Palm Tree Leaves Turning Brown – Should I Cut the Leaves?
A lot of us grow up with the dream of seeing grand palm trees in our backyard with their leaves flowing with the velocity of wild winds under the big blue sky. There is something peculiar about tall and proud palm trees that reminds us of sunshine and warmth found in the lap of Mother Nature. If you have lived in the pleasant heat of tropical climatic conditions, you must know what we are talking about here. But when you see your palm tree leaves turning brown from lush green, your garden’s entire look and aesthetics are destroyed in a matter of days.
To ensure you do not have to cut down your glorious palm trees or indulge in unnecessary trimming, you must provide them proper care and be watchful for brown spots on palm tree leaves. Today, let us put all your queries about the health and darkening of palm tree leaves to rest and increase your knowledge bank so that you can make an informed decision when it comes to your magnificent palm trees.
What Causes Palm Tree Leaves to Turn Brown?
To begin with, understanding why your palm trees lose their lush green color and end up with brown leaves is essential. Once you know the cause behind your palm tree leaves turning brown, it will be easier to decide upon a plan of action for reviving your palm trees back to health. According to experts, discoloration in palm tree leaves can happen because of more than one reason.
One of the most common reasons your palm tree leaves turn brown is that it does not receive the key components or nutrients for retaining its health, like water, manganese, nitrogen or magnesium. Lack of these nutrients can cause poor soil aeration or high soil pH, affecting the overall health and well-being of palms.
Diseases like Ganoderma butt rot and pests like spider mites and tree weevils can also be responsible for the darkening of palm tree leaves. However, different patterns of brown colour on the leaves of your palm trees suggest that they have different problems. Last but not least, having your palm trees planted too deep in the soil could also cause their leaves to turn brown.
For instance, if you see palm plants with brown tips, it necessarily has to do with their water intake – either they are receiving too much or too scarce water than what is actually required. To assess the type of irrigation issue your palm tree faces, their soil is usually dug 6 to 12 inches deep.
The ground under your palm tree should be at the apt moisture level; it should not be very dry (so much so that it crumbles) or very soggy and saturated in texture. In case your palm tree soil is dry, a slow watering method is employed so that the first (and most important) 6 to 12 inches of soil gets to absorb the right amount of water. So, if you had just been watering the surface of your palm trees, it might not be able to do the trick.
Brown spots on palm tree leaves have another story to calltol. The key reasons for this problem usually relate to nutritional deficiency or plague-like palm tree diseases like Graphiola leaf spot.
So, if you notice brown spots (in shapes ranging from round to oval) on the leaves of your palm trees, you can consult a good tree surgeon to choose the best remedial action from the ones listed below:
- Restricting the irrigation before it reaches the palm foliage.
- Allowing for adequate air circulation by spacing your palm trees properly.
- Removing and destroying palm fronds that are severely infected.
- Keeping palm tree diseases at bay with a professional fungicide treatment.
But it is not easy to determine the culprit for turning your lush palm tree leaves brown. The best way going forward would be to reach out to a trusted arborist exactly when you notice your palm plants with brown tips. Reputed tree service companies like Morris Tree Service are proficient in inspecting your palm trees to determine the root cause of the problem and suggest the most appropriate and workable solution. So, if you are struggling with thoughts like ‘should I cut off brown palm leaves’ or ‘should I simply take down the entire tree’, scheduling a consultation is essential.
Should I Cut Off Brown Palm Leaves?
To determine if trimming is the only option to save your palms, you must first know the level of browning on their leaves. Palm leaves with brown tips can recover if they are diagnosed in time. But if the leaves on your palms have turned entirely brown, it indicates they are dying or already dead.
Trimming their leaves is the only option to ensure your palm trees look as glorious as ever. While at it, remember that you should never cut too many leaves at once, as it can stress the parent tree.
All avid gardeners who are left with the option of professional tree trimming often wonder if there is a way that can help their brown palm leaves regain their natural green color. If you go by the word of experts at Morris Tree Service, if your palm fronds have turned complecalltoy brown, it implies that they are dead and cannot be revived again. But when this happens, your palm trees undergo a natural process of shedding damaged and dead fronds and grow new, fresh and green ones.
Who doesn’t wish to see their palm trees thriving with a healthy green color? But retaining their natural lush tint can be more complicated than you think, especially if your palm trees are exposed to one or a couple of the problems listed above in this blog.
Therefore, it is suggested that you guard your palm trees against several issues like diseases and insects with a professional treatment that can keep them fertilized and well-maintained. So, if you see your palm tree leaves turning brown, reach out to Morris Tree Service immediacalltoy for palm tree trimming.