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Mature palm trees dying all over?

Heather ReedHeather Reed Posts: 32
in Problem solving
Ok, so has anyone noticed all the dead and dying mature palms …? 
I’m talking cordyline australis… 
I have searched the net looking to see if there is word of a virus or the like but cannot find anything.
I had three, 2 very mature trees and one younger and all have died, the oldest one is hanging on but clearly won’t make it. 
I’m north west manchester, there are so many on driving around that have died also. 
Whatisthis?
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Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    edited February 2023
    I suspect that it's down to the weather. We had a very cold spell before Christmas down here and l have seen quite a few that haven't made it.
    They are only supposed to be hardy down to minus 5 degrees C, but they do sprout again from lower down the trunk.
    https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-cordyline/
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    too cold, too wet, for too long. 
    I'm glad to see the back of them. Devon  / Cornwall is full of them and most of them look like bog brushes. 
    Devon.
  • Heather ReedHeather Reed Posts: 32
    edited February 2023
    Anni - you remember what they called beast from the east? I remember that being a lot colder and the palms in my garden laughed in the face of it, being alot younger also at the time too… I also have or should I say had, a very mature chamaerops humilis 
    Which is not near the palms… its new centre leaves on each trunk have rotted and all the leaves on the whole plant are a dark shrivelled green … it was completely healthy as the summer ended…

    and lastly I had 4 huge clumps of various phormiums all nearly 10 years old which have all died…. No signs of pests to be the cause 🤷‍♀️ 
    Whatisthis?
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    It could be old age and/or stress.  Last summer was hot and dry and hard work for many plants.   Following that with loads of wet and cold will be enough to push them over the edge.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Heather ReedHeather Reed Posts: 32
    edited February 2023
    Hostafan - bog brushes or not, you’re lucky to be in the warmer part of the U.K. where there’s a good chance plants arnt wiped out and you don’t have to protect everything each winter, that saying one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure comes to mind. 
    Whatisthis?
  • Heather ReedHeather Reed Posts: 32
    Obelixx - it’s pushed me over the edge this winter that’s for sure ! It’s a bit gutting when such big and mature plants die but when 7 of them (so far 😭 ) have I might just start cultivating dandelions instead so it’s not so hard when I might lose one. 
    Whatisthis?
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    I lost a large one back in 2010. By the time of the Beast from the East l'd decided to give up on them  :)
     l think as with all plants they can come through extreme weather apparently unscathed and then for no obvious reason the next cold spell kills them off.
    The really hot weather in the Summer could well have put them under stress before the winter weather arrived as @Obelixx says.
    I suspect that's what's behind such large losses this year.
  • Heather ReedHeather Reed Posts: 32
    Plants a fickle funny things… we’re supposed to be buying our own house in a couple of years so im
     Not starting again here 😂 I’m not young enough either to wait for them to get that mature, I’ll wait it out and fill the bald bits with something un-extravagant & green then buy them in mature and ready to go … 
    Whatisthis?
  • borgadrborgadr Posts: 718
    The cordylines in my front garden are all perfectly fine. Don't know how old they are, as they came with the house, but the tallest one reaches the upstairs windows. 

    It's certainly been much colder than last winter (which is not difficult) with plenty of frosts, but still I think not a particularly cold winter down here. Nighttime lows have been typically between +5 and -4, with only one or two nights in December below that. Nov/Dec were very wet but it's been dry for the last 3 weeks. The penstemons for example still look perfectly green and healthy. 

    I guess we got off lightly so far this winter in this corner of the country.
  • Heather ReedHeather Reed Posts: 32
    edited February 2023
    @borgadr I love a nice big cordyline especially when they are in flower and they are humming with honey bees…. I hope yours all stay fit and well. 
    Sounds like you’ve done very well in Kent…. It’s like opening the door on the freezer most mornings here in Manchester, I’d still not say it’s been massively cold compared to some years but it has been dry on the whole… 
    I’m ready for some sun and heat now I’m at a loss at what to do in the garden this year now completely lost my mojo
    Whatisthis?
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