Ganoderma

[SunnyFl]

Down at a local nursery today, I was told that mature roebeleniis have been dying of ganoderma - a number of instances of this around town.  Now I'm quite worried, as one of my favorite palms is an older roeb, front and center in my yard.  I love looking out the window at that palm.

This is very bad news, if the problem is widespread.  Roebs are one of our most common palms, but the grace they give to a garden should not be underrated.

St. Pete just wouldn't look like St. Pete without them

We're always careful not to injure the trunk of ours, and never use shears to trim it without bleaching them first.  But that's still no guarantee they won't get it.

[amazon exotics]

Don't sweat it , it seems to hit Queens more than robes.

[quaman58]

What is ganoderma?

[gsn]

Bret,

This disease probably isn't a problem in California?

Ganoderma butt rot is caused by the fungus Ganoderma zonatum. This fungus degrades or rots the lower 4-5 feet of the trunk.

here is a link

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PP100

Here is one that has just recently been discovered ,that I am sure all the queen palm haters will relish!

http://urbanforestry.ifas.ufl.edu/Queen%20Palm%20Disease.pdf

[cfkingfish]

Ganoderma is like a form of lethal flu for palms and other plants. It is a pink rot that will form usually where the trunk meets the ground and look like a fungal growth hemispherical in shape. It may take a few years to kill a palm, but you will see its strength slowly decline. It is technically a virus that spreads through the soil and there is no cure. One person mentioned that you should remove 100 cubic yards of soil around the palm and sanitize the entire area to cure this ailment. For most people this is a bit too much work, nor can it be done due to other plants in the area. I can tell you what I have seen die from Ganoderma:

Syagrus:

romanzoffiana

coronata

amara

Dypsis:

lutescens

Phoenix:

roebellinii

I am sure that many other genera and species are susceptible.

[Neofolis]

Would it not be easier to remove the most precious plants, remove the soil from the root ball, then keep them in pots while the soil has the virus active.  I realise this won't remove the virus from the soil, but most viruses that can't find suitable hosts, either go dormant or mutate.

[SubTropicRay]

Christian,

Add Acoelorrhaphe to the list.

Ray

[weldertom]

(cfkingfish @ Feb. 26 2007,01:33)

QUOTE

Ganoderma is like a form of lethal flu for palms and other plants. It is a pink rot that will form usually where the trunk meets the ground and look like a fungal growth hemispherical in shape. It may take a few years to kill a palm, but you will see its strength slowly decline. It is technically a virus that spreads through the soil and there is no cure. One person mentioned that you should remove 100 cubic yards of soil around the palm and sanitize the entire area to cure this ailment. For most people this is a bit too much work, nor can it be done due to other plants in the area. I can tell you what I have seen die from Ganoderma:

Syagrus:

romanzoffiana

coronata

amara

Dypsis:

lutescens

Phoenix:

roebellinii

I am sure that many other genera and species are susceptible.

I had a shelf type fungi that develped on a mature queen (25 ft)and eventually  I had to take it out as well as one nearby. I have not planted any palms in this locale.....

Also - I lost a very large  D. lutescens in the same area(it was 15 ft tall and had probably 10 trunks....arrrgghhh)this palm was within 4 ft of the queen......

Another smaller (8 ft with 8 trunks)D lutescens got the fungus . I chopped off the trunk/s affected along with some root structure and then soaked the area with fungicide. This palm is now doing quite well and I have no sign of fungi.I did the spring  before the Hurricanes of 2004. No sign since of the fungi......It is /was about 50 ft from the killed trees.....

I was told fungicide would not work by several people ... I tried it anyway.....so far so good !

[SunnyFl]

(weldertom @ Feb. 26 2007,21:03)

QUOTE

Another smaller (8 ft with 8 trunks)D lutescens got the fungus . I chopped off the trunk/s affected along with some root structure and then soaked the area with fungicide. This palm is now doing quite well and I have no sign of fungi.I did the spring  before the Hurricanes of 2004. No sign since of the fungi......It is /was about 50 ft from the killed trees.....

I was told fungicide would not work by several people ... I tried it anyway.....so far so good !

Please tell us, what fungicide did you use?

That would be incredible - if a "cure" were found, because the thinking has been that this dreaded palm-killer has no cure.

(cfkingfish @ Feb 24 2007,01:33)

QUOTE

I can tell you what I have seen die from Ganoderma:

Syagrus:

romanzoffiana

coronata

amara

Dypsis:

lutescens

Phoenix:

roebellinii

I am sure that many other genera and species are susceptible.

You can add S. palmetto to the list.   Last summer, on the corner of 66th St. & Tyrone Blvd, by the - um - Bob Evans? some restaurant, there was a S. palmetto - about 25' tall, so it was an established one - and it was totally dead.  While waiting for the light to change, I looked at the trunk, and there at the base was the ugly conk.  Big shelf-like whitish thing.  Sad.

[SubTropicRay]

Fungicides are a short term solution.  Ganoderma, by nature, affects the plant's "plumbing".  It can take years from the time the plant is infected until death.  The visible conch shaped growth outside the plant is a sign of a well established disease.

Ray

[weldertom]

(Ray, Tampa @ Feb. 27 2007,07:04)

QUOTE

Fungicides are a short term solution.  Ganoderma, by nature, affects the plant's "plumbing".  It can take years from the time the plant is infected until death.  The visible conch shaped growth outside the plant is a sign of a well established disease.

Ray

True ...... The conch is  the manifestation of a long slow sickness..... but........ how long ?

Been three years now and no sign whatsoever of the dreaded  Ganoderma and aforementioned D. lutescens is doing fine...... --  I feel so dirty  even saying the word - Its almost like saying you got VD or something....

..... I believe I used Daconil.......

BTW - I am by no means making a claim to cure here...........just my personal experience....

And I am not qualified to make a claim as such !  

[merrill]

Please, can someone tell me what the northern limit of Ganoderma is on the east coast of the U.S?  Thanks,   merrill

[Eric in Orlando]

It can hang around for years. We still have it sporadically appear and kill palms. In the past we have lost the following to Ganoderma;

Acrocomia totai

Butia capitata

Caryota urens

Dypsis decaryi

Jubaea chilensis

Phoenix dactylifera

Phoenix reclinata

Syagrus romanzoffiana

[SunnyFl]

Is this at Leu?

That's very sad.

[SunnyFl]

(merrill @ Feb. 27 2007,23:49)

QUOTE

Please, can someone tell me what the northern limit of Ganoderma is on the east coast of the U.S?  Thanks,   merrill

I'm sure one of the others could give you a more precise answer, but until they do, here goes......

I saw a distribution map - and cannot find it anywhere.  Had a copy of it on my laptop, which has died so I can't access the file.

If I recall, there were instances as far north as NC, at least the S/E part.  Also found in Georgia.  But the heaviest concentrations were in South FL, S/W FL and (unfortunately) the Tampa Bay area.  I doubt that this is a result of climate - my guess is, the heavier concentrations are just due to a larger number of palms planted in these areas.  But I'm only guessing.

I hope the Dept. of Agriculture is trying to find a cure for this disease.  It's dreadful.

[merrill]

Thanks, SunnyFl:

Have been looking for that info for a LONG time! - merrill

[Eric in Orlando]

Yes, this is at Leu Gardens. It has been around since the late 1980's when many freeze damaged Queen Palms with injured trunks fell victim.

[gsn]

(Eric in Orlando @ Mar. 01 2007,12:03)

QUOTE

Yes, this is at Leu Gardens. It has been around since the late 1980's when many freeze damaged Queen Palms with injured trunks fell victim.

Eric,

Just curious what you know about this new disease ,which seems to be only affecting Queen palms?

http://urbanforestry.ifas.ufl.edu/Queen%20Palm%20Disease.pdf

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

Ganoderma is a fungus,not a virus.  It is mostly soil borne but the spores are air dispersed.  I see it most commonly on D. lutescens that have been thinned.  If you plant D lutescens in Florida I caution you to never prune the woody stems as this leaves too much decomposing tissue as an entry point.  Once a stem develops wood you should not cut it, but I believe you can cut all the emerging shoots before they develop wood.  Also because these palms are commonly grown with several seedlings in the same pot, it may take years to kll the whole clump because of the lack of vascular connection between the palms.  If your palm has ganoderma, remove the palm, destroy all the tissue if you can, sterilize all your tools and never plant a palm in that area again.

Ganoderma is a parasite in palms but is a very common saprophyte (consumes dead tissue) on woody trees.  Any logs left laying on the ground will quickly develop ganoderma conks.  (might not be the same species though)

Jerry