Caring for your Palms - When to Fertilize Palm Trees


Palm Trees are very tough and hearty plant. If your palms are the correct species for you temperature zone, then once established they will need very little maintenance. They add beauty and elegance to any landscape and ask very little in return. To grow beautiful, healthy palm trees you need to follow a few basic steps. Water, prune and fertilize.

This article will deal with fertilizing your palms. This topic can be made either very simple or very complicated depending on how you approach the subject. I prefer a basic approach. Simply fertilize three times a year with a 3 month slow release palm fertilizer designed for palms. After applying the fertilizer simply water it in.

Here are some guidelines for the amount of fertilizer that you should use. (These are guidelines and are not intended to replace the fertilizer manufacturers instructions - follow the instructions on the bag) For the initial fertilization, blend in fertilizer at the time of planting to enrich the soil removed from the hole. Mix at a rate of two ounces of palm fertilizer per inch of trunk diameter. After planting and watering in the tree you can add one additional ounce of slow release palm fertilizer per three inches of trunk on the ground. This will give the tree a good start.

After the tree is established you will use a different ratio for fertilizing. We recommend a palm fertilizer in the form of slow release pellets that contains roughly 12 to 13 percent nitrogen, 3 to 4 percent potassium, 12 to 13 percent phosphorus plus trace elements. Use 8 ounces of the fertilizer per inch of trunk and spread around the base of tree. You can till the fertilizer in or just punch some holes in the ground around the tree.
Here are a few do's and dont's.

DO

- Do Follow the instructions on the bag. Don't just cut the bag open and start pouring. This can lead to over fertilizing which can kill young newly established trees.

- Only put fertilizer on moist soil and after applying make sure to water it in.

- Consider buying a slow release type fertilizer. It will cost more but will give more even results and is easier on the tree. Also, use a fertilizer with supplemental magnesium and calcium.

- Spread the fertilizer evenly all the way around the plant and work it into the soil.

DO NOT

- Don't pour fertilizer directly on the tree or into the crown. Distribute it around the tree in the soil only. Also, don't just make a big pile.

- Don't fertilize bone dry soil.

- Don't over fertilize. Better to use too little than too much.

Other Palm Tree Articles

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