Question
In South FL a few years ago, we planted a royal palm we bought inexpensively. It was already about 15 feet tall and still in a pot. It is now beautiful and over 20 feet but the big royal bottom has never grown out - you can see under the tree all around to the skinny root that is all that is holding the palm up. Is there anything we can do to stimulate the royal bottom to grow out? Will the tree be susceptible to high winds and maybe keel over in a hurricane? Thank you Nick.

Answer
Because it was in the container for so long, it developed a weakened root system; unfortunately this can't be corrected at this latter stage. The only thing you can do now is brace it to compensate. Check with a local nursery, and they may be able to assist you on the procedure.