We have two sago palms and one of your standard palm trees that look like they were planted in 1993 when our house was originally built - they are HUGE! Unfortunately, they were planted right near the wall of the house, and I have worries that if their roots run deep enough and large enough, they could possibly damage the foundation of the house.
Is this possible?
Thanks!
Wyfe_of_Ent
Huge palms capable of cracking foundation?
Actually, sago palms aren't truly palms, they are cycads. ;)
I don't know for certain, but I don't think that a sago will bother your foundation at all. Hopefully, someone will be able to come and give you a more positive answer to your question!
What kind of palm is the "standard palm tree?" If it's a Queen, then absolutely it can crack a foundation and/or concrete slab. Queens have tremendous root networks and cracked our sidewalk out by our pool. It should have never been planted there by the previous owner of the property.
Mexican fan palms have huge roots too, and their trunks can get quite huge, and that combo is capable of splitting any concrete that might be nearby.
From looking through the images in the plant files, the palm is definitely not a queen or Mexican fan palm. I'm pretty sure it's a cretan date palm, again from the plant files, though there's a lotttttta files on palms there. ;)
Thanks for the feedback. I'd be happy for even more if you have any!
take a pic and post it on here, you'll get more info Im sure.
Not sure what sort of wimpy foundations you have there, but one of the reasons palms are so great for planting is they have really dinky, wimpy roots compared to the size of the tree- cracking foundations is basically unheard of by a palm that I know of, at least. Even queen palm roots are insignificant in size compared to a pine tree or angiosperm only 1/10 their size. Not only do they not tend to spread laterally very far except right below the surface (and usually only out to about the distance from the trunk as far as the fronds extend- a far cry from what let's say an Ash tree or Magnolia will do) but they tend to 'go with the flow' rather than 'force the flow'. Most palm roots tend to grow pretty much straight down. Palm roots are all about the same size (dinky) with very little branching going on, though old, large palms can have a lot of roots and still be a huge challenge to dig up. However, they generally are not too 'pushy' and I haven't even seen a side walk damaged by a palm, though I am sure that's possible (much thinner concrete than a slab). They rarely even damage plumbing unless it's right below the trunk. Since it sounds like you have a Phoenix palm, I would worry more about the trunk damaging the side of your house (especially in a wind storm) rather than the roots doing any damage below ground. Your Sago palm (not a palm, as mentioned above) has even wimpier roots still, and certainly cannot damage any foundations (unless made out of mud).
I wish I could find the picture I have of my Queen that cracked our sidewalk. I can show you though, the location where it happened. I had to have my gardener pull the Queen. It had been planted in this location and allowed to grow unabated for 5 years and the trunk grew so wide and the roots got so extensive that it started to raise the sidewalk up and a crack formed in the crease in the concrete walkway. It was about 25'+ tall when we pulled it. And the sidewalk slab is the normal thickness of such a walkway. I'm growing a nice foxtail there now and I've been told that it will never be a problem in that location.
So palmbob, I know what you mean about the small Queen roots, but they grew so thick in there that just the quantity of the small roots and perhaps the thickness of the trunk, was enough to raise up the sidewalk. This absolutely was not a good place to grow a Queen.
Thank you, O Palm Masters - I feel a lot more at ease. :) :)
-Wyfe of Ent
I have to disagree with palmbob.
I'm a landscape architect in Naples, Florida, and I can tell you for sure that I have seen many, many cases of root invasion from palms. and if you think about it, a tree is big as a coconut, or washingtonia, or even a queen, requires a huge root system both structurally and nutritionally.
There are some palms that are worse than others, of course. Coconut is likely one of the worse, depending on variety; the older ones like Jamaica Tall aren't so bad, but they are scarce owing to lethal yellowing, and the new malayan/maypans have huge bases with roots that tend to go a little aerial, depending on soil conditions.
Lots of things affect root behavior, of course: the natural habit of the plant is important, but remember that roots are looking for water and food and will be quite aggressive in searching for them. This is the chief reason that street trees cause so many headaches; they are planted, often, in narrow strips with soil that includes the structural sub base of the adjacent road, which is essentially sterile.
I don't know what a 'standard palm' is in your area! but palms that will live in your zone include the Pineapple Palm, and the Chinese Fan, both of which are fairly innocuous; and the date palm, which is huge and mostly well-mannered, depending on local conditions around the tree.
Hope this helps.
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