Welcome to Pruning Palms 101:
I downloaded a stock image that represents the correct and incorrect way to trim palm trees. I’ve seen multiple dead palms around town and it’s due to over pruning like depicted in the picture.
There’re 2 major reasons this practice is harmful to the palm. First, palm get most of their water from their fronds. The inside of a frond mimics a water slide, funneling rainwater down into the tree. Second, the fronds use photosynthesis to generate sugar for the palm to eat. As the palm eats the bottom fronds turn brown and new fronds sprout out of the top. If too many fronds are cut off the palm will start eating the sugars out of the upper fronds and will eventually kill itself.
The proper way to prune a palm is to draw an imaginary line from 9:00 – 3:00, the bottom fronds should follow this line. The incorrect way to prune is often called a “hurricane cut” if your current company uses this harmful practice, ask them to stop, or call us.
