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Your December, 2001
Paul, "The Palm
Doctor!"
Palm of the Month!!
Syagrus romanzoffiana
"The Queen
Palm"
The Queen palm is heavily planted in South Florida. It
grows best in full sun, Queen Palm is most suited for acidic, well-drained soils and shows
severe mineral deficiencies on alkaline soil. Unfortunately. acid soil is rare in
Florida. Most homeowners do not fertilize
properly and so we see many Queens with "frizzle top" symptoms. The new
fronds progressively weaken, get shorter, yellow and have a frizzy appearance.This
disfigures the palm by stunting the young leaves and can kill it. Since Queen Palms are
frequently planted in our heavily alkaline soil, regular preventive applications of
manganese and/or iron to help keep the fronds green. Potassium deficiency is also
displayed on older fronds in well-drained soils. Quick-growing Queen Palm responds well to
ample moisture and fertilizer and is slightly salt-tolerant. After planting Queen Palm in
the landscape, growth is rapid. This palm is not affected by lethal yellowing disease.
Another caution here! Pruning off too many fronds at
one time can cause the palm to decline. Growth often slows with new foliage aborting to
display distorted leaflets. The trunk is also very susceptible to decay. Prevent
injury to the trunk by keeping turf well away from the trunk. The Queen Palm IS
highly suseptible to Gandoderma butt rot. This is an always fatal fungal disease.
 Description
(University Of Florida data)
Height: 25 to 50 feet
Spread: 15 to 25 feet
Crown uniformity: irregular
Crown shape: palm, upright/erect
Crown density: open
Growth rate: fast
Texture: fine
Foliage
Leaf arrangement: alternate (Fig. 3)
Leaf type: odd-pinnately compound
Leaf margin: entire
Leaf shape: lanceolate
Leaf venation: parallel
Leaf type and persistence: evergreen
Leaf blade length: 12 to 18 inches, 18 to 36 inches
Leaf color: green
Fall color: no color change
Fall characteristic: not showy
Flower
Flower color: white/cream/gray
Flower characteristics: showy
Fruit
Fruit shape: round
Fruit length: .5 to 1 inch
Fruit covering: fleshy
Fruit color: orange
Fruit characteristics: does not attract wildlife; showy; fruit/leaves a litter
problem
Trunk
 Trunk/bark/branches: branches
don't droop; not showy; typically one trunk; thorns
Pruning requirement: little required
Breakage: resistant
Current year twig color: not applicable
Current year twig thickness:
Wood specific gravity: unknown
Culture
Light requirement: full sun
Soil tolerances: clay; sand; loam; acidic; well-drained; occasionally wet
Drought tolerance: moderate
Aerosol salt tolerance: moderate
Other
Roots: not a problem
Winter interest: no
Outstanding tree: no
Invasive potential: little invasive potential
Ozone sensitivity: unknown
Verticillium wilt susceptibility: resistant
Pest resistance: resistant to pests/diseases
In spite of the aforementioned drawbacks, the Queen is very
easy to grow and deserves some planting in palm groupings and as a nice background tree.
It must be remembered, however; this variety of palm needs regular preventative
nutritional care otherwise it will look poorly, and not be long-lived.
Paul, The Palm Doctor!
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