Three canary island date palms failed on the 400 block of Lincoln Road Mall within the past two and half years.  All failures were of the nature where the palms’ large crowns fell to the ground with little to no wind.  The most recent failure was August 6, 2022.     

When the palms were originally planted, they contained hard pseudobark (i.e palm bark) which keeps pests, pathogens, rain, and other harmful conditions from entering the interior areas of the trunk. The main trunks from the original installation continued to appear healthy and solid. However, this hard pseudobark failed to form in the palms’ upward growth since installation. The areas of new growth were spongy and generally open to outside disease pressure, including larvae and fungi. The juncture between the old and new growth appear to be where the palms were failing. This factor was compounded by the fact that the upper crown continued to get heavier over time.    

The cumulative failures and the potential public safety risks were concerning. On August 10, the Urban Forestry Division conducted a field inspection to review all Canary Island date palms along the 400 block of Lincoln Road Mall.  Our Urban Forester concluded that all remaining palms within this corridor had the same concerning risk factor that likely caused the previous crowns to fall unannounced.  Therefore, for public safety, the City’s Greenspace Management Division removed all remaining Canary Island date palms between August 11 and August 18.  

On October 5, Greenspace Management put out requests for bid to replace the removed palm trees. The scope includes the purchase and installation of ten(10) 16 foot tall Medjool Date palms. The new palms could be installed by the end of October. Other options include no replacement of the palms for the time being, until the re-design is complete, or replacement with even smaller palms for easier relocation should the re-design call for it. It is important to note that the proposed Lincoln Road Improvement Project is still in its schematic phase and as such the design team, James Corner Field Operations, is still evaluating what can be done. With this level of uncertainty, it is too early to say if these replacement palms will be permanent or will need relocation, hence the smaller size.