HELP RESCUING PALM TREES!!

[Rgvpalma956]

Good afternoon I have 7 palms trees in my backyard there used to be grass, but i decided ti remove the grass and put rocks around them. 
 

the grass was removed and a liner was layed in placed. There used to be sprinklers, instead I placed a dripping system, palm trees all starting to turn brown, old leaves turning brown. 
I don’t know if it’s because of too much watering is sitting because of the liner or if they are need of more water, these are all 15-20 ft date palms. I’m looking for someone with expertise any available

 

 

arborist that do online consultations?

 

 

 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Well the videos did not load. However , from the pictures it is clear that some palms are fine while others are not. As for watering at this point these palms should not be too picky with their water at all, i don’t think that’s an issue unless where you live is really dry (which i doubt because you’re able to grow grass). This brings me to a question, around where do you live? Lethal bronzing could be a possibility depending on where you are, palms in pic 1 and 2 seem to be suffering from some disease and it could be that because they have way more brown leaves than green at this point, which is not typical of nutrient deficiency unless it’s like super severe. Hopefully other people reply too, but from what i see your sylvester’s days might be numbered. 

[idontknowhatnametuse]

Phoenix sylvestris is the most susceptible species to Lethal Bronzing, they're most likely goners.

[TropicsEnjoyer]

7 minutes ago, idontknowhatnametuse said:

Phoenix sylvestris is the most susceptible species to Lethal Bronzing, they're most likely goners.

seeing it was sylvestris this was my first thought, sad that such beautiful palms are so vulnerable as well

[idontknowhatnametuse]

23 minutes ago, TropicsEnjoyer said:

seeing it was sylvestris this was my first thought, sad that such beautiful palms are so vulnerable as well

They can be replaced with Phoenix reclinata which are more resistant to LB and are a clumping species.

[Merlyn]

@Rgvpalma956 I'd also guess Lethal Bronzing is the cause of the quick decline.  If other Sylvesters or Dactylifera (edible Date Palms) in your neighborhood have also been dying with similar visible symptoms, then it's almost guaranteed to be LB.  Here's a fact sheet on the incurable disease: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/PP163

However, if they looked great right before the grass was removed, there are a couple of possibilities:

• If someone sprayed a heavy-duty weedkiller to kill the grass, it could have also damaged or killed the palms.  Many herbicides that kill grass will also kill palms.
• The liner is a bad idea and might be preventing water from getting to the palm roots.  If it's not permeable then it'll cook the surface and pool water on top.  If it's permeable it probably won't stop weeds.  In general it's better to kill weeds every once in a while instead of using a weed blanket/liner/etc.

[Fusca]

On 12/8/2024 at 4:58 PM, Rgvpalma956 said:

Good afternoon I have 7 palms trees in my backyard there used to be grass, but i decided ti remove the grass and put rocks around them. 
 

the grass was removed and a liner was layed in placed. There used to be sprinklers, instead I placed a dripping system, palm trees all starting to turn brown, old leaves turning brown. 
I don’t know if it’s because of too much watering is sitting because of the liner or if they are need of more water, these are all 15-20 ft date palms. I’m looking for someone with expertise any available

6FE5C1AF-CE32-4373-8FC1-177CBFE5CA32.mov  

 

arborist that do online consultations?

6FE5C1AF-CE32-4373-8FC1-177CBFE5CA32.mov  

 

6FE5C1AF-CE32-4373-8FC1-177CBFE5CA32.mov  

 

Angel, I was just discussing lethal bronzing with the president of the Palm Society of South Texas on Saturday.  He knows a guy who will do a free DNS analysis of the live palm tissue to determine if the problem is indeed lethal bronzing.  I can get you in touch with him just send me a private message.  There was a couple of Phoenix canariensis near my church in Rio Hondo that looked fine in the summer but were both dead in a matter of weeks.  Unfortunately they were on an abandoned lot and I didn't notice the problem until they were gone and too late for testing which needs to be done on a palm that's still alive.

Jon