Hi. My neighbor has these three trees in her back yard in southern California. She is worried about the trunk/root situation in the photos below and worries that she will need to get them removed. I tried pushing on what looked like the most unstable tree and it did not budge. She also wonders what trees these are and how tall will they grow as there are some power lines near by. They were planted about 4 years ago. Thank you for any help you can give.

It is difficult to tell just what the genus and specie is, but tell your friend they are unlikely to fall over,,the trees will endure...not so the misgivings.....

Hi Jen, welcome. That's normal healthy root development of a Queen Palm. Nothing to be worried about. If those exposed roots were in a very humid climate or perhaps buried by dirt or mulch then they would form in to regular long roots and go down into the ground. But in our dry climate they just start to form and break through the bark, but they just end up kind of air pruning. Anyways, perfectly normal. Those Queen palms will eventually reach in excess of 40 feet tall. They are very fast growing so maybe think about removing them now while they're small if they're going to get into the power lines. Sometimes SoCal Edison will remove them for you for free.

Very well drained soil high in organics can be mounted around the exposed roots and just below the curled "bark". This will allow them to root better and grow thicker as they want to. That's all she needs to do. They will grow to be 50ft easily but won't interefere with powerlines unless they are directly under them

The palms are Syagrus romanzoffiana, Queen palm as Matty said

Hi Jen, welcome to Palmtalk ! As the others stated, the palms won't fall over. Your neighbor may want to remove them if she feels they are too big, or if they may grow into power lines, but they are not a hazard.

Please post any questions you might have about palms.

Welcome to the form JenC!

Those queen palms will be 30ft tall telephone poles in a few years, and will cost a few hundred $$ every time they need the old fronds cut and removed (at least twice per year, or more often). If the pole saw no longer reaches from the ground, they get costly. They can be removed easily at this point.

I don't think they will get into power lines (seem far away), but it's the ongoing cost of maintenance and eventual removal that's going to be an issue.

Thank you all for your responses!!

She will be happy to know!

From the photo, the wires look to be far beyond where they would be of concern. Queen palms grow fast when they are young and upward growth tapers off greatly as they mature. Your neighbor is 80. Please tell her to enjoy the palms, They are healthy and provide shade and restful motion in gentle breezes. If she sells the house at some point, those palms enhance the garden and almost always add to resale value.

JenC

Your neighbor is lucky to have a friend like you!

Welcome Jen. Like Jim said, hopefully she will enjoy them. Palms really don't need to be trimmed unless the leaves are causing some sort of hazard, and from the looks of it these won't cause any problems. Queen Palms are self shedding, meaning they will eventually drop their old leaves, leaving the pretty ringed trunk. Queen Palms were my mother's favorite palm and I have two of them in my yard, one in the front and one in the back here in Corpus Christi, TX. They are VERY popular here in South Texas.

John

Queens will take a very long time indeed to drop their old leaves, in California.

Queens will take a very long time indeed to drop their old leaves, in California.

Ben, It really depends on the individual queen palm. I have two that shed complete leaves with boots before the leaves turn brown. They're big and heavy too. Then I've got others that won't shed until they're old, brown and hanging straight down against the trunk.

Queens will take a very long time indeed to drop their old leaves, in California.

Ben, It really depends on the individual queen palm. I have two that shed complete leaves with boots before the leaves turn brown. They're big and heavy too. Then I've got others that won't shed until they're old, brown and hanging straight down against the trunk.

Interesting, Jim. My big brute seems to hold on to leaf bases for at least 5 years.