Hello all! Just. Question. I am in the Phoenix area and last year I planted a beautiful royal palm. I noticed the base of the trunk was starting to Crack. My instincts were telling me that it's normal since the trunk is expanding. Today for a moment I thought, could this be sun damage? It is planted on an Eastern exposure in-between two homes. Hopefully it's normal and she is just getting chunky! Thank you for your time. 

Minor trunk splitting can happen when there is inconsistent watering or too much watering at once after a palm has not been watered for a while.

It can also happen when a palm starts to grow very fast. Sometimes the old boots don’t want to come off and tear at the trunk. In this case it looks like a combination of the above. 
 

I would cut off the old leaf base, hit it with hydrogen peroxide and then water the heck out of it.

Royal Palms require more water than possibly any palm on the planet to look their best. If you are in Phoenix it’s not an ideal location due to the dry climate but if you give it tons of water it can thrive in AZ.

If you are willing to water it as needed you are in a better climate than the people growing Royals in Northern California where due to the lack of warmth they will grow much slower than where you are. 
 

Best of luck with your Royal!

@James B thank you James for the reply. Last growing season I would go outside with the hose and water twice daily for a few minutes and I also have  4 bubblers on it. I wonder if it was receiving too much water and.thr trunk.was not developing enough to catch up with the watering. Do you think this will be a permanent Crack?

The crack will permanent. It is basically impossible to overwater a Royal. They grow in swamps and lakes in Florida 

Here are some photos taken at the begining of Jun after being in thr ground for three months. I really hope it doesn't weaken my palm. I was always told they can take a ton of water. 

Just now, James B said:

The crack will permanent. It is basically impossible to overwater a Royal. They grow in swamps and lakes in Florida 

Thanks James. I appreciate your insight. I thought I was doing well with it. 

You can do everything right and cracks can still happen. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Here is an example of a crack on one of my Roystonea.

@James B thanks James. I appreciate the photo and your insight!

Where did you buy the palm if it was brought in from Florida they take some time to adjust to our weather I have probably 20 or so I always grow them from seedlings I also try to protect the trunk with other growing plants to shade the trunk like a jungle.

Here is what sunburn damage looks like. The outer living tissue is killed by our sun with too much exposure,then cracks as it grows and expands. Palm will still keep growing fine though.

 

aztropic 

Mesa,Arizona

@96720 thank you for the response. I purchased it last year March and I believe it originally came from Florida but could be wrong.  Hmm.. I may have to do that.

 

@aztropic so you believe that is sun damage and not too much water at once? This cracking is on the west side of the tree next to my house so it wasn't getting really any of the harmful  sun. This was the palm in May, and in June it started to Crack. 

I don’t think you can give them too much water I turn the hose on low and let it run for hours and if I forget it maybe days with no problem they love water 

@96720 that's exactly what I heard and that's why I was watering twice daily. What are the chances that in the nursery it was grown, it wasn't receiving as much water as I was giving it so it wasn't used to all the extra water?

Nurseries never water enough. They have too much inventory. Some downright abuse their palms. 

Edited March 28, 20215 yr by James B

48 minutes ago, Coasta said:

@96720 that's exactly what I heard and that's why I was watering twice daily. What are the chances that in the nursery it was grown, it wasn't receiving as much water as I was giving it so it wasn't used to all the extra water?

You as an owner and enthusiast are trying to give your palm everything you can to make it as healthy as possible. A nursery has hundreds some times thousands of inventory. They have to keep to keep their stock alive but their goal isn’t the same as yours. This is why in many cases buying larger than 15 gallons winds up in you having a palm that is far too skinny for its size. It’s been in a pot receiving minimal water for too long and it’s not the same as a palm  in ground given lots of water. 

20 hours ago, Coasta said:

@96720

@aztropic so you believe that is sun damage and not too much water at once? This cracking is on the west side of the tree next to my house so it wasn't getting really any of the harmful  sun. This was the palm in May, and in June it started to Crack. 

NO! Your tree is not sun damage. Too small yet. I was illustrating what sun damage actually looks like. Older Arizona royals that are exposed to too much sun look like the picture I posted.Yours is just normal growth.Eventually,the area where you see a crack will peel back entirely,exposing new roots.Nothing to be concerned over or worry about.

How is your Ravenea xerophilla doing by the way?

 

aztropic 

Mesa,Arizona

Thanks @aztropic . I am glad it isn't sun damage. 

It actually isn't doing too great. With half day winter sun, it appears that the fronds burned up. I am actually going to post a separate topic on it to get some insight. I would love yours on the new topic. 

It's probably doing as well as can be expected for Arizona. It will never look as good as when you first got it,fresh off the truck from Florida. The tree will live and grow,but our extremely dry air and extreme temperatures will always make for yellowed and brown fronds on a royal. If you require a feather type palm to look perfect in that area,you probably should switch it out for a mule.

 

aztropic 

Mesa,Arizona

@aztropic sorry, I meant to write that I was referring to the Ravenea Xerophila that is getting sun burned.

Royals crack, oh yes, I've got like 8 of them, and all have a crack or two.

If in doubt, drown them out, more water more water.

That said, R. borenquenia seems to need the least. Regia and oleracea are true swamp things.

@James B thanks James! That makes sense.

@DoomsDave it is good to know and something I will have to get used too!