Sargentii at MBBG. Is it bucked or can it be saved?

[Mandrew968]

Morning Palmtalk! 

Just wanted everyone's two cents on this issue I have in the garden: Not long ago(maybe a few months), this Pseudophoenix sargentii started to flower and fruit. Shortly after that, yep, it started to decline. Like clockwork, these palms start to go downhill, after they flower--if they have cultural issues such as too much shade and too much water under their feet. That's two strikes for this palm and I don't think it will be around for a third... 

Sometimes they can have that black soot on them for a long time, but this one has seemingly  started to crash, really fast! Maybe the third strike is that fountain in the back, shooting mist on it, almost 24/7. First question, is it possible to save? I don't think so with the brown I am seeing in the crown... Second, is it worth saving? With good sized buccs so cheap, should we just start over in a better spot, with a new plant? Last question, should we even get another one? The memorial next door, has a million and one of them and they are pretty neat looking all together, like that. I wonder if they have already satisfied the need for this species, though it is not really in our garden... 

Thanks in advance for your time and opinions on this.

[aztropic]

New fronds are dying - it's a goner! It has that rot that only mature Pseudophoenix get.Yank it and plant a new one.Still a unique palm that should be represented somewhere in the garden.

I've always been curious what initiates that rot on Florida Pseudos.My theory is ants farming mealy bugs in the crownshaft leaf bases.By the time people notice a problem,it's too late to make much of a correction.I have never seen that problem / decline in desert grown Pseudos.

Maybe you could peel / cut the fronds off 1 by 1 and see if there are any bugs working in the crown.

 

aztropic

Mesa.Arizona

[Mandrew968]

I personally think it is fungal, but I believe it's a goner too. The dry air where you are keeps the fungus from being an issue--no fungus no issue. bet you have hardly any fungal issues in your neighborhood...

[kurt decker]

They can't stand water. They can't stand mulch. They aren't palms, they're cactus. Look at the ones next door, totally surrounded by stone walkways, no irrigation, they've been thriving for 25 years. Ken Triester put those in as three gallons. They've been fruiting since the early nineties.

[Mandrew968]

25 minutes ago, kurt decker said:

They can't stand water. They can't stand mulch. They aren't palms, they're cactus. Look at the ones next door, totally surrounded by stone walkways, no irrigation, they've been thriving for 25 years. Ken Triester put those in as three gallons. They've been fruiting since the early nineties.

I love your post. So strong. I mostly agree, but let me say I didn't plant this palm, so I can't take credit for it's demise. Also, the Vachellia canopy has grown larger and is now shading it for most of the day, which probably pushed it too far. 

In terms of next door, I can say those are growing very well, for the most part. They still have to replace one or two every now and then, but with the traffic between those and the defacing that they encounter from people trying to write all over the trunks, it stands to reason. 

[aztropic]

1 hour ago, kurt decker said:

They can't stand water. They can't stand mulch. They aren't palms, they're cactus.

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona