About a year ago my palm started having the red growths that are covered with tiny white flowers. It is getting more and more of this growth. Is this normal? It seems to be taking over the tree. Also, now the remainder of the cut leaf base that is on the trunk of the palm has started falling off and the trunk is now smooth. This is my first Bismarck, so I want to know if this is normal.
Don't worry, this is all normal behavior for the Bismarck palm. It is an unusual but beautiful palm species.
My tree is being pushed over by the wind. I have staked it, but I want to know if I can place some sand followed by stones around the base.
Palms, like almost all trees, should always be kept buried up to the same level they've been growing at in the soil. Mounding up sand or other materials around the base of a palm higher than the root-shoot interface will likely kill it.
The exception is if the palm was originally planted too shallowly or if the soil has eroded away, so that the place where the roots meet the trunk is now above the soil surface. This article will help you decide whether your palm can benefit from more soil or sand around its base:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep001
Otherwise, staking should help. If necessary and if the tree is small enough to handle, you can replant it in a more stable way.
I noticed that directions say to water heavily with like 25 gallons of water twice a week. If I have a 7 gallon palm does it need that much water?
Watering a newly planted Bismark Palm depends on if it has leaves or they have been removed.
If your palm has it's leaves it is recommended that you water it 20 to 25 gallons 3 times a week for 4 weeks.
Water is twice a week in the next month, and then once a week in the following month.
Stakes are generally removed in the 2nd or 3rd year.
If the palms leaves were removed, the water amount is doubled to 50 gallons.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/bismarck-palm/growing-bismarck-palms.htm
how quickly do they grow
Typically they grow 1 to 2 feet per year.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/bismarck-palm/growing-bismarck-palms.htm
My 10 year old busimark palm branches were destroyed by the hurricane, had to cut all branched down, will the tree survive?
A healthy palm may survive loss of all it's fronds. Give the palm time to recover.
So sorry for this tragedy.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/palms-trees/palm-tree-dropping-fronds.htm
Our Bismarck palm has started having droopy fronds and some of the new fronds are turning almost white ,up until the past 2 weeks it has seemed to grow beautifilly,has seemed to be a perfect spot. We live 15 miles from Tampa Bay so we’re affected by hurricane Irma but didn’t have extremely high winds sustained. It has been in this spot for about 7 years,it is truly a beautiful palm one of our favorites. Thank you Nancy Stamm
These can act strange sometimes. The roots are VERY sensitive to disturbance. Even if you only had high winds for a short period, it could have still damaged the roots. It would be hard to correct if this is the case. You will just have to carefully watch the tree. Sometimes they recover, and sometimes they don't. They can take as much as 3 or 4 months to show symptoms of root trauma.
Here is a collection of articles on this palm that you may find helpful: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/bismarck-palm/
Our 20 foot high Bismarck has endured a 4° list due to hurricane Irma. As this tree grows higher and heavier will this be a problem?
Ultimately it may end up with severe damage to the palm, but there are a few things to do to help it out.
Potassium silicate will help to strengthen up the trunk quite a bit, but I recommend using it at half strength. Funny things start to happen when you use most silica products at full strength, depending on the plant. It affects the pH of the soil zone, which will lead to a potassium deficiency. These free silica will attach to as many potassium as it can.
To counteract this, you may use iron sulfate to lower the pH swing.