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Palm and Tree Library

Field Notes

What we see in the field across Southwest Florida, written for the managers, boards and superintendents who run communities: the threats that kill palms, the budget calendar, soil and water, and the standards behind the work. See the guides

37posts since May 2025

2026

9 notes on this page
Soil and WaterMay 26, 2026 · 5 min readToo Deep to Thrive: Root Flares and Planting DepthA palm planted a few inches too deep can decline for years, and a buried flare on a tree is one of the most common faults we find.EstablishmentMay 12, 2026 · 4 min readStaking After a Storm: Stand It Up Fast, Take It Off on TimeA savable tree has days, not weeks, to be stood back up, and the stakes have to come off before they do harm of their own.EstablishmentApril 28, 2026 · 4 min readRecord New Trees and Palms From Day OneA new palm or tree that dies may be under the installer's warranty, but only if someone notices and has the dates.ThreatsApril 14, 2026 · 5 min readOTC Injections: Why We Keep Them as a Last ResortQuarterly antibiotic injections leave dozens of permanent holes and slow lethal bronzing without stopping it, so the Palm Health Program comes first.StandardsMarch 24, 2026 · 5 min readFlorida Grades and Standards: What "Florida No. 1" Means for Your New PalmsThe state grades every nursery palm and tree, and the grade is checked the day it arrives, while a defect is still the installer's.PruningMarch 10, 2026 · 5 min readPrune Date Palms in April and May: Seed Pods, Bees and the DrenchThorny date palms are pruned once the pods mature, before the protective drench season, so bees stay off a treated palm.NutritionFebruary 24, 2026 · 5 min readWhy Palm Fertilizer Has a Floor: Steady Beats HeavyA palm keeps almost nothing in reserve, so the number of feedings a year matters more than the size of any one of them.Storms and ColdFebruary 10, 2026 · 5 min readAfter a Cold Snap, Check the Spear Before You Cut AnythingBrown fronds after a freeze look worse than they are, so we test the bud, wait out the cold season, and only then prune.NutritionJanuary 13, 2026 · 5 min readFrizzletop and the pH 7.5 ProblemA palm can be fed on schedule and still starve for manganese, because limestone soil locks it up before the roots can take it.

2025

3 notes on this page
StandardsDecember 9, 2025 · 5 min readTree Risk Assessment: What TRAQ Means When We Call a Tree High RiskA removal call should follow a method a board can read: how likely the tree is to fail, what it would hit, and how bad that would be.GolfNovember 18, 2025 · 5 min readSpecimen Palms on a Golf Course: Protect the Ones Members NoticeSignature palms on a course are expensive to replace and visible to every member, so they get their own plan, timed around play.Soil and WaterNovember 4, 2025 · 5 min readBuilt Soil: Why New Communities Are Hard on Palms and TreesConstruction packs the ground like a road bed and strips out what roots need, and the university numbers show how far it goes.

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