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# Trees gets the ‘royal’ treatment
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/trees-gets-the-royal-treatment/
- Published: 2007-08-16T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T02:35:29.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Environment, Pacific Palisades, #archive-import

PALISADES PARK A fatal tree disease has infected 44 Canary Island date palms here, forcing city staff to remove and replace them or risk losing the entire species.

The Canary Island date palms — the signature trees in Palisades Park — have been infected by a fungus called Fusarium oxysporum, which causes the palms to wilt by obstructing the water-conducting tissue, resulting in a dried-out appearance and untimely death, according to a report to the City Council that was released Tuesday.

The report did not say if the disease is a problem in other areas of the city.

The fungus, which was first documented in the U.S. in the 1970s in California, produces short-lived airborne spores, as well as spores that will live in the soil and plant tissue for long periods of time.

There is no cure for Fusarium, which can spread easily by pruning equipment. If the equipment is not cleaned and disinfected, fungal-infested sawdust and or plant sap on the blades is transferred to the next tree. The fungus can also be spread by pruning infected leaves that do not yet show the symptoms of the disease, prompting pruners here to either use new handsaws or handsaws which have been cleaned and disinfected with a bleach solution.

“Since 29 percent of the 1,000-plus trees in Palisades Park are Canary Island date palms, the introduction of a new species of palm to Palisades Park … will help to avoid an epidemic of the disease, which could severely impact the park,” Community Maintenance Director Elaine Polachek wrote in her report to the council.

City staff recommends the infected trees be replaced with the Royal palm, which is resistant to Fusarium, less expensive to purchase and easier to maintain. The Royal palm can reach a mature height of 60 to 80 feet, compared to 40 to 60 feet for the Canary palms.

Royal palms are fast growing and can thrive in the region’s sub-tropical climate. They are often used in formal settings, such as lining boulevards or to define an entryway to buildings or in an informal setting such as a park.

The council has the option of replacing the dead and dying Canary Island date palms with the same species, with Royal palms or with a variety of other palms or trees.

If the council were to replace the palms with the same species, the cost would be considerably higher. The cost to purchase and plant a Canary palm with an 8-inch brown trunk is estimated at $4,200 per tree — or $184,800 for the entire 44 damaged or dead trees in the park.

The cost to purchase and plant a Royal palm of the same size would cost considerably less — $1,900 per tree, or $119,400 for the entire lot.

Setting costs aside, another reason why city staff is leaning towards the Royal palms is that Fusarium is difficult to detect in Canary palms and there is no guarantee that young trees purchased at a nursery aren’t already infected with the fungus.

A Canary palm can also be infected, but appear healthy because the disease may have not progressed to the point that symptoms are visible.

City staff anticipates the tree replacements to begin in the early fall.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 16, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/081607.pdf?ref=smdp.com)