“WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THESE TREES?”

ABC Channel 25WPBF News turns to Universal Landscape, Inc. for our opinion on the health and cost of a new, large, City of West Palm Beach, Turnpike landscape installation project ; by Investigative Reporter Terri Parker

The Article below provides more specific and in depth information to the stages of what can go wrong & why during new large palm tree installations.

Knowing the reasons why something can go wrong also leads to what can be done to help correct a problem with an installation, and these are questions that many homeowners may wish to know.

The Answer of what could be wrong lays within :

The Three Important Stages of Palm & Tree Installation

In the interview, ABC reporter Terri Parker asks our owner, Sal Ceraulo, several questions about this project. Among them, this common question which is of the same interest and more personal financial importance to homeowners having new landscape trees installed in their own properties. If the project is small or large, there are things of importance which do not change after a new landscape installation.

In the video Terri grabs a large, fallen & brown palm fron from a Royal Palm tree that was recently installed, and shows her concern that the trees the city just planted may die.

There is the same challenge here in this city project as with any commercial or even residential landscape installation, and that is the all important need of getting the trees off to a good, healthy start. This point of caring for a landscape right after installation can not be understated. There is one large difference here between this Turnpike Roadside project and a homeowners new palm or tree installation. For example, in this case the homeowner has the advantage, but both should have the same goals. The roadside landscape installation of these beautiful palms, as she states, more than $1 million in new trees have no choice but to be xeroscaped.

(for more information on the importance and recommendation of xeroscaping any landscape you can click on our link here : http://www.universaldevgroup.com/xeroscape-landscapes.html )

The roadside palm tree installation does not have the benefit of regular working irrigation as homeowners should when having a new landscape installed. The health of the roadside plantings rely solely upon the diligence of the contractor making sure they are watered properly after installation. The larger the trees, the greater the requirement of watering.

The first days and first 2 to 3 weeks are crucial to receiving the proper, adequate amount of water to help with the transition. Once this immediate period of 2 to 3 weeks is passed, the next stage to get past is the first 3 months. If there is a problem with a new landscape, it will usually occur within the first three months of installation. That is why it is so important to water regularly not only for those first few weeks, but throughout that 3 month period.

Large field grown trees, as in this video, can go through shock at your home or on a roadside as the t.v. interview video shows. Sandy soil, that is more pourous, less nurtured and un-fertilized as a practice, as these roadside areas can be in many towns, also lends to them being palm & tree installations that will require greater care off the start.

The existence of a potential shock with any large palm or tree landscape installation always exists, and there are ways to help minimize and avoid it.

First, it helps to deal with quality material. The larger the palm or trees to be installed, the more important it is to deal with quality material.

Why ?

The trees in this video for the Turnpike entrance / exit off Okeechobee Blvd in West Palm Beach were quality trees, but there are 3 steps to making sure any tree will make it, and we detail those points briefly here.

The Three Important Stages of Palm & Tree Installation

1) Begins with a difference in quality materials being installed
2) The process of how the actual landscape installation is handled
3) How the landscape is cared for after installation and through the life of the palms and trees.

**All of the above are important, the third point is an understanding of growing towards a healthy maturity.

Phase One : Begins with a difference in quality materials being

Besides the obvious benefit of installing & receiving beautiful landscape material, the way the growers care for the trees and palms comes greatly into play in how well they transition from the growers field, to your home , or as in this video, this roadside project.

If they are healthier palms and trees, they are naturally stronger and able to handle transition better. This also relates to how good the soil they were grown in is, and / or how well they have been fertilized in the nursery they came from. Always best to deal with Florida Fancy material, that is top quality available for lesser chance of shock.

Some palms transition better than others, with less risk, some are a little more tempermental. The larger the tree, the greater the need to pay special attention to this fact, as even the most durable can stress, as this video shows with the Royal Palms which are usually easier to transition to a new home.

Bismarkia Palms (the silver / grey palm) in the video can be tempermental and the video shows them shocking more than any of the others. As of this date the interview was done, on February 5, 2015, it appears that most should make it, but not enough care it appears was taken in the aftercare phase. (The fact of low rainfall, especially in an area with no irrigation, makes the challenge greater.) installed.

ROOT PRUNING : A difference a grower concerned with providing quality large palm or tree material will often seek to provide before providing a large, temperamental tree.

Some trees, as the Bismarkia Palms in this video are a more temperamental palm at times, and if field grown, can often benefit from being root pruned before hand. Sometimes pruning a third of the tree, or even half of it a month or two before the day it is to be removed and loaded on a truck and hauled to the jobsite. The time to prepare with root pruning can depend on a few factors (such as weather for the season, rain verses dryness, soil condition of sandy verses muck or moist, the type and size of the tree for example.)

In fairness, the trees in the roadside project were first of quality, and they can have been root pruned, but the problem could arise from the second phase of why they are shocking as they are.

NOTE When the opportunity is there to have a temperamental tree installed from a container, it may cost a little more, but it is our recommendation to go with a container grown tree. The roots of the tree are not being cut in the field, increasing the stress of the tree. From a container, the roots are much less disturbed and intact and often make for a smoother transition.

Problem with getting containers for some larger projects such as this, for many palms varieties and especially very large palms as in this roadway project, is that they are simply not often available at all in a container.

Phase Two : 2) The process of how the actual landscape installation of large palms and trees is handled

During Loading & Unloading of the Large Palms & Trees : This is when the trees are loaded onto the Hauling truck from the field nursery & also unloading at the jobsite. The larger the trees, the more experience and skill is required to handle this task. The trees weight is spread throughout the length of it and it requires a level of comfort with large machinery to move them. Also, having the booms of the machines properly wrapped with these larger trees to avoid unnecessary scratching of the trunks as they are being transitioned.

Hauling on the roadway: The palms & trees should be adequately tarped to avoid unnecessary damage from driving speed winds that can damage or remove foliage while being transported.

Planting at proper depth : The trees should not be planted below grade, but slightly above most often, sometimes depending on the conditions of the property and the material being installed. If the palm or tree is planted below grade level, this can result in more condensation at the base of the tree and lead to root rot, which can kill the palm or tree.

Proper ‘Water Tree Ring’ around the new palm or tree installation: The trees in the video show proper installation and handling techniques throughout this phase as the quality material was delivered and installed in good shape from what was viewed, were at a healthy planting level above grade and had shown a very good job of creating that ‘Water Tree Ring’.

Note : The water tree ring is the build up of soil as a small burm around the tree, creating an inner ‘bowl’ to collect and improve the ability for the tree to hold water. The water tree ring helps to keep any watering or rainfall contained in that immediate area around the base of the tree, which is especially important with larger trees, and even more so in areas such as this roadside project that did not have irrigation but relied solely on a watering truck’s frequency and natural rainfall.

Phase Three : 3) How the landscape is cared for after installation and through the life of the palms and trees

This is the point in the video where it appears the effort was lacking in the roadside planting example of this video. This is the point we help to start off each of our customers on the right path, and provide you the information to be watchful for the time right after the installation, again, especially through the first three months.

In the video I was asked “What was going on with the trees?” A reasonable question, but with limited time, I couldn’t give a detailed explanation of why as here and I know this is a very important question many of our customer’s also could have at one point or another.

I responded that they were “in shock” as was evident and it was “typical” of some larger tree installations. Without a longer period to explain, it is more typical of a roadside planting without irrigation, during the dry season. A homeowner should not have to go through this level of shock, but it can occur. As I mentioned, there were the majority of the trees in the interview that were doing well, a small but visible portion (mainly the Bismarkia Palms (grey palm ) that was having a more difficult time. I have no knowledge if the trees of that project were root pruned, I have this knowledge of our own projects. It does appear that they were, it was a quality installation.

Where it looks like the problem was in this install is the lack of water, After Installation.

Upon Installation, as mentioned the entire landscape should be watered every early morning on average for 45 minutes to an hour per day, every day for the first 2 to 3 weeks.

Larger trees require more water than this. Large trees in sandy or porous, well draining soil require even more than normal. We root water every tree and plant, no matter of its size, which is to stick a running hose in the ground next to the root ball of the tree or palm, or plant and fill the cavity of the new planted material. This helps to push out and remove any air pockets surrounding the root ball in the ground that could threaten the tree. Also, this helps to stabilize the material and provide a well needed drink.

After the 2 to 3 week period, the watering can usually begin to skip a day in the irrigation setting to every other day. Depending again on the time of year and the size of the material, but this is common practice throughout the year unless circumstances demand an adjustment.

How do you know if you need to increase your level of watering ? It sounds simple, but the landscape will tell you. They tell you by the drooping or wilting leaves or palm frons most often, the color in the frons or leaves, and the same with the plants. Some palms or plants may be your guide or ‘marker’ as they are more temperamental.

Often to note, once a shock in a new large palm or tree begins to occur or show visible signs, it is important to check out the palm and the sooner the better.

In the case of this city planting project, it was excellent work by the reporter to show that a number of trees are experiencing shock. This work helps to loudly show that the care the trees are receiving needs to be increased and she provided notice with the coverage. To think of it when something happens at our home it is our responsibility to act, for a city project, its good to know there are reporters who are diligent in protecting our common investment and who care enough to follow through with the effort to bring it to attention. Hat’s off to Terri Parker & ABC News WPBF for her effort that should hope to gain the required results.

What to check for in a stressed or shocking palm or tree ?

You should check for a number of things, including :

Damp or dryness of the immediate area around the root ball of the tree. By placing your hand on the soil and even by digging your hand down a few inches or more, if the soil feels damp or very moist, you know its not lacking water. Then it could be an issue of being planted too deep. (This is a cause of root rot, a moist area, but shocking tree, or it is possible that the transition from the nursery to the property wasn’t as smooth as could be and needs time and a chance to adjust. )

Nature is funny sometimes; you can take two or three exactly similar plants, palms or trees, grown from the same seed or the same clipping from the same originating ‘mother’ plant or tree and they perform differently. Some can be stronger, while others weaker and there is no explanation as they both received the exact same care from their beginning to the time they were planted, planted the same way, given the same after care and one does great and the other struggles or dies off. This can happen sometimes, not often, but it can, and on these occasions when everything was done properly, I offer no other explanation for their difference than Mother Nature. This is another reason why it is good to deal with a landscape contractor that offers a warranty, as we do.

If the soil around the base of the tree is dry, add water! How much, ask your installer if you can for advice, our customers we ask for an email with a photo and welcome your phone call along with it if you like, but the emailed photo is very helpful and puts us on alert that we may have a situation to attend to or a possible warranty issue.

If you’re not sure, at least double up on what you’re doing for starters, and begin soaking the tree or palm from the top of the tree, (or as high as you can) down to the ground. Drenching a reachable palm canopy with a running garden hose is helpful and is advised especially if the ground has been very dry and under watered.

Adding organic nutrients to the soil, such as Milorganite which is readily available at most any Home Depot Garden Center. Typically come in a 40 lb. bag for $13 – $15 per bag. Follow instructions on the back or visit our article “An Introduction to your landscape” for more detailed instruction here regarding this and other treatments feel free to read our article at http://www.universaldevgroup.com/customer- corner.php#introduction

If you haven’t done so already, add a bubbler to the base of the tree from your existing irrigation system.

Check your irrigation system for broken heads or line breaks, and the control pad for run times and frequency and adjust as necessary.

Give the tree more attention, keep with it. Not all trees that go through shock end up dying, not even close, so stick with it. Pamper the tree or palm or landscape, give it the extra attention it needs especially in that shorter term, call for help from the company that did the install if this applies and be patient. Quicker responses produce better results.

The trees in the video were going through shock at the time of this visit and if the necessary efforts aren’t taken, they can die. It is typical to see greater stress in un-irrigated road side projects, especially during a dry season period of the year, but generally the health of the great majority of the palms & trees seemed to be fairing well. We’ll see, but the notice has been given and it appears the phase three point of this installation, the Aftercare, is the point of lacking that may well be causing the problem.

I sincerely hope that this effort here to help educate on the process and care of large tree installations will be found helpful to any who have questions on this subject. If you are a customer of ours and are having an issue and reading this, again, please let us now as soon as possible with an emailed photo. If you’re not a customer of ours yet, and you are within our service area for landscape designs and installations, it would be our pleasure to serve you and give you our best.

For other articles on different aspects of landscape questions, on waterfalls, designs, drainage, lighting, layouts, backyard makeovers or Resort Style Transformations, please feel free to tour our site and we hope you enjoy.

If you call us to help freshen up or transform your property, we will work hard to make you glad you did !

Sincerely,

Sal Ceraulo
Universal Landscape, Inc.
(561) 722 – 0252

With regular irrigation at your home and bubbler attachments at the base of the trees being installed, your landscape contractor can actively & immediately make sure that the new installation will receive the water that it needs.

If I had a chance to do it again, the thing is I feel its great that the city is investing to make our West Palm Beach entrance stand out more. but if you want to make a showy statement, for something to stand out, its got to pop and attract the eye as much, tastefully as you can. The turnpike is a long Green Drive, and to make it pop – using a good bit of these trees still, but a burst of Color, in big pockets – would have made a greater eye catching show.

It still can be done, by taking portions of this project’s work, and moving to at least one or two other exits – adding in those color bursts, driver’s on the turnpike wouldn’t be able to help but notice a great burst of color by the West Palm exit / onramps and would draw even more attention to the city. Great work by reporter Terri Parker Wpbf – hope she keeps it up – maybe she can make a difference and really get more out of this opportunity to improve the original statement the city is trying to make. It is possible.