Queen has fallen

[NewPalmOwner]

Hello all,
I am new to Palm Talk but am excited to join the community. I'd inherited a property with 5 Queen Palms about a year ago. Yesterday afternoon one of them had fallen down. I noticed that the base of the tree was quite wide relative to the actual roots that were holding the Palm in place. Is this a planting issue or something that couldve been prevented with better care? I have other Queen Palms that look similar- is there something that I need to pay more attention to, e.g., add material to cover the root area?

 

The victim:

Closeup shot of the base:

Another Queen Palm that has a "raised" base but seems fine (doesn't wobble much):

Closeup of the base:

Other Queen Palms that aren't as bad:

 

Thanks in advanced!

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

Welcome to Palmtalk!  

I'm no really sure  if there is anything one can or should do to prevent this, but I do know that queens are pretty  notorious for going down in winds.    Every time we have a high wind event here there are always queen palms that fall like this. 

[howfam]

• Just guessing, but that looks like a planter that the palms are in and maybe the roots have reached their limit and have no where else to go if the planter has a concrete bottom. Hence the pushed up roots and toppling.  Yes Queen palms are said to be weak rooted and should be planted a little deeper from the start.

[PalmatierMeg]

Where are you? Do you plan to live there? I understand you just got the property but those are some sorry looking queens. You can probably find much more attractive and suitable palms than those. If you seriously want to get into palms this is the place to start your journey.

But if you are planning to sell the property you can add soil to the boxes to cover palm roots, weed, decorate with a few crotons, fertilize, then mulch everything to showcase.

And I agree if those boxes aren't open to the soil beneath they are detrimental to the health of large palms.

[NewPalmOwner]

This is located in the bay area in California. The planters are on top of and open to the earth below, however I think that is very compact clay and am doubtful the previous owners did much to that prior to building the planters and throwing more of the surrounding dirt into that.

I do plan on keeping the property for a good amount of time but am not looking to get rid of these in the short term (if I don't have to). Any recommendations on what type of soil to add to the base? Is this just top soil or should it be combined with some filler dirt of sorts? Also, is there anything I can do to encourage more roots to grow and/or roots to grow deeper?

[Kailua_Krish]

I think you run the risk of the other ones falling at any time. If you’re staying you have to determine the amount of risk you’re willing to take given how heavy an adult Queen palm is. 
 

you can try mounding soil up to the top of where the base flares to encourage more rooting but I’m not sure that will undo the years of neglect. Any soil will do. I’d imagine you’re better off replacing and there are many other palm species that do well in your climate. 

[sonoranfans]

Looks like the palm pushed its way up out of the ground, happens here too.  Combine that with dry seasons and lack of watering and those roots die back which seriously compromises the stability of the palm.  I see palms pushed up out of the ground here too, seems to be a response to confinement of roots or in species that hate wet soil excessive wetness(P Sylvestris do this).  But the ones here dont have that pencil pointing under the trunk, just thicker roots.  This species is a poor candidate for a palm in the bay area, as it tends to be needy of nutrients and needs lots of water vs many other choices.  The pencil pointing of the roots just below the trunk is a real concern for damage to your yard/home from a 1000lb falling trunk.  Queens can be grown nice there, but it takes a lot of effort, fertilizer and water.  Growing "water needy" trees in CA is probably not a good idea at this time.  The failure to water well will lead to those palms falling.  If you are not into high maintenance there are much better choices with less maintenance and more beautiful choices.    

[Johnny Palmseed]

Dig those things out, amend the soil and plant palms that are suitable for your area. Queens have been used for a while and are OK but not a great choice for many areas. Your soil looks hard packed and difficult to get good water absorption. 

[D Palm]

Planting, restricted root growth, overwatering…could be a combo.  Good advice above on how to handle. Good luck!

[Tracy]

10 hours ago, NewPalmOwner said:

Closeup of the base:

Other Queen Palms that aren't as bad:

 

The advice above is all good, but I would add a little regarding your soil. I would doubt that it is simply a matter of the clay soil not being amended before planting, as I have seen and grown Queen Palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana) in heavy clay soil here in California without experiencing this problem.  At a minimum, I would first remove the one at the top of this re-post, which you identify as the most problematic as it looks equally close to topple down as the one that already has based on what remains of its roots. 

These palms would have benefited from some mulch on top of the soil to help retain moisture between watering.  Since the Bay Area has a lot of micro-climates, it would be helpful knowing what part of the Bay Area you are growing these.  There are a number of people that post on this site that are from the general Bay Area and east over the hills into the Delta who can share helpful recommendations on alternative species that will perform well for you, based on local experience and knowledge.