Question
QUESTION: I was given Four 16-22'ft [dying]queen palms. 2 transplanted into pots with drainage and potting soil and 2 placed in the ground. I received them with very small root balls and they were out of the ground for about 64-72 hours in 100+ degree California weather prior to being planted. Unfortunately when I first planted them I put them too deep into the ground and only 5 days later I lifted them higher appropriately planting them. I've been watering them every other day or so with super thrive hormone vitamin concentrate + diluted  however, there appears to be very little green on the trunk. I tied together the fawns and at the time and I cut off some of the outer fawns. At this time (4-6 weeks in) the outer fawn are mostly brown and there is very little green inside however there is some bright green inside the tied leaves albeit not much. The trunks don't seem to be completely dried out because when I scratch the almost non existent dark green areas/spots on the outer trunks it seems to come of wet under my finger nail (albeit hardly). How frequently should I water them, how much water. Are they still alive? Is the super thrive a good idea? I use two cap-fulls per three gallons water provided later afternoons) What else can I do given that this is a hot season? PS shading them doesn't seem possible given the size and location. My gardener says they are alive though I don't give him much credibility.
any help is greatly appreciated.
San Fernando Valley California

ANSWER: Aire, the tell tale sign of it survival is the new fronds coming out of the center of the crown, if they appear green, then they are viable and have a shot at making it; if however the new fronds are brown, then alas, it is time to stick a fork in them, they are gone. Check the brand new fronds that form at the crown, and let me know what they look like, the older browned out ones are not as important as the new growth; super thrive is a vitamin supplement allegedly to stimulate better growth from plants, and allegedly helps sick ones recover, but my jury is still out on the effectiveness; don't water them anymore, you will rot the roots, they are not functioning properly right now and the water will just saturate them doing more damage then good, mulch them heavily so the soil stays evenly moist around the root ball. It appears that they were severely stressed, and only time will tell now, there isn't much you can do except wait and see..Nick

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:
Thank you for your quick reply Nick, It means a lot to me as I care deeply for these trees now. hmmm....Well regarding the mulch ironically when I transplanted them (at first) when as indicated I put them deep into the ground I used 100% Kellogs  grow mulch (yes even in the pots). Needless to say when I found out later that I was killing them I had to remove ALL of the grow mulch from the ground and use potting soil.  I realized there was as problem when  they smelled like raw sewage. Thus, When you say heavily mulch them, I beg of you please be specific because I have no idea what you're referring to. Do you mean that I should use a wood chips/leave mixture atop of the pots/ground? Also how often should I water them? Remember its very hot here this season. Also please note that although the two in the ground do have a 1'ft. clearing of grass around the stump the grass tends to grow rapidly and gets watered daily at least to some degree. (I guess I "could" water that by hand avoiding the queens)  Now regarding the green growth in the crown. Its hard to tell so far. They look to be sprouting tall fawns from the center that vary in degrees of green from avocado bright green to dark forest green. TO tell the truth I'm baffled by the whole process. One of the new fonds in the middle is actually an old one that was there before I took "control" and while the tips of that one are slightly brown, thats the one tree that looks the healthiest and also is the tallest.  I can't help but to wonder how the green will grow without opening them up to sunlight. One of the trees is severely crooked and the way it's tied up inhibits it's center from sunlight (it seems) but I must say that tree has a few very bright strands in the crown. How long do you think it will take to have a read on these trees? Should I open the fronds to the sunlight yet? If not when should I do so? Ps. Will "stick a fork in them" help them to breathe from the inside out? (just kidding) LOL

Answer
...mulching them will release you from having to constantly water them, mulching with a cypress mulch or whatever type of ground cover mulch you have in Calif. The constant watering will eventually rot the root ball, and then its kaput! Bottom line, is wait and watch, there really isn't anything more you can do that you haven't already done; it was good that you lifted them to the proper level, because a lot of people kill trees by planting them even inches too deep! Don't release the fronds (new growth), let mother nature do that, if they are meant to survive, they will, you have done all you can. Nick