull, and spotty fronds ( not defoliated), and just the last two days a new spear appeared on both, so I guess tthey are staying. However, I still have 3 queens that I have not gotten around to that have about 10 ft of trunk, there is no signs of life. The alive ones have two or three stunted leaves already

[NorthHoustonPalm]

Cool thanks, Im actually in the woodlands. just didnt think people would know it. but when u say cut them at the base what do you mean?? how do i do that??

I chainsawed some of them at their base to get rid of them, and found that yes indead they were dead, they stunk. However, if you still have hope then wait.

[AggiePalms]

Hi there! Glad you found this site, some people on here have amazing knowledge. I lived in the College Station to Galveston area for years, and while your Syagrus looks lousy, I think it will do fine...in a few months. You say it has a green trunk and some green on leaves...leave it for a while and see. Here in coastal GA a few years ago I had a queen a bit bigger than yours that went through successive nights down to 14. It totally defoliated. Not a prettty sight. A few months later (July or so) it finally put out a new spear, stunted but alive. It was the only Queen to survive in this area, due to some pink wrapped insulation. The next summer, a year and a half after the freeze, it finally was back to doing fine, and now it has at least 15 ft of clear trunk. If yours looks somewhat alive, then keep poodling the dead fronds but don't give up. I just don't cut down palms unless they are really, truly dead, and I do not think yours is. Good luck!

[NBTX11]

I took a ride around town to look at the queen palms, and I would say at least 50, possibly 60% of the local queens now seem to be pushing green spears. Several large ones are obviously recovering. Low was about 16F

[sfooz]

Well no luck with a green spear yet... in fact i tugged on the spear again and it started to pull. i took it out and the bottom of the spear was rotted. with a rotting smell in the middle. i poured hydrogen peroxide down it a couple times. and the rotting smell is gone. but there is no sign of new life just a black hole. but i dont get it... how is it possible that some of the leaves are still alive if the tree is dead??!?!?!?!? grrr this is annoying. my mom wont let me plant a new one cause she hates palm trees(she grew up in south florida and thinks they are messy) so i really want this one to leave. maybe i can plant it at night and be like would u look at that!! it recovered!

[NBTX11]

Well no luck with a green spear yet... in fact i tugged on the spear again and it started to pull. i took it out and the bottom of the spear was rotted. with a rotting smell in the middle. i poured hydrogen peroxide down it a couple times. and the rotting smell is gone. but there is no sign of new life just a black hole. but i dont get it... how is it possible that some of the leaves are still alive if the tree is dead??!?!?!?!? grrr this is annoying. my mom wont let me plant a new one cause she hates palm trees(she grew up in south florida and thinks they are messy) so i really want this one to leave. maybe i can plant it at night and be like would u look at that!! it recovered!

The tree is not dead from what you described. Queens are notorious for pulling spears in cold weather when young and then recovering. I've seen it personally several times. A young queen will lose the spear, then push out a deformed spear (usually by now), and then all subsequent spears/fronds will be healthy. Usually this happens from temps in the low 20s. Anything below 25F can cause a spear pull, but not necessarily death. As a last resort, you can perform surgery, by cutting into the top of the trunk until you get to good growth.

[sfooz]

The tree is not dead from what you described. Queens are notorious for pulling spears in cold weather when young and then recovering. I've seen it personally several times. A young queen will lose the spear, then push out a deformed spear (usually by now), and then all subsequent spears/fronds will be healthy. Usually this happens from temps in the low 20s. Anything below 25F can cause a spear pull, but not necessarily death. As a last resort, you can perform surgery, by cutting into the top of the trunk until you get to good growth.

[GREENHAND]

No Queens survived here in the Dallas area, all the ones i know of , mine and my freinds (TOAST)! they cant hack it.

[peachy]

If the smell has gone that means the peroxide did its stuff. If you still have bits of green on the trunk or leaf bases, just give it a feed, some water and leave it the heck alone. At my old place, I had nightly winter frosts about -6c and sometimes down to -9. The queens and butias never blinked an eye at those temps. It' all about patience.....yes I know, it a commodity I am quite in short supply of too, but dont monkey with the poor thing and cause it more stress. I lost a Calamus last year but due to the spines, never got around to pulling it out. Only yesterday while I was watering other things I saw a little green spear, about 8cms long coming out of my long dead Calamus. A bit of seaweed mixture would help it along also.

Peachy

[freakypalmguy]

If you want to kick start the new spear to grow on a defoliated queen palm with spear pull, stump it.

Take a saw and cut the top off, up where the spear pulled, not too far at first just halfway down where the spear pulled so you can get a better look. Then keep cutting horizontal slices off the top untill only solid fresh palm material is visible. Come back an hour later and you will be surprised to see that most likely it has already pushed 1/4 to 1". I've seen this done to hundreds of defoliated queens. I don't think I'd do this on a palm that has green leaves remaining, only one that has defoliated and the spear has pulled. I've also done this to Brahea, Bismarkia, and Dypsis, with 100% recovery. It's going to look ugly for a bit.

My theory on this is, that when a spear pulls, the void created at the growth point constricts and makes it difficult for the new spear to push. Cutting the constricted void frees the spear to resume it's growth. Every palm I've done this to has pushed at least 1/8" of spear within a few hours of the cut, some like queens have pushed 1" in an hour.

Good luck,

Matt

[Collectorpalms]

I tried that on all the ones I thought might be dead, I waited about a week and nothing. I think I waited long enough. I had plenty anyhow, and I figure since the others are already growing those should have too. Dead plants in the yard are a sad sight, would rather move on and stop waiting. New ones can be had for cheap, or better yet, plant something more hardy. I had probably around 11 die, so far I have planted this spring 5 nice sized Trachycapus Fortunei (one variegated), couple Sabal Minors, some Yuccas, one Butyagrus, and thats its so far I think. My neighbor had two Canary and one Queen die, those were replaced with Butia Eriospatha and Butia Paraguayensis that I grew.

Ryan

www.collectorpalms.com

Edited May 1, 2010 by Collectorpalms

[sfooz]

I tried that on all the ones I thought might be dead, I waited about a week and nothing. I think I waited long enough. I had plenty anyhow, and I figure since the others are already growing those should have too. Dead plants in the yard are a sad sight, would rather move on and stop waiting. New ones can be had for cheap, or better yet, plant something more hardy. I had probably around 11 die, so far I have planted this spring 5 nice sized Trachycapus Fortunei (one variegated), couple Sabal Minors, some Yuccas, one Butyagrus, and thats its so far I think. My neighbor had two Canary and one Queen die, those were replaced with Butia Eriospatha and Butia Paraguayensis that I grew.

Ryan

www.collectorpalms.com

Wow. he had canary islands die?!?! ur further south than me if only by a few miles but still all the canary islands here are growing new leaves now. Im just gonna keep trying with mine... cause my mom hates palms so she doesnt want me to plant a new one. but she doesnt have the heart to kill one already in. hopefully it will pull through soon. the green leaves are still there i'll just see.

[sfooz]

I went to look today.... and i see new growth!!! finally. now it will be stronger for next winter i hope.

[_Keith]

Did it live?