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Tropical palm drought tolerance


Brad52

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So CA is getting all of our rain, I've had none in +30 days, even the December storm that hit the island completely missed us and I'm starting to lose plants all over.  Having lived in CA I know 30 days is 'squat' but here I have no soils and there is NO ground moisture for plants to grab.  I want to have a 'no supplemental watering' rule for established plants but I'm starting to break down this week on that.  

For many of my plants I can tell who is on the brink but I'm unfamiliar with palms - if I see obvious signs of struggle with a palm, is it too late to start watering them if damage is already apparent or is there still time for them if I start hitting them?  I've already hit a few as my Dwarf Catechu is screaming at me but I have a LOT of plants and have to harvest all my water so plants are secondary to the household and I don't want to start the daily watering thing...

For example, I've been vastly reducing the mass of leaf-dropping bamboo clumps by culling all smaller culms and yesterday I tore an ornamental understory out of a long bed to use those plants (nothing super special, just coleus etc) as mulch for the palms but should I start hitting all the palms even if they look normal?  I had a dry spell about this long last summer and the palms seemed fine but now I see stress here and there...

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I have a Sabal minor which is native to rainy swampy areas of the Southern states.  Been growing here on about 20" of rain a year and seems happy.  I watered it for a few years. Been in the ground for over 20 years.

Steve

Born in the Bronx

Raised in Brooklyn

Matured In Wai`anae

I can't be held responsible for anything I say or do....LOL

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Brad, these dry spells come every now and then, but it’s been especially severe as of late. You’re going to have to break out the hose and water intermittently what you want to save. The larger more well established stuff will survive, but the ground covers and smaller stuff will need additional moisture. I’m lucky to have some soil and other than frond drop, I don’t worry about the big stuff. 

Not having a lot of soil has got to be quite the challenge for any garden hence the reason I mulch the crap out of the more susceptible plantings. 

A month from now we’ll be wishing the rain would stop for a change. 

Tim

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Tim

Hilo, Hawaii

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