A little helmet cam action today

[Ekka]

Well, gotta play with the new toy. And it's great.

I got some footage up some palms, just bread and butter stuff. Broke a few rules, but I never wrote them.

Around 8mins and 41mb WMV

http://www.palmtreeservices.com.au/video/somehelmetcamaction.wmv

 

[moss]

Nice one Ekka! I loved that customer interaction. You certainly earned your pay that day. Looking forward to more from the helmet cam.
-moss

 

[trevmcrev]

Sheeesh, you were right up there on that last one. Ive never gone that far up a palm. Were you just around a frond as an anchor point?

 

[Ekka]

Yeah, but dont lean back! :biggrinbounce2:

 

[Canyon Angler]

Cool video Ekka.

Question: Those torpedo pod things in the palm -- are they where the future leaves/fronds come from, or are they part of the flower equipment, or what? Also, are they a hazard? Seems like the customer was mainly concerned with removing them...?

 

[Ekka]

They're where the berries (fruit) comes from. The new fronds always come out of the very top of palm ... like a spear that unfurls.

Customers get them cut off so no fruit which means no mess on the ground and bats coming to eat them.

 

[Canyon Angler]

OK, gotcha. Thanks.

 

[emr]

I hope that I am not starting something here, but is it ok to prune palms with spikes on? I have only seen palms while on vacation, so I dont know anything about them.

 

[Ekka]

It's not OK really.

You probably saw coconut palms pruned with spikes a lot on beaches and resorts.

These are Queen palms, crap palms, weeds here. Many have been spiked before. I wouldn't do it to say a Cuban Royal palm.

Most people get these cleaned coz they cant afford to cut them down or their moving etc. Most normal people eradicate and replace them with another more suitable palm.

When I quote the job I write I'll be spiking, sometimes when a bucket truck can access I'll do that.

 

[emr]

Do palms have a cambium layer similar to Maples, for example? Or do they transport nutrients and water further in towards the center? Thanks in advance for the Bio 101 class.

 

[Ekka]

They have a crust on the outside that's there for life, the inside is all vascular and unlike a tree the whole interior is working ... no deadwood or heartwood.

So external puncture marks have less effect than compared to a tree, and I suppose you cant ring bark one.

After a palm is injured the PH of the sap decreases dramatically. Some reports have documented palm sap going as low as PH 3.2 at around 48 hours ... not even fungi likes to hang around acidity like that. This is what also eats and corrodes your saws out.

You can get palm sugar and palm vinegar.

 

[emr]

Thanks for the info! I have always been impressed at how big of a palm you can transplant. After seening the root ball, I cant believe the stand up to the storms that hit them. Anyway this isnt a palm forum, but thanks again.