Palm Disease Question

[flFishing]

Hello, I live in FL and recently moved into a new house that has four beautiful palms (Sabal I think) in the backyard. However, one of them has me a bit concerned. It appears as if the trunk has a disease or is chipped away. I appreciate any guidance on this. I'd love to save it if I can. The top is healthy with at least 8-10 green palms. I noticed some black on the trunk, which I am treating with a fungicide. My biggest concern here is rot and if this were to fall over, especially with our storm season. Thanks in advance for any input on this.

[Fusca]

Looks like mold on the trunk from such humid conditions.  Not a problem.  I don't see any pics of the crown so I'm assuming that it looks normal.  That's where the problems show up.

[flFishing]

Fusca,

 

Thank you, here's a picture of the top as well. The fronds have  bit of yellowing at the tips (it's the one on the right in the two-shot, just took the other one as a comparison). It looks somewhat healthy to me. Do you think there's any risk to it dying off or collapsing with the bark so "chewed up"? The other ones have more of that smoother appearance and not chunky.

[PalmatierMeg]

They look good to me. Is that "black stuff" on the trunk something stuck on or open wounds? For the past 20 years since Charley my large palms have been gouged, hacked and battered by major hurricanes and their trunks show the evidence.

However, all of your Sabals are overtrimmed. Most tree trimmers in FL are idiots who have no clue how to take care of palms. Sabals evolved with hurricanes and are palms that don't need to be "hurricane trimmed". Let them grow their leaves back and only trim off brown/dead leaves.

[flFishing]

Meg,

Hello, the black stuff is more so stuck on the bark, which I think is more fungi from an insect. I am treating this with an insecticide. What had me more concerned were the spots where the bark actually looks like it's missing pieces (pictured here). I was worried that this could weaken the trunk and potentially collapse. The other palms are more traditional in appearance. Any thoughts on what's causing this to chip away? I do not see anything like a woodpecker or any insects burrowing, etc.

 

I appreciate the advice in trimming them as well. I'll definitely keep that in mind. Thank you.

[Looking Glass]

Bugs, rot from sprinklers hitting, damage from burning in setting sun, who knows?   Still it looks pretty superficial.   

Trunks can get kind of beat up on these, and as Meg said, someone did a hack job on your crown.   If you let them go natural, they kind of go from green up top to half orange in the middle to dry brown at the bottom.  

I don’t really trim mine.  I need the shade.  

 

 

[Merlyn]

@flFishing as long as it's not soft and spongy then it is probably a superficial mold.  You could squirt some hydrogen peroxide on it to confirm it's a fungus.  H2O2 will bubble up in presence of a fungus, and is a common recommendation here as a surface antifungal for crown infections. 

In general it looks fine, though as Meg mentioned, a bit overpruned.  The yellowish old frond in the one photo is a typical mild Magnesium deficiency.  That happens a lot in Florida sandy soils.  Make sure your palm fertilizer has a few percent Magnesium.  If you end up with a lot of yellowing then you could add a handful of Magnesium Sulfate sprinkled near the palm.

I'd check and make sure there aren't any sprinklers hitting the palms.  That could easily cause trunk rot.

[flFishing]

@Merlyn Thank you for the input! They don't feel soft of spongy, but the bark is a bit brittle in some spots. The previous homeowner had the sprinklers hitting them, and I just recently fixed that. I just noticed that the areas that are a bit more chewed up are a little more brittle (not coming off in huge chunks), but definitely affected by something. Seems like they need some TLC and maybe it'll grow back in some way. Again, biggest concern was them toppling over. Thanks!