No electricity.
No roof.
Flooded streets.
Empty shelves.
Fallen trees.
Hurricanes and tropical storms can wreak havoc on the lives of Floridians, but once you’ve taken care of the essentials, you can now turn your attention to conditions in your yard.
If you can take a firm inventory of how your trees survived a storm, you may wonder if your precious palm trees can recover from the damage caused by wind, storm surge and rain.
The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences has answers to your questions.
How many species of palm trees are there in Florida?
According to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, there are more than 2,600 species of palm trees in Florida.
How does a palm tree grow?
Unlike many other trees, a palm tree grows from a single point at the top of the trunk. This so-called apical meristem is often also called a palm bud or palm heart.
“All new leaves grow from this bud. If the bud is severely damaged, no new leaves will develop and the palm will eventually die.” The bud is not visible or accessible for inspection, the UF researchers said.
Which palm tree is the hardiest in Florida?
“The iconic palm tree seen in Florida landscapes is more resilient than you might think, even when the lush green fronds suddenly wither and thin due to extreme winds and rainfall during a storm,” said a press release from the University of Florida’s IFAS.
Both the native sabal palm and the royal palm can survive strong winds, but in very different ways. While sabal palms lose very few leaves, royal palms lose most of their leaves, said the University of Florida’s IFAS.
How resilient are palm trees to tropical storms or hurricanes?
Debris flies during Hurricane Michael at Panama City Beach
When Hurricane Michael devastated parts of the Florida Panhandle, devastating winds pushed palm trees aside and hurled debris into the air.
USA TODAY
An established, healthy palm tree will withstand a storm like Hurricane Debby – which hit Florida’s Big Bend in August 2024 as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 80 mph – without serious problems, the University of Florida’s IFAS said.
“Depending on the palm tree, the leaves may be torn or bent at the petiole, but do not suffer such severe damage that replanting would be necessary. The conductive tissue of palm trunks is randomly distributed throughout the trunk. It does not run perfectly straight up and down, but meanders through the trunk, giving the palm trunk a high degree of flexibility and greater breaking strength compared to normal trees.”
Will your palm tree survive a storm? What you should pay attention to
“As long as the crown doesn’t fall off, it shouldn’t be a problem if the palm tree returns to its pre-storm appearance. It’s possible that fungal pathogens combined with excessive rainfall could penetrate the crown, but that probably won’t become apparent for a while.
“In extreme cases – say the treetop is completely destroyed – the palm tree is doing well if it sees the spear leaf growing again the following month. It just needs time to recover.”
Can you replant parts of a palm tree?
NO.
How long does it take a palm tree to recover from a tropical storm or hurricane?
Patience is key here.
It will take at least six months – probably longer – before the palm tree can be expected to recover, the IFAS at the University of Florida said.
“This depends greatly on the type of palm and the extent of the damage. Palms, which are naturally slow-growing, can recover quickly if necessary.
“Some palm species can fully recover in six months, while others may take years. Regardless, palms grow more slowly than regular trees and have only one growing point… so it takes longer to know if they’re recovering compared to other plants. Patience is key with palms.”
“In some cases, the new leaves do not look normal; they may have an abnormal shape and/or be shorter than normal, or the leaflets or leaf segments may have necrotic (dead tissue) edges.”
“Over time, each new leaf should look a little more normal until normal leaves eventually appear. It is recommended that damaged palms be carefully monitored over the next one to two years,” said the University of Florida’s IFAS.
Palm tree trunk is broken. What should I do?
If the trunk of a single-stemmed palm tree is broken, it should be sawed off at the base and removed. It will not recover, UF researchers said.
Palm tree is uprooted. What should you do?
The palm should be upright at the same depth as soon as possible. Support is necessary and should be maintained for at least six months.
These “transplanted” palms should be treated as if they were being planted for the first time. “Water management is the most important component of a management program in the first six months.”
Should you do something with the leaves or fronds of your storm-damaged palm tree?
“If the broken leaves are still green, it is advisable to leave them on, as they allow the palm tree to photosynthesize while it recovers.
“However, if only a few leaves are broken off, removing those leaves (and only those leaves) may be acceptable,” UF said.
Should you fertilize storm-damaged palm trees to help them recover better from a storm?
“For palm trees that were not uprooted, maintain the same fertilization program that was in place before the storm.
“For transplanted palms, no additional fertilizer should be added to the root zone until the palm shows new growth (i.e., new leaves). This will take a month or more in many cases.”
Young palm leaves are yellow. What can you do?
The youngest leaf on a royal palm, the spear leaf, is actually an unopened leaf and is most common on royal palms. It usually stands upright in the center of the crown. Under normal circumstances, it slowly opens from the tip to the base of the leaf. As each part of the leaf expands, it takes on the normal color associated with mature leaves.
“It is not uncommon for this spear leaf to open prematurely during a storm. When this happens, the leaf appears chlorotic – pale green or yellow – because it has not fully developed.
“Usually, these leaves return to a normal green color after a few days. As long as the bud is not damaged, the palm will form a new crown to replace the one lost in the hurricane. It takes at least a year – and usually longer – for the entire crown to be restored.”
Storm surge and your palm trees: can they survive?
“If the landscape has been flooded with salt water, the salts from evaporated or seeped salt water can cause serious damage to many palm species.
“This is especially true if the salt water remains in the landscape for more than a few hours or if there is no significant rainfall after the salt water recedes.”
“In the latter case, it can be helpful to heavily leach the soil around the palms with fresh water as quickly as possible. Salt damage typically causes leaf tip necrosis throughout the canopy.”
Did you know? Acaí comes from palm trees
The trendy health food acaí comes from a palm tree found in South America, mainly in the Brazilian Amazon, according to the University of Texas. It is commonly referred to as a “superfruit” with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
“The tree does not grow outside its natural habitat and fresh açaí berries are highly perishable. Outside Brazil, they are usually only available as juice,” says the University of Texas.
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