Palm Care

Timothy K. Broschat and Monica L. Elliott

Timothy K. Broschat

Perhaps the most fundamental question to answer when discussing palm pruning is what should a healthy, properly pruned palm look like? Consumers must be educated that palms are supposed to have round crowns, not feather-duster crowns.

Braham Dhillon, Lucas Altarugio, Seemanti Chakrabarti, and Kamaldeep Bansal

Palms (Arecaceae) are flowering plants with varied growth forms ranging from climbers to tree-like plants found across diverse habitats. Some palm species naturally hybridize with other species, whereas a few species can be artificially hybridized to produce new morphotypes. Mule palm (× Butyagrus nabonnandii) is an artificial hybrid that is becoming popular as a landscape ornamental because of its appearance and cold hardiness. However, hybridization among different species could lead to unintended outcomes, including lesion mimics. A lesion mimic phenotype was identified in mule palms growing across multiple farms across central and south Florida. As leaf spots are one of the most common symptoms observed during disease or nutritional deficiency, the detection of lesion mimics can sometimes be challenging. This publication documents a simple method to identify lesion mimics in palms. Correct diagnosis of lesion mimics would limit unnecessary applications of fungicides or fertilizers.

Monica L. Elliott and Timothy Broschat

While many palm species are adapted to windstorms, a hurricane can damage even the most tolerant palms. This 3-page fact sheet provides suggestions about what to do after a windstorm has occurred once it is safe to venture outside to care for the landscape.

Timothy K. Broschat

ENH-92 describes how cold temperatures affect palms and how to treat them following a cold weather event.