Just picked up a nice 6' Queen palm. I would like to know what soil Queen Palms prefer (not listed in datatbase). How often and how much should a Queen Palm be watered.
When and how much fertalizer should I use. Anything you think will be helpful. Thanks, George aka Jester.
Queen palm question(s)
George:
I am not an expert so the information that follows is from Betrock's Guide To Landscape Palms by Alan W. Meerow:
Syagrus romanzoffiana aka Queen palm, Cocos plumosa
Typical height: 40'
Hardiness Zone: 10A-11
Growth Rate: Fast
Drought tolerance: Moderate
Soil requirements: Slightly acid is best but fairly adaptable
Light requirement: High
Nutritional requirements: High
Major pest problems: None
Major disease or physiological problems: Manganese and potassium deficiency, ganoderma, gliocadium blight (California), phytophthora bud rot
The species is somewhat weak-rooted and can topple in strong winds. It transplants easily, grows quickly, and is bothered by few pests or diseases. "Frizzletop", caused by manganese deficiency, is frequently a problem if fertilizer is not provided periodically on alkaline soils. The palm produces copious quantities of fruit which some consider messy.
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George, how often you should fertilize depends upon the expert you ask. Some experts in Florida suggest fertilizing palms once a quarter. Others suggest dividing the yearly amount of fertilizer by twelve and fertilizing monthly.
Good luck with your palm and post a photograph of it if you can. :-)
Thanks, I was starting to thank no one was going to help. I will post a pic as soon as my Kodac digital and I come to terms (I can not get the pics to download into my computer). I see that your book has the hardiness zone well above mine but there are lots of pretty Queen Palms here in San Antonio and this one came from a local grower so its been here since it was a seedling. Thanks for the info, I will amend the soild and put her in the ground. George aka Jester
You're welcome. I look forward to seeing your photograph and welcome to Dave's Garden. :-)
Jester, they sell Palm food at Home Depot, I use it twice a year. If your leaves start to yellow a bit from the alkaline soil that is in parts of TX, just give it some iron. The leaves may also yellow a bit during winter and from what the palm tree nurseryman said, that's normal and they green back up as soon as it warms up in spring. During the heat of the summer I soak the big Queens twice a month, the smaller ones I soak once a week because they are in sandy soil by the pool.
They have huge flower stalks that the honeybees love and then lots of seeds that smell fermented when they ripen and all fall on the ground. We usually cut our seed stalks before they get ripe cause I don't like the mess they make.
Queen palms like just about any soil that exists. Most all palms (with exceptions) like acidic soil the best, but many are not that picky. Probably your soil would be fine. It has been shown now that it is best NOT to ammend your soil when planting most palms, as that retards root growth into the surrounding non-ammended soils and makes the palm weaker in the long run. However, for years I ammended soils and they all seemed to do OK... maybe they would have done better had i not done it. If you have a good clay soil, minimal fertilization is necessary, at least for the first few years. After that, 1-4x a year with a slow release palm fertilizer is recommended. WAter well, especially at first. Most queen palms are underwatered. They are drought tolerant palms, so people think they don't want water... but if you water one well and consistently you will get a much thicker, healthier, faster growing palm.