Did I plant this Christmas palm too high?

[drewsg]

This is my first time buying and planting a Christmas Palm. The guy said make sure to plant it at least two inches above ground, but I don't know if I went too high. I wanted to dig a little further out, but sprinkler pipe prevented me doing so. Tips, critiques? 

[drewsg]

any help? post got buried while I was waiting for activation

[Johnny Palmseed]

1 hour ago, drewsg said:

any help? post got buried while I was waiting for activation

It looks slightly high but not anything to be concerned about. It’s better than too deep. The only thing is that some of the top roots will become exposed over time. You can amend with a top dressing of soil to help. I would be more concerned about the sprinkler line. Over time these roots will spread out and become a significant root ball. If you need to work on the sprinkler line and have to cut the roots you could damage the plants. Can you move the plant to not interfere with the sprinkler line? Or re route the sprinkler line?

[Merlyn]

Welcome to PalmTalk!

It's definitely too high, generally you want the base of the Root Initiation Zone (RIZ) approximately at ground level.  Too deep can cause problems with rot, which is probably why the nursery said plant it 2 inches too high.  You could either pull it back out and dig down another 1-2 inches, or "mound" it around the base with dirt and mulch on top.  If it's only been in the ground a few days then it hasn't rooted in place.  Personally I'd tilt it to each side and pull a bit of dirt out from underneath it.  Here's the best diagrammed guide for planting depth I've found:

http://www.marriedtoplants.com/palms/palm-tree-growing-tips-mounding/

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

@Merlyn2220 that is a great link especially for beginners. Only question i would ask is what kinda dirt you got @drewsg ? In my area I plant like you had cause of our gumbo clay. You definitely came to the right place Welcome to PT !!! 

[drewsg]

13 hours ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

It looks slightly high but not anything to be concerned about. It’s better than too deep. The only thing is that some of the top roots will become exposed over time. You can amend with a top dressing of soil to help. I would be more concerned about the sprinkler line. Over time these roots will spread out and become a significant root ball. If you need to work on the sprinkler line and have to cut the roots you could damage the plants. Can you move the plant to not interfere with the sprinkler line? Or re route the sprinkler line?

 

12 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

Welcome to PalmTalk!

It's definitely too high, generally you want the base of the Root Initiation Zone (RIZ) approximately at ground level.  Too deep can cause problems with rot, which is probably why the nursery said plant it 2 inches too high.  You could either pull it back out and dig down another 1-2 inches, or "mound" it around the base with dirt and mulch on top.  If it's only been in the ground a few days then it hasn't rooted in place.  Personally I'd tilt it to each side and pull a bit of dirt out from underneath it.  Here's the best diagrammed guide for planting depth I've found:

http://www.marriedtoplants.com/palms/palm-tree-growing-tips-mounding/

 I have no problems digging the plant out to put it deeper if that's what better for plant, do I have enough clearance from the house to move it away from the sprinkler and put it deeper?

11 hours ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

@Merlyn2220 that is a great link especially for beginners. Only question i would ask is what kinda dirt you got @drewsg ? In my area I plant like you had cause of our gumbo clay. You definitely came to the right place Welcome to PT !!! 

Thanks for the welcome and replies.

I have no problem digging the plant out and moving it back so I can put it deeper, but the reason why I put it so forward because I was worried about the plant having enough clearance from the house. How much can I move it back without the House being a problem?

As for the soil, it's definitely more sandy than clay.

[Johnny Palmseed]

You are certainly dealing with a few issues. Plant it here, too close to the house. Over here, there’s a sprinkler line in the way. Argh! Of course, that’s always the way right? You are correct about being too close to the house if you move it back. This plant will definitely get quite a bit larger and would end up brushing on the house. My question would be how much more planting do you expect to do in this area? If you are planning on more stuff, I would definitely move the sprinkler line to the edge of the grass. That way, you wouldn’t have to deal with it again in the future. And you would be able to plant exactly where you want. If you do nothing, the palms will grow just fine but again, some of the top roots will become exposed from rain and/or sprinkler but you can apply some dirt over them. Don’t pack it with a thick layer of heavy soil though. The top layer of roots should be near the soil surface.

[Merlyn]

I planted a similar triple and put it 6-7 feet away from the house, that seems to be fine for frond clearance.  Yours looks like it is maybe 4 feet away, which means the fronds will brush the house.  That's a personal preference, I suppose, it's not like the fronds are oak limbs that will destroy that stone on a windy day.  I have a couple of Queen palms that I planted way too close to the house.  But I did that on purpose, knowing I'd have to cut off a couple of fronds to keep them from ripping up the wall and eaves...at least until they grew up over the roofline.  So as long as the rigid part of the frond isn't likely to damage anything, then the position is up to you.

You do want to avoid having a high pressure sprinkler head aiming at the tree, since it'll cause crown rot and trunk rot.  I have a bunch of the "broad fan head" sprinklers covering my tropical beds, but the spray from them is more like a regular daily rainstorm.  High pressure heads can, over time, quite literally cut through the trunk of a palm.  There's a local nursery here that has a 40' tall Pindo with a big hole in the side from one of their nursery sprinklers-on-a-stick.  If you can move the sprinkler that would be a great choice.

[drewsg]

Ended up digging it out and putting it inch or so deeper. Does this look better? Also moved the sprinkler line to the edge of the driveway. 

[Johnny Palmseed]

5 hours ago, drewsg said:

Ended up digging it out and putting it inch or so deeper. Does this look better? Also moved the sprinkler line to the edge of the driveway. 

Looks real good. I think you won’t regret moving the sprinkler line. The only other recommendation would be to make sure you keep the grass away from the base of the plants. If you have a lawn service, they will use the string trimmer and cause damage. Also, it’s better for water and fertilizer absorption. Welcome to the palm addiction!

[drewsg]

Thanks everyone for the help.

[Merlyn]

As long as the bottom of the bulged "trunk" area is approximately at ground level, it should be happy!  Moving the sprinkler is a good idea, so you don't end up with problems later.  I agree with Johnny's suggestion on the grass.  Lawn crews will use the weedwhacker around the base if the grass grows right up to the trunk.  Repeated hits with the string will cut up the trunk and/or top of the roots, which definitely is not a good thing!

[Johnny Palmseed]

Funny story about palms and sprinkler lines. Many years ago I had 2 double Roebelenii’s that I needed to dig out because they were planted too close to the house and were growing right up into my house soffits. I didn’t have a place for them but I didn’t want to throw them away. They had 3’ or more of clear trunk and would have cost at least $300 each if at a nursery. So I offered them on the CFCACS website for free if someone wanted to dig them up. I got a response and 2 guys from about an hour north showed up. I had root cut the top 10-12” and tied up the fronds in advance to expedite the process. They literally just started digging and pop! Water everywhere! The water line to the house runs right through the middle of the root ball! Why didn’t they move that when they planted this? OK no problem I have an alternate line that can feed the house in an emergency. They get the palm dug out and I start working on the PVC as they go to work on the second one. Not even 5 minutes later, pop! The alternate line gets cut. Again, right through the root ball. Ugh. OK turn off all water. Tell everyone inside there’s no water for a while and get to work. Luckily, I always keep a supply of PVC pipe and fittings so it wasn’t too bad. They felt bad about breaking the lines but it wasn’t their fault. Who would have thought that would happen? Not me.