The queen palm is a fast-growing tree once planted in any warm season, growing around two to six feet a year after it’s established and depending on its site.
Light
Plant your queen palm in a location that will receive full sun. Some light shade will not harm the tree.
Soil
The best growth occurs in sandy, acidic soils. These palms can have problems with retrieving enough minerals from alkaline soils. The deficiency of various minerals in the soil will present itself in the following ways and indicate the need for soil amendment:
Potassium deficiency: can cause the tips of the oldest fronds to frizzleMagnesium deficiency: can cause the bases of new fronds to frizzleIron deficiency: can cause uniformly new yellow leaves
Water
Queen palms need moderate watering, with more attention when they are young. After the tree is established, water a few times a week in the summer and winter.
Temperature and Humidity
The queen palm loves the hot and humid environment, especially that of South Florida because it is also moderately tolerant of salt spray. The tree may be susceptible to frosts in zone 9, but a well-established tree can temporarily tolerate colder temperatures that dip to 15 degrees.
Fertilizer
Use a fertilizer two times a year. Choose one that offers the trace elements, especially if the soil is not sandy. Fertilizers that are specifically made for palm trees are available. Before you fertilize for the first time, it is a good idea to send your soil off to the extension service for testing to assess the current soil makeup.
Queen Palm Varieties
Varieties of the queen palm for zones 10 to 11 include the following:
Arikury palm, a smaller tree that grows 12 feet highLicury palm, with olive green and silvery green spiral leaves, grows 35 feet highOvertop palm, with a tall gray trunk, grows 60 feet high
Pruning
Do not take off too many green fronds at once or the tree will struggle. The fronds tend to stay on the tree after they turn brown and die, so be prepared to prune them to keep pests and diseases at bay. The queen palm is not considered a “self-cleaning” palm that sheds its fronds. It will also approve the appearance of your palm tree. The tree may be damaged by freezing temperatures. These can be pruned away if the damage is severe.
How to Grow Queen Palm From Seed
You can propagate this tree by collecting and planting the seeds from the fruit.
Common Pests and Diseases
Possible pests include the palm leaf skeletonizer (a caterpillar/moth), which hides and feeds under a silk mat that needs to be removed from leaves with water from a high-pressure garden hose. Insecticides will not help eliminate this pest. Other pest problems that can affect queen palm include scale and spider mites. Happily, the queen palm does not succumb to lethal yellowing disease, which affects many other types of palms. But take care of the queen palm tree trunk because it is susceptible to damage, which could spread disease. Potential diseases include:
Fusarium fungus and wiltGanoderma butt rotOak root rotPink rot
