Foxtail Palms and winter sun - sickly tree - suggestions?

FrankL

I have a few foxtails and a royal palm in the front yard. In the winter, the north Foxtail. I made the mistake of one next to it getting taller.

I have fertilized it and water it. Cutback the other trees palms. It is only getting about 3 hours of sunlight because of winter sun. The tree has only two weker green branches coming out of the top. I am hoping I can nurse it along another three months when the sun will shift around and it gets 8 hours of sun a day.

Any suggestions? I know that Fox tails supposedly really like maganese. Can it make it on 3 hours of sun? Thanks.

Frank Lardino

CoachDave

Dear Frank,

Howdy, I'm Coach Dave and I work for The Home Depot and I think your problems can be solved.

Your options are pretty numerous in terms of the quick fix, but let's take a look outside the box on other options:

1) Re-locating the palm to a sunnier area is an option.

2) Perhaps get an outdoor full spectrum halogen spotlight to add light during the night. This has the light that can add light close to sunlight.

3) Wait and see if the season change will take care of the problem by itself might be your answer?

Pruning other palms during the winter is an accepted practice for old growth, however do not trim the new growth. On the chance that your palm doesn't make it, replacing a Palm is never a bad idea.

As for fertilizer, Manganese is the best thing for palms. I recommend Epson Salt as a good source of Manganese, but a slow release "Palm Fertilizer" will work much longer.

I hope this helps you with your "Finicky Foxtail". If you have more questions just ask.

Yours Respectfully,

Coach Dave