Submitted to the Contra Costa Times on
Q. How
does one trim a palm tree?
A. Your
first question should be does this palm need to be pruned at all? Palm
fronds should be removed if they are dead or dying, but not if they are even
50% green. Dead fronds provide rat habitat and are a fire hazard. Some
palms (
All
palms are monocots, which means that they have only
one growing point at the top of the tree. If that point is damaged by too
enthusiastic pruning, the entire plant may die. Palms do not have branches with
dormant buds to produce new leaves. The leaves can only emerge from that
growing point when conditions are right. The fronds are needed to provide
nourishment for the trunk and root system. Removing them weakens the tree.
Petioles are the old leaf bases, and they can be removed by
hand pulling. Stop when there is a distinct color change
visible on the trunk, or when oozing sap is observed.
Palms should never be climbed by people wearing spikes, as this damages the
trunk and weakens it. If the palm is so tall that using a pole-pruner is not practical, an arborist with ladders or a
hydraulic lift should do the pruning. Pruning equipment should be cleaned and
sterilized between trees to limit the spread of disease causing organisms.
Some
varieties of palms are “self-cleaning”, which means that they drop their dead
fronds. This can be an asset and a problem. The fronds that fall make a
mess, and can be a real problem if near driveways, streets or playgrounds. On
the other hand, you do not have to pay an arborist to cut them from the tree.
Palm fronds decompose slowly, and are difficult to shred. They usually end up
in land-fill.
The
following are basic pruning directions for palms;