How to Care for Palm Trees in Florida

How to Care for Palm Trees in Florida

One of the most popular landscapes in Florida is a lush, tropical one with palms as the focal point. There’s nothing quite like the effect that palm trees create when you know how to properly plant and care for them.

Palmco is one of the largest palm plantations in North America, with over 600 acres in production on Palm Island, Florida. We have 30-plus varieties of beautiful wholesale palm trees for sale that can make your client’s landscape come alive.

We have many sizes available at our farm and can mix or match heights for any size job. We deliver our palms on-time, in excellent condition, and ready to plant.

How to Plant and Care for Palm Trees

  1. Nursery-grown palms are typically sold either potted or balled and burlapped. Handle them with care to avoid damaging the bark, which can leave the tree vulnerable to insects and fungus.
  1. Plant your palms as soon as possible. Otherwise, keep the root ball moist, but not soaking, until you can do it. The ideal time for planting palms is in warmer weather with a soil temperature above 65°F.
  1. Dig a holewide enough to fit the root ball with room to spare, but don’t plant too deep. The palm should be planted at the same depth as it is currently growing.
  1. If using containers, remember that palms can’t live in them forever. After two or three years, you will have to plant it in the ground or re-pot it in a larger pot with new soil.
  1. After planting, build a soil barrier around the hole to form a dam that will hold water. Apply organic mulch around the tree, but no more than an inch or two. Mulching too deeply keeps the root ball too wet and can promote the growth of fungus.
  1. Newly planted palm trees need daily watering for the first few weeks. Slowly soak the area around the tree. Each tree should have its own dedicated source of water, e.g., 2-3 gallon per minute bubblers that should be placed on both sides of the root ball.
  2. Water less frequently over the first few months as the palm establishes itself. Don’t overwater, but don’t allow the soil to dry out completely during this period or you may weaken your new palm. Once established, most palms don’t need any additional water unless there is a drought.
  1. Some varieties of palms are self-cleaning, such as the Alexander Palm, Foxtail Palm and Royal Palm. Do not remove their fronds; they will fall off when the tree no longer needs nutrition from them. Non-self-cleaning palms will need to be trimmed, but be sure to only remove brown fronds. You will cause stress and limit the amount of nutrition your palm gets if you remove too many green fronds. Never climb the tree using spikes, or you will cause irreparable damage.
  2. Most landscape palms will require fertilization once or twice during the growing season. Ask us for recommendations.

For more information on how to care for your palm trees in Florida, visit our palm tree nursery and talk to our experts. Or call Palmco at (239) 283-1329 with any questions you may have. We’re always ready to help!