Dead plants don’t bother me, if they died from natural causes. But these Cabbage palms died from ignorance.

This is a little strip mall on US 41 in Fort Myers, FL. These palms have been planted for about a year and all of them are dead or dying, while the neighboring plants are surviving. I had to know what happened. So I got out my trowel and confirmed my suspicion. All of these palms were planted too deep. The photo shows where I dug down 12″ deep and found nothing but trunk. I have no idea how deep the (dead) root system is but it was beyond me.

Even planting three inches too deep is enough to slowly suffocate a tree’s roots. But a one foot grave is absolute incompetence.

The Cabbage palm transplants easily, when done correctly.

These poor specimens belong in the dumpster, not next to it.

At what point do the business owners complain about this hazardous eyesore?

Several palm trunks showed damage from rough-handling.

12″ deep hole with no roots in sight.