Unsightly Palm Frons Mess
 

Hello:

After the latest "wind storm" we had last week and the mess of dead palm fronds all over the place I began to notice the hundreds of palm trees in TV which are truly an eyesore and look like they haven't been trimmed in years. I go past the hospital area almost daily and those palms are just plain ugly from not being trimmed. We moved here a few years ago and love the great landscaping done in and around TV but those things are an eyesore and make the entire Villages area look crummy. I noticed the same thing in many other areas also.
I keep the palms in my yard trimmed and looking neat. Looks like TV landscapers and others are to lazy to trim their though!

Jerry Jackson (Calumet Grove)

Re: Unsightly Palm Frons Mess
 

We keep our palms trimmed also, but I find the huge "beards" on the Washingtonians sort of appealing. Yes, they are dead fronds, but I think that is how they are supposed to look.

Re: Unsightly Palm Frons Mess
 

I used to trim mine, but I noticed that birds love the berries, so I let them be now. I asked my neighbors if they mind and they don't. Saves me money and the birds love my palms! I thought TV did a good job of having all fronds picked up in 2-3 days!

Re: Unsightly Palm Frons Mess
 

Palms draw a lot of nutrients from the dead fronds, so you should leave 'em as long as you can tolerate them. But I agree after awhile that visually, it seems they do need to be trimmed.

Re: Unsightly Palm Frons Mess
 

When I first came to the Villages all the palms on the boulevards were maintained. By that all dead fronds were cut off.
They started to leave them on and let nature (the wind) remove them. I inquired about this at the time, and was told, "The Villages is no longer trimming, and the palms are taking on a California look". I think they are just trying to save money, but that's the story I got. I would think they would become projectiles should we have a hurricane.