Canary Island Date Palm severe tilt

[JUG831]

We have a canary island date palm that started the year very straight, up and down.  However during the summer it began to tilt and now the top is 12 inches tilted from center. The tree is not unsteady, I cannot push it further. But I cannot figure out why it is happening or what to do about it?

Tree was planted about 5 years ago and now has 4 feet or more of trunk. 

I do see some areas around the tree where the ground has sunk a little bit. No idea!

Any thoughts?

[GottmitAlex]

Can you produce pictures of the plant?

[JUG831]

Thank you for our reply, below a picture. 

[Steve in Florida]

It looks like the tree was planted too high and became top heavy when the leaves grew out.   It will need to be repositioned correctly and then staked for support if you want it to grow vertically.

[JUG831]

Thanks Steve, not a bad theory on the top heavy-ness, I had not considered this.

Any thoughts from anyone on best time of year to do a repositioning?  Or, is Fall a good time to plant palms in North Houston area?

[Las Palmas Norte]

The source of the problem may be unseen underground. Repositioning or moving ? … that's big undertaking considering the weight you'd be dealing with.

Cheers, Barrie.

[Steve in Florida]

5 hours ago, JUG831 said:

Thanks Steve, not a bad theory on the top heavy-ness, I had not considered this.

Any thoughts from anyone on best time of year to do a repositioning?  Or, is Fall a good time to plant palms in North Houston area?

I would wait until early spring.

[Jcalvin]

You could always loop a rope around the top of the trunk, attach a ratchet and gradually pull it the other way. It might take a year or so to slowly pull it back the other way, but it will work. I've done it to plenty of palms, trees and shrubs. You'd have to keep an eye on it, though.

I'm sure someone will say that it will put undue stress on the roots on one side of the palm, but so would chopping 75% of the roots off translating it.

[GottmitAlex]

4 minutes ago, Jcalvin said:

You could always loop a rope around the top of the trunk, attach a ratchet and gradually pull it the other way. It might take a year or so to slowly pull it back the other way, but it will work. I've done it to plenty of palms, trees and shrubs. You'd have to keep an eye on it, though.

I'm sure someone will say that it will put undue stress on the roots on one side of the palm, but so would chopping 75% of the roots off translating it.

I agree.

[Turtlesteve]

Well, if it were mine, here's what I would do:

- Gradually pull it straight as Jcalvin suggested. 

- At the same time, add dirt about 2" at a time to eventually raise the ground level in that area by 6-8"

- Plant a couple accent plants on the raised mound

 

[JUG831]

Thank you for the ideas. I think I will try to stake and pull it back. It does seem to sit low so adding some soil to build it up sounds reasonable too. I’ll give it a try and come back in a few months. 

[Merlyn]

Just to make sure, the previous comments were saying that the palm was planted too high.  Instead of trying to dig out and lower the palm, the easier (and maybe safer) thing may be to add 2" of dirt to the surrounding area, wait a month, add 2 more inches, etc.  The base of the trunk should be (roughly) level with the surrounding ground, maybe slightly above.  But definitely not 6" above the surrounding surface.  Here's a great article on "mounding" of palms for best growth:

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