Royal Palm Removal

[Dillweed]

Homeowner wants two of his Royal palms out. Seed heads/flowering make too much a mess on his boats. I've been pruning the seeds heads for years and I hate it. Now he wants two whole palms removed. Small drop zone, no bucket truck or crane access. Any other palm, no problem, piece it out into the drop zone. Thing is, Royal palms are super hard and slick. It's like smooth cement. You have to slam a very sharp pole gaff into it and it barely penetrates the trunk. It leaves a tiny triangle imprint. Any suggestions?

60ft. high and 24" diameter in the middle.

 

[cookies]

they have a small root ball with thin roots, try digging a circle a foot deep around the base then pull it down then you can sell it

 

[mikewhite85]

Sharpen your gaffs? Or charge enough to buy a new pair of Talons?

You could also try to use a tree stand for deer hunting. I've seen others climb palms that way.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Meant to be constructive, not trolling, but I climbed on pole gaffs for years, just never liked tree gaffs... hated being that far off the trunk, and I had very few tear outs, no matter the variety... hard palms, loose bark, etc... but I also never hugged the tree, lol. If you are leaned out and setting your spurs at an angle it is amazing how little penetration you need to be stable. From a technique standpoint, I would always set my flip line as a choker on palms, so if I did gaff out I wouldn't ride it down... just my .02

 

[hosocat]

Those look like canal houses. Any chance you could put some protection timber on the seawall and drop them into the canal, then maybe tow them to nearest boat ramp and cut them up?