How Long Do Queen Palms Live?

A lot of people adore the pictures of palms lining the boulevard and would also want that kind of luxurious beauty in front of their yard. Palm trees live a long and healthy life as long as you choose your species wisely and have the right tools at hand. But how long do queen palms live?

The lifespan of queen palm trees depends entirely on the species you get. Queen palms live for 70 to 100 years in warm environments as long as you maintain them properly.

You shouldn’t be surprised if you see these trees alongside walks, it is due to their amazing appearance, and in this article, we will show you how to care for queen palm trees to extend their lifespan.

Let’s get started!

How Long Do Queen Palms Live?

If maintained properly, queen palm trees can have a lifespan of about 70-100 years and can be planted both commercially and residentially. The fruits that these plants produce are called dates which are commonly eaten by birds and even mammals.

You should be aware that when this plant grows and produces dates, these dates sometimes fall in heavy and large clusters which eventually turn to sticky and rotting fruits, and these seeds cause unwanted seedlings to start sprouting out.

You should ensure that you make proper research before planting this tree because, in some countries like Florida, this plant is considered to be invasive.

See Also: How Fast Do Sago Palms Grow?

How to Care For Queen Palm Trees To Extend their Lifespan

Light

These trees love the full and direct sunlight so plant your queen palm trees in an area where this sunlight would not be disrupted by a shade if you want your plant to grow healthily.

Soil requirements

The best queen palm growths occur in sandy areas and acidic soils because if you eventually plant them in alkaline soil, these palms would have a hard time retrieving minerals for use from the soil.

This is most likely to later lead to a series of deficiencies in the plant and this would raise the need for soil amendment. These deficiencies would present themselves in the following ways;

• Potassium deficiency; can lead to the frizzling of the tip of your oldest fronds.
• Magnesium deficiency; can lead to the frizzling of the bases of new fronds.
• Iron deficiency; would lead to uniformly yellowing of new leaves.

Watering

Queen’s palms do not need too much watering; you would be needing to water these trees more when they are younger but when they start getting bigger, it can be reduced to about 2 times a week in the summer and even winter

Humidity And Temperature

The queen palms are in love with the humid and hot environment, these trees may be susceptible to frosts in zone 9 but a well-established queen palm can be able to tolerate harsher and cooler temperatures that dip up to 15 degrees.

Fertilizer Application

Use fertilizers on these plants two times a year and ensure that you choose fertilizers that offer your plant trace elements in bulk, most especially if the soil you are planting in is not sandy. Before fertilizing for the first time, make sure you send your soil to the extension services for testing before doing so.

Pruning Your Queen Palms

Ensure that you do not take too many green fronds from the tree all at once or else, your tree would struggle and die but you should also be ready because these fronds hardly fall off except if they are too old or develop brown leaves and for this reason, prune regularly to combat pests and disease infestations.

Queen’s palms are not seen as self-cleaning trees like some other plant varieties so ensure that your prune adequately to improve its appearance. Sometimes, the tree gets damaged by freezing temperatures and if that occurs, you are free to prune that part away so it doesn’t affect the others.

Some popular varieties of these queen palm trees are;

• Arikury palm; this is a smaller variety of queen palm that grows up to only 12 ft high.
• Luxury palm; these varieties have olive green palms with silvery green spiral leaves that grow about 35 ft high.
• Overtop palms; are bigger varieties that grow up to 60 ft high and have tall gray trunks.

How Do I Grow Queen Palms From Seeds?

The easiest way to propagate this plant is from the seeds in the fruits. Follow the method below to be able to successfully plant your queen palms;

1. When these dates fall to the ground nearly or fully ripe, remove the fruit pulp from the seeds
2. Soak the seeds in water for a few days to soften the fruit pulp and then soak again to remove the pulp
3. Get a well-drained and moist pot or soil and plant your seeds there
4. Ensure that you keep them germinated in a spot that is hot for at least 100 degrees
5. The germination process is slow, may take up to six weeks and even six months; so, you have to be patient enough
6. When the seedlings look strong enough, you can now transplant them to a sunny area

See Also: Mexican Blue Palm Care Guide

Pest And Diseases of Queen Palms

Some common pests to this plant include the palm leaf skeletonizer, which is a caterpillar or moth that eats up this tree, this pest can be removed from the leaves of the plant with water from a garden hose with high pressure because most insecticides do not help in eliminating them.

Some other common palm pests that also affect the queen palm are aphids, mealybugs, and spider mites.

The queen palm is not susceptible to yellowing of its leaves like most palms but that doesn’t mean you should take less care of it. some potential diseases of this plant include;

• Fusarium fungus and wilt
• Ganoderma butt rot
• Oak root rot
• Pink rot