Self-cleaning palms : how far from danger?

[Nakheel1412]

Hi,

Among the most beautiful palms out there, many are self-cleaners : Archontophoenixes, Roystoneas, Bismarckias, Howeas, Jubaeas, Caryotas, Pritchardias, Raveneas, Chambeyronias, and the list goes on...

The thing is, when we plant these in a spot next to traffic or buildings, we need to make sure they're established where their leaves won't cause damage ; And from what I have read, depending on the species, the leaves will fall in different ways (some will hug the trunk on their way down, others will fall "deployed", etc.); One other thing to consider is obviously the fronds weight : some are very heavy, some aren't that heavy, etc.

I am currently asking myself what to do in my garden, considering that 2 of my neighbours have built stuff directly against the enclosure walls, and that I have planted (and want to plant) palms next to the house (the trunks aren't against the wall, but once the palms get super tall, the wind might blow away dead fronds that would en up falling on the roof) ;

Do you guys have some experience with such species to share ? Any advices will be warmly welcomed !

Thanks in advance !

Shot in habitat, author : Ben Caledonia

Edited December 17, 2017 by Nakheel1412

[Jim in Los Altos]

Archontophoenix fronds and bases are really lightweight when they fall. Roystonea is another case as they can weight 50 lbs. I have a vigorous Queen palm that sheds its older fronds as soon as they start to yellow and they are huge (18' long) and heavy (25-30 lbs.) so they have damage potential. Pritchardia aren't bad. My worst is a 100' tall Washingtonia that sheds once a year or two and drops 30-50 fronds all at once crushing vegetation below. One year it dropped over 70 old leaves simultaneously. What a mess!  I have groves of Archontophoenix so I'm used to picking up dried fronds regularly. They are SO light.

Edited December 18, 2017 by Jim in Los Altos

[Nakheel1412]

@Jim in Los Altos Amazing info here, thanks A LOT Jim, for giving such a detailed and qualitative feedback !

[Cindy Adair]

I can attest to the weight and destructive capability of Roystoneas. I do not plan to plant anything I care about anywhere in range as the trees are way too tall for removal by anything other than gravity/wind.

They were planted by the previous owner and lovely (or will be if and when they recover from Hurricane Maria) so they will stay.

Happily they are far from the house/car, but collectively take up a fair amount of otherwise useful growing space. 

Thanks for all the useful information here.

[Cindy Adair]

Just now, Cindy Adair said:

I can attest to the weight and destructive capability of Roystoneas. I do not plan to plant anything I care about anywhere in range as the shed tree fronds are way too tall for removal by anything other than gravity/wind.

They were planted by the previous owner and lovely (or will be if and when they recover from Hurricane Maria) so they will stay.

Happily they are far from the house/car, but collectively take up a fair amount of otherwise useful growing space. 

Thanks for all the useful information here.

 

[Nakheel1412]

@Cindy Adair Thanks a lot Cindy for the additionnal info, good to know that nothing fragile should be planted under Roystoneas' canopies !

Btw, I was wondering : when it comes to Roystoneas' fronds, are they still perfectly green when they fall, or do they show warning signs indicating they are about to fall ?

[Cindy Adair]

With Roystoneas, mine are brown and leaning down noticeably before falling.

So if the trees were small, time to remove fronds before they fall. 

That is assuming no hurricane winds like in September, which took most all the fronds, green or brown!

[Rd003]

I agree with Cindy, they start to brown and most eventually dangle until they fall.

Roystoneas do pretty good with hurricanes, because the fresh fronds snap off, making the tree less vulnerable to the wind.

Heres a picture of some in my area post-Irma:

 

Edited December 20, 2017 by Rd003

[Nakheel1412]

@Cindy Adair @Rd003 Excellent, I know what to expect now, thanks a lot !