Palm Tree Question

[Trish Miller]

Hi,

Does anyone know how to remove the orange pods from palm trees?
Can I do it myself or do I have to hire someone?

Thanks for any imput :)

[Ooper]

I've just cut them down myself. I just use a telescoping saw that is available at Ace or any hardware store. If you leave them there, they will ripen and then fall making a mess on the lawn. I like to get them down before they mature. They weigh much less before they mature and the bunch is easier to handle. Be careful if cutting them down yourself to avoid letting them fall on you as they are quite heavy once mature.

[jrandall]

We lived in S. Florida for 38 years before moving here last year. All of our landscapers or my husband cut off the pods. Besides the mess from falling they weaken the tree. So cut them off.

[Trish Miller]

So who would be a good inexpensive landscaper that could do this?

[Barkay]

Bill Durfee Palm Tree Trimmer (352) 793-7545 did our palms in St Charles

[billethkid]

if you are talking queen palms they can get quite tall, beyond most of our reaches even with extension saws.

There are many contractors that will do the palm "cleaning" for $7-$10 per tree.
If you have multiple trees you can negotiate a better price. The time to get the seed pods out is before the long spear they are housed in opens. They are very heavy and pointed and fall point first so be careful.

I quit doing ours 4 or 5 years ago....too high and too many. If I had to do it over again I would NEVER put in queen palms they are a maintenance pain in the :censored:

btk

[784caroline]

HOw do you handle the pods that are produced by Sylvester Palms?? As you know Sylvesters have BIG thorns and you cannot get to the pods very easily. This year we let them drop and its a mess. We have river rock at the base of this palm and it has turned black. I am trying to pick up most of the seed pods but there still is a black residue whcih I hope will eventually be washed away with the rains...but im open for ideas???

[Skip]

Hi,

Does anyone know how to remove the orange pods from palm trees?
Can I do it myself or do I have to hire someone?

Thanks for any imput :)

If they are turning yellow (not gradually turning brown and dying off) it's because they are not getting enough Manganese. You need to supplement their diet. First trim the dead fronds off. Also get rid of the emerging seed pods before they open and cause a mess on the ground. You want the palms to grow leaves not "babies". Then a good helping of Manganese Sulphate every few months will cure the "Frizzle Leaf" and keep the palm green. It's available at every garden supply store in 20 lb. bags. Please note that if you sprinkle it on landscaping stones, it'll turn them an unsightly black (it's NOT from the seeds, 784caroline). And it doesn't wash off.

If you have a Queen Palm that is developing holes and weeping in the trunk and yellowing fronds, it's probably dying from "Butt Rot", an incurable disease that may wipe out every Queen Palm (not native in this part of Florida) in The Villages. Only way to help the palm fight the disease is to keep it as healthy as you can. That means fertilizer, nutrient additives, proper water and trimmed fronds and seed pods to conserve it's energy. I've been told that if you lose a Queen to the disease, you can't replace it with any other palm because the disease in already in the soil.

Have you noticed that the developer doesn't plant Queen Palms on the roadways and at Rec. Centers and Country Clubs? They have a limited life span here. Nurseries sell them because they are profitable and in demand here by unknowing homeowners from up north. As you travel around your neighborhood, look at all the Queen Palm trunks to see the weeping holes in them. They're all going to die.

Queen suffering from Butt Rot:
http://www.palmtreedr.com/images/g.jpg

Fungus growth:
http://www.palmtreedr.com/images/h.jpg

Once a mushroom like fungus grows at the soil line, it's time to remove the palm and plant something else.

Hope this helps.

Skip

[784caroline]

Then a good helping of Manganese Sulphate every few months will cure the "Frizzle Leaf" and keep the palm green. It's available at every garden supply store in 20 lb. bags. Please note that if you sprinkle it on landscaping stones, it'll turn them an unsightly black (it's NOT from the seeds, 784caroline). And it doesn't wash off


Skip
I am almost certain the "black" is comming fomr the seed pods (which are dark in color dropping on the grass and river rock) and in turn are starting to degenerate and split apart and start to get mushy. They are a mess to deal with!

How would you apply the fertilizer to a palm if you have river rock and you do not wnat it to turn black??

[Skip]

Then a good helping of Manganese Sulphate every few months will cure the "Frizzle Leaf" and keep the palm green. It's available at every garden supply store in 20 lb. bags. Please note that if you sprinkle it on landscaping stones, it'll turn them an unsightly black (it's NOT from the seeds, 784caroline). And it doesn't wash off


Skip
I am almost certain the "black" is comming form the seed pods (which are dark in color dropping on the grass and river rock) and in turn are starting to degenerate and split apart and start to get mushy. They are a mess to deal with!

How would you apply the fertilizer to a palm if you have river rock and you do not wnat it to turn black??

Answer 1: You may be right, so I stand corrected. I never let the seeds fall, I cut the pods off before it opens (virtually explodes!). So I never see decomposing seeds. In your case, try a power washer on your rocks, to see if that'll clean them up. Then try and stay ahead of the tree's reproduction cycles! :icon_wink:

Answer 2: Rake back the rock to reveal the weed membrane, apply the nutrient in four places around the tree (N-E-S-W 1 foot from the trunk), apply a second small layer of weed membrane over the chemicals, then neatly recover the second membrane with the rocks. In 3 months, try to find the same 4 spots. The object is to keep the manganese from touching the rocks. If your rocks are dark gray or salt and pepper colored, doesn't matter that much; they'll just get darker. If they're white or pink, better keep them away from the "vitamins". Tough job, I know. Just my "hands and knees" approach.

Skip