Watering Queen Palm Tree

I get a lot of email asking about right way of watering Queen Palm Trees, so I decided to put together an article answering most of the questions. In this post you will find out:

• How often you should water new planted Queen Palm
• How much water Queen Palm needs
• How to check moist level of the soil
• Why do you need to deep water your Queen Palm
• What is the best time for watering your Queen Palm
  
• Are you over watring your Queen Palm
  

Queen Palms like a lot of water. They grow very well in moist and well drained soil.

1. How often should I water my new planted Queen Palm Tree?

You should water your new planted Queen Palm every day for the first week, every other day for the second week and then switch to 3 times a week. You want the soil to be moist.

Usually, watering established Queen palm tree 2-3 times a week is enough. Adjust your watering depending on the season. Queen Palm grow more during warm months, so it needs more water in the summer. Growth rate slows down during colder months, so it needs less water in the winter. Watering once a week should be enough.

2. How much water does my Queen Palm needs?

Here is a rule you should use when watering your Queen Palm. If it's a 15 gallon container palm tree, then use 15 gallons of water. If it's a 20 gallon container, then use 20 gallons of water. Again, summer months use a little bit more than that, winter month a little bit less. You should understand, that it really depends on the type of the soil and the drainage.

Always check the soil to make sure it's moist and adjust your water amount if needed. This simple rule should help you not to over water your palm.

3. How to check the moist in the soil?

I use soil probe. You can use a screwdriver if you don't have a soil probe. Take a soil probe and push into the ground as far as it can go, twist it and pull it out. If the soil is too dry, the probe will stop. Feel the soil.

If it's moist you don't need to water more. Check to see how far the root extends. You don't need to water deeper than that because roots can not get to the water below the root depth.

Check to see how long the soil stays moist after you water. If the soil is wet do NOT water your palm. It is very easy to over water. For the best result DEEP water your palm.

4. What is DEEP watering and why is it good for my Queen Palm?

Let's say you have 25 gallon Queen Palm, so you would need 25 gallons of water. You can water your palm tree two ways. First way is to take all 25 gallons of water and dump it on the ground around your palm tree in 1 minute. The water will simply runoff your your palm roots will not get enough.

It takes time for the soil to absorb water. The second way to water your Queen Palm is to slow drip 25 gallons of water over the course of 1 hour. If you have a sprinkler system with a timer, that is what I would highly recommend, water your Queen Palm for 30 min, turn the water off, let it soak into the ground for 30 min, then resume watering for the remaining 30 min.

This should not only water the top of the soil but also get few inches deep into the ground. It all depends on the soil type. Check with the soil probe.

5. When do I need to water my Queen Palm Tree?

You should water your Queen Palm early in the morning or late in the evening when it's not too hot. Why? Because if you water your palm tree in the middle of the hot summer day, when the temperature is around 100F, and get the water on the palm tree frond it will fry the leaves. When you going tanning, you put oil all over your body to maximize the result. The same thing happens to your palm tree, only instead of tanning it's burning!

Mist or hose your palm to clean up all the dust on the leaves, but do it in the cooler time of the day. After you figure out how long to water and how much water your Queen Palm needs, it's is a great idea to get a sprinkler system with a timer.

Note: You don't need to water your Queen Palm when it's raining. In case, you didn't know. Turn OFF your sprinkler system when it's raining. I see a lot of my neighbors creating a tropical storm and a flooding by leaving in on during the rain. Poor trees... What a waste of water.

I hope you find this article useful. Let me know if you would like to share your experience or have good tips for Watering Queen Palm Tree. Have a great day!

Susan