REACH FOR
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Sabal palmetto palms have also been called
"Cabbage" palms because they're harvested for use in salads as hearts
of palm.� The shag of dead leaves beneath
the green crown on palm trees is sometimes called a "petticoat".� The leaf bases, minus leaves, along the trunk
are called "boots".� If left on
the palmetto tree, they give a basket weave effect to the trunk.
Palm trees are primitive plants.� They can't be made to branch and they can't
be shortened by topping.� Their growth
bud is in the very center of the foliage in the crown of the tree.� If the bud dies, so does the tree.�
Occasionally you might see an irrigation pipe run
up the trunk of a palmetto with a sprinkler head at the top.� According to experts, this is a definite no-no.� No one knows how the idea originated but it
has a life of its own.�
Some people think if the growth bud is brown, it
needs water.� Not so.� It's probably dead and no amount of water
will green it up.� Palms don't take in
water through their leaves, only through their roots.� Splashing excessive water directly on the
crown of the tree encourages bud rot and can kill the tree.�
The trunk also won't repair itself.� It's a single stem with all its cells
developed before it starts to elongate into a trunk.� It cannot regenerate new wood.� Any injury to the trunk is permanent.� Braces should never be nailed directly to the
trunk.�
Unlike most others in the plant kingdom, palms
should be planted when they're in active growth during the spring and summer.� They like it hot.� Palmetto palms also transplant best with a
tall trunk established, the roots cut off, and most or all of the leaves
removed.� If they haven't started to
stretch with a trunk, they should only be transplanted as a potted plant.
Water is essential to their survival.� They need water every 4-5 days for the first
4-6 months while they become established.�
Check the backfilled soil to make sure it's getting wet to a depth of
6-8 inches.� This surrounding soil should
not dry out but also should not become swampy.
Palmettos like fertile, moist, well-drained
soils.� Once established in the
landscape, they need watering every week during the summer's active growth
period.
Their biggest requirement other than water is the
proper fertilizer.� Palmettos suffer from
deficiencies of magnesium and manganese.�
They need a fertilizer that contains as many minor elements as
possible.�
Leaves with spots or streaks of yellow, orange, or
brown could mean they need some extra fertilization.� They also don't tolerate cold weather as
well, if they're sickly.
What is the allure of these old plants?� Most likely it is the tropical effect the
palmettos create.� There is something
exotic about these tall, handsome, natural umbrellas.� Perhaps they're popularity has to do with a
memory or a dream as much as aesthetics.�
Warm tropical days, moonlit nights, soft music,
and palm trees swaying in the wind conjure up a feeling of peace and solitude,
a personal island in the sun.� Palm trees
beckon 'Slow down'.� While they reach for
the sky, you can add a hammock and stretch out.�
Just don't nail it to the palmetto.
---Anne K Moore---