I purchased a four foot windmill about four years ago and planted in my waterfront garden in Nanaimo. It was imported by my local nursery from California. It's now about seven feet high and appears quite healthy. To my amazement, however, it appears to have sprouted a couple of huge yellow blooms. See the attached pictures. Is this something I should worry about? I keep the palm well fertilized with mushroom manure and have even used seaweed in the past. I have trimmed off dead fronds at the bottom of the trunk but not atempted any other maintenance. In winter, I do not wrap, but keep any snow (yes, we do get snow in Nanaimo) brushed from the fronds to avoid damage. Thanks for comments and suggestions.
Not at all! Shows the plant is thriving. They look like male (pollen) flowers, so you won't get any seeds (you'd need to get a female plant for that - like many palms, it has separate male and female plants). Best to leave it on, for the insulation it provides. The fronds can take the weight OK.
Thanks for the reply. How do you tell the difference between male and female plants? Do the nurseries know this kind of stuff? And thanks for the advice about snow on the fronds. Makes sense that it would provide insulation, but someone told me (maybe I heard it on one of the gardening shows) that you should keep the snow off the fronds.
