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Canary island date palm not thriving


Aaron854

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Hi, I had a canary island date palm installed about 2 years ago. It's losing most of it's fronds and I'm worried it's dying. Is there anything I can do to help it survive?

I'm in San Diego, give it slow release granular fertilizer each season, only remove fronds when they are completed brown, and have it on a drip system. There are 3 bubblers spaced around it at 1' from the trunk. Each bubbler is about 6 gallons/hour, and I run them for 45 minutes 2x per week.

The first picture is how it looked last June, which was about 12 months after it was planted. At that point it had lost a few fronds but not a lot.
The second and third pictures I took today. It has lost a lot of fronds in less than a year and doesn't seem to be growing new ones. 
IMG-2031.thumb.jpg.4f8d6c4b6aee88bd7489174afb59be8e.jpg
IMG-2204.thumb.jpg.018be27713e794d62c05da6a2a3cef2d.jpgIMG-2202.thumb.jpg.3dfbb94cbbeca4d97b235886d939e448.jpg

 

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It looks like the new spear leaf is brown and crispy = dead.  Is that the case?  I don't know if you have weevils in your area, but that seems like a possibility to me.  South American palm weevil (SAPW), Rhynchophorus palmarum likes to eat Canary Dates, and could cause your symptoms.  A systemic insecticide (Dinotefuran or Imadicloprid) plus a crown drench of an insecticide like Malathion or Acephate is (I think) a recommended treatment for that.  But I live in Florida, and haven't dealt with palm weevils myself.  So I am only guessing.  Hopefully other West Coast people can chime in here with some suggestions.

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I would be looking for a palm weevil infestation too. A lot of canary island date palms have already been killed in the San Diego area,thanks to this pest.

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

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Mesa, Arizona

 

Temps between 29F and 115F each year

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Merlyn, the brown frond is a few rows in from the edge, but it's not quite the center.  It has been pretty normal for random fronds to turn brown and die regardless of location. 

I looked up south american palm weevils, and they are definitely killing palms in my area. However, I haven't seen that beetle in my yard, and examining my palm I couldn't find any holes burrow'd in it. I'm not sure if there is any way to confirm you have weevils. I might treat it with insecticides just to be safe.

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  • 3 weeks later...

If you are going to keep this thing alive in San Diego long term.  If it is in fact an  spw attack you must treat it at least twice a year South American Palm Weevil has takin out about 50 Canary Islands in my neighborhood of San Diego and the best treatment is this product it has a higher dose of a imadrocloprid  than anything you'll find it Home Depot. A soil drench  is important also you can dilute it and pour it down the crown.  This was recommended to me by mark hodel. His  team  have been fighting this weevil since 2009.  I had an attack on one of my pritchardia species a year ago and killed the weevil and its larvae and the palm is healthy today. Now I treat any palm that might be vulnerable in my garden as a  preventative .You can buy this online from DIY (do it yourself)

20220503_182535.jpg

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52 minutes ago, akamu said:

If you are going to keep this thing alive in San Diego long term.  If it is in fact an  spw attack you must treat it at least twice a year South American Palm Weevil has takin out about 50 Canary Islands in my neighborhood of San Diego and the best treatment is this product it has a higher dose of a imadrocloprid  than anything you'll find it Home Depot. A soil drench  is important also you can dilute it and pour it down the crown.  This was recommended to me by mark hodel. His  team  have been fighting this weevil since 2009.  I had an attack on one of my pritchardia species a year ago and killed the weevil and its larvae and the palm is healthy today. Now I treat any palm that might be vulnerable in my garden as a  preventative .You can buy this online from DIY (do it yourself)

20220503_182535.jpg

How do you apply it and how often?

5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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A toss about two teaspoons in a gallon of water and stir it up. With systemic insecticides just pour this around the base of the Palm   systemics come up through the roots and fight from within . I apply this twice  a year to only palms that are susceptible to attacks.  I also  did pour some down the crown.when my palm had already been infested .this was recommended to me by mark hodels team.It was odd to me using a systemic  in the crown  but no bad side effects have been noticed and the palm is once again thriving. The weevil is most active in warmer months and they are attracted to fresh Cuts. So better to trim palms in the winter months. 

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In the picture, there is a small hint of the type of leaning to one side that occurs with a palm weevil infestation. This happens as the larvae eat the tissue fibre inside the palm, (ultimately to the meristem itself)  and the palm starts to lose its middle gravity as the upper weight of the fronds begin a steady process of eventual collapse. That hint of starting to lean to one side, with the individual browning of fronds does give a very reasoned case for weevil infestation. The good suggestions for treatment already given are definitely the way forward. They are both preventative, even if it did turn out not to be weevil infestation, as well as essential for halting the demise of the palm if it is indeed caused by palm weevil..

Edited by petiole10
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