Palm pruning question

[bstewert]

I don't know much about pruning palms, but I was in Palm Desert last week and noticed a lot of the trees had partially cleaned up trunks. All over town had trees like this. Is there a reason or purpose?

 

[MasterBlaster]

Fugly!

 

[Porkbrick]

my guess is they just pulled off the husks that were loose. sometimes the husks lower down the trunk are more firmly attached than those higher up.

 

[vharrison]

my guess is they just pulled off the husks that were loose. sometimes the husks lower down the trunk are more firmly attached than those higher up.

Exactly.

 

[ClimbMIT]

Is it okay to pull off all the husk?

 

[Porkbrick]

it is fine to remove them, but if they are not loose enough to pull off by hand you have to cut them off with a razor or knife. real PITA.

 

[vharrison]

Is it okay to pull off all the husk?

Yes.

 

[Evan Sussman]

it is fine to remove them, but if they are not loose enough to pull off by hand you have to cut them off with a razor or knife. real PITA.

A chainsaw works well too.. You end up with a layer an inch or two thick, so you're not cutting live tissue. It does make a huge mess.

 

[jefflovstrom@sb]

A chainsaw works well too.. You end up with a layer an inch or two thick, so you're not cutting live tissue. It does make a huge mess.

Chainsaw,,,lol.

 

[thattreeguy]

those fell off when they were climbed most likely
i just knocked 13 palms, loose husks off the other day from the boom, about 30 ft off each tree, they went all the way down to 10 ft, with ease
the husks are a form of insulation and protection from the sun,