Mulching: Maintaining Palm

Did you know that organic mulches are beneficial to palms as they are to trees? Proper mulching is by applying 2 to 4 inches of organic mulch around a palm at a distance of 2 to 4 feet. Remember to keep mulch away from the trunk. Mulch can reduce the likelihood of damage from string trimmers or lawn mowers.

Maintaining Palm: Fertilizers

We all know that different trees nutritional requirements vary from other plants. For palms, there are specially formulated palm fertilizers that are available in the market. These fertilizers help prevent nutritional deficiencies. You should also know that improper fertilization can lead to problems such as magnesium deficiency (which leads to yellowing fronds), iron deficiency (which leads to yellowing young fronds, green mature fronds), manganese deficiency, particularly in alkaline soils (yellowed, frizzled young fronds), and zinc deficiency (small fronds).

How To Plant Palms?

Here are some tips to planting palm. First thing to consider is to protect the terminal bud in order to avoid damaging or killing the palm. Extra protection should be given to the terminal bud of the palm especially when transporting the palm because excessive vibration may crack the bud. During transport and installation, containerized palms should have their fronds tied together. And prior to transport, dead or dying fronds should be removed.

In order to allow room for backfilling soil around the root ball, the planting hole for palm should be large enough. Always plant the palm at the same depth as it was originally grown. And take note that planting too deeply may lead to manganese or iron deficiencies. Likewise, planting too high may cause the palm to blow over and expose the root initiation zone to air.

The best soil for palms is sand or loamy sand soils. This provides aeration for the roots and adequate drainage.