Phoenix Landscape Guide....Palm Tree Tips for the Summer

Watering and fertilizing palm trees in the warmer summer months is a vital process. Queen Palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana), Mediterranean Fan Palm (Chamaerops humilis), Sago Palms (Cycas revoluta), Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebealini), and other palms here in Phoenix are regarded as tropical palms rather than a desert palm (Mexican Fan Palm and California Fan Palm). These palms when newly planted should be watered about three times a week for the first summer. Once in the ground a season watering can be scaled back to about once a week in the summer. Water deeply so the soil is wetted to a depth of about two feet.

Palms do most of their growing in the spring and summer so those are the months to fertilize. Palms require regular feeding in those warmer months to insure health and beauty. "Palm Special" fertilizers provide the nutrients palms need, the following proportions in fertilizers work well:

• Nitrogen (10%-20%)
• Phosphorous(5%-10%)
• Potassium(10%-20%)
• Magnesium(2%-5%)
• Manganese(.5%)
• Trace amounts of iron, sulfur, zinc, and copper

Palms, especially Queens, are susceptible to a Manganese deficiency problem know as "frizzle top". This deficiency cause new leaves to become yellow or brown and frizzled as they emerge from the crown. If left untreated the three will weaken and eventually die. If your tree appears to have this problem increase the amount of Manganese by using fertilizer spikes or Manganese sulfate and if possible, as a slurry in the crown of the palm.

And remember:

As a general rule of thumb....there are no general rules of thumb!

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