Palm trees are an increasingly common plant in hot climates. It is an ornamental par excellence, which when it reaches great heights adds majesty to the garden. But like any plant, it needs some care, such as maintenance pruning, which in this case has several uses. Here we teach you palm tree pruning .

 WHY SHOULD WE DO PALM TREE PRUNING?

The palm tree  is continually producing new leaves, displacing the old ones. These, located in the outer radius, begin to dry out and slope downward. A dry palm leaf can remain eternally attached to the palm tree so it can damage the image of the garden, giving it an appearance of disuse or neglect .

Apart from the fact that it is not visually attractive to see dry leaves hanging, apart from the feeling of abandonment, palm tree pruning has other benefits from a physiological point of view . These are as follows:

• Less weight to be supported by the palm tree.
• Greater aeration of the palm tree’s eye and therefore less probability of pests or diseases
• Greater pruning effort if work accumulates, since some leaves hinder the cutting of others.
• Nesting of rats, birds and other animals.

 WHEN IS A GOOD TIME TO CUT DOWN MY PALM TREES?

Palm tree pruning can generally be done throughout the year . The only thing to keep in mind is to avoid drastic pruning during the winter if your climate is cold, since the higher the density of leaves, the less surface susceptible to freezing. The palm tree endures temperatures below zero . It also depends on the variety of palm tree it is, but it is generally around -5º C. These temperatures are easily reached in the north of Spain, in winter, so it must be taken into account. If this is your case, wait for the temperatures to rise.

THE PALM TREE PRUNING PROCEDURE

It is so simple that we do not have to give any technical data, as it could be in the rest of pruning. Normally, leaves that begin to dry should be eliminated , although as aesthetics predominate, green leaves that have been separated from the group are also eliminated, leaves that shade elements that we want to have greater lighting, etc. Nothing will happen if we do it and consider aesthetics important, but the ideal would be to remove only the old and dry leaves. The leaves should be cut the closer to the trunk the better. It must be a clean cut , that does not leave fibers and must be equal in height with the rest of the blades.

SOME INCONVENIENTS

The drawbacks in pruning palm trees are on our part when doing the work . Palm trees are fast growing and can grow to great heights. At the time that we have to carry out the pruning, we need ladders or even climbing ropes . This makes it difficult for a normal user, like most of you, who have a garden with palm trees, to be able to successfully prune tall palm trees, with the danger that this entails. In most cases, experts are hired to carry out the work, with a cost of several palm trees that can be high.

TOOLS TO USE WHEN PRUNING PALM TREES

Scissors are often used in the pruning of many plants, but in the case of palm trees this is not the case. We need sharp tools such as saws or power saws, knives Palmero , etc. In the event that we need to reach high areas, we use ladders and long-handled saws. We leave the climbing equipment in the hands of better experts, right?

THE RED WEEVIL PROBLEM

Everything is practical and beautiful in pruning until the red weevil arrives . It turns out that when we do the pruning, pheromones (kariomone) are released into the environment that attract the red weevil like chocolate to children. If you have a nearby palm tree (your own or your neighbor’s) with this problem, it is better to postpone it or do it in winter, with the least movement of the red weevil. If you let the leaf dry completely, as there is no circulation of sap, you prevent these pheromones from being emitted.