Spindle Palm - Trunk Splitting / Softening

[JJPalmer]

My Spindle Palm appears to have a rather deep split in the trunk.  The wood around the trunk is quite soft, almost feels like I’m pushing into a bale of hay.  I’m not sure if it was there before but I just noticed it this week.  A few questions: 1) is this normal, 2) is this harmful, 3) is it correctable. Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.

The Palm appears otherwise healthy and has even pushed out two spears over the course of the chilly winter. 

Thanks in advance for the help!

[JJPalmer]

Here’s how it was inherited in October: 

[NickJames]

20 minutes ago, JJPalmer said:

Here’s how it was inherited in October: 

What did you use to remove the old bases?

[NickJames]

4 hours ago, JJPalmer said:

My Spindle Palm appears to have a rather deep split in the trunk.  The wood around the trunk is quite soft, almost feels like I’m pushing into a bale of hay.  I’m not sure if it was there before but I just noticed it this week.  A few questions: 1) is this normal, 2) is this harmful, 3) is it correctable. Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.

The Palm appears otherwise healthy and has even pushed out two spears over the course of the chilly winter. 

Thanks in advance for the help!

I believe this occurred on one of my royals due to sudden uptake of water. Though, I couldn’t seem to find the split today?! I thought it to be permanent. 

[JJPalmer]

1 minute ago, NickJames said:

What did you use to remove the old bases?

A nice, sharp Stanley utility knife. Kind of a pain.

[JJPalmer]

9 minutes ago, NickJames said:

I believe this occurred on one of my royals due to sudden uptake of water. Though, I couldn’t seem to find the split today?! I thought it to be permanent. 

Do you know if it’s damaging health-wise or more of an aesthetic issue? 

[Steve Mac]

JJ, To answer your questions, no, yes, no.

I think that any soft wood there is dead, removing the soft stuff would be beneficial. You did the right thing with the Stanley knife, I would get it out again and clean up that area of all of the soft dead wood that you can.

I think that a fungus has rotted part of your palm, it may be self limiting or it may need some fungicide or Hydrogen peroxide to stop it.

Splitting from a sudden large amount of water is not uncommon and not usually of concern, I think that this is different because of the mushy area.

It will always have a weakness there, but I have seen some damaged palms live a long life despite their setback.

[JJPalmer]

9 hours ago, gtsteve said:

JJ, To answer your questions, no, yes, no.

I think that any soft wood there is dead, removing the soft stuff would be beneficial. You did the right thing with the Stanley knife, I would get it out again and clean up that area of all of the soft dead wood that you can.

I think that a fungus has rotted part of your palm, it may be self limiting or it may need some fungicide or Hydrogen peroxide to stop it.

Splitting from a sudden large amount of water is not uncommon and not usually of concern, I think that this is different because of the mushy area.

It will always have a weakness there, but I have seen some damaged palms live a long life despite their setback.

Appreciate the answer.  How deep should I be removing the wood and fiber? The whiteish exterior around that section almost feels like paper at this point, but I don’t want to dig in too deep.

[Merlyn]

I'd do a "sniff check" and see if the area is rotting or not.  The trunks do expand somewhat as they grow, but I don't recall seeing cracks like that on any of mine.  A systemic and/or surface fungicide would be a good idea, especially if it is soft.  Thielaviopsis is a fatal trunk rot that can get in there.  I use Banrot as a systemic.  I don't have any experience with digging into trunks on palms.

[aztropic]

Most likely a goner or going to be very ugly the rest of it's life. Push in hard with your thumb on the soft area and start scooping out the rot till you have clean,white,tissue.Use a knife to shape bottom of hole so it will not hold water.Treat with peroxide,and fungicide. Hopefully,the damage has already dried and fixed itself;if not,still fairly cheap and easy to replace that species in your state.

 

aztropic 

Mesa,Arizona