What to do with this Palm.

[NickfromWI]

Okay, here's the scoop. New house. I am from WI (as the name says) but just moved to CA. A whole bunch of stuff here that we don't have in WI, like orange trees and palm trees.

I don't know my palms, but we have one of these in my yard. I don't know what should be done with it. First though, I want to know what the name is. What kind is it?

Second, what do I do to take care of this thing? I noticed that by simply pulling on the dry fronds, they will come right off.

There is stereotypical palm in everyone's mind. It goes straight up with a tuft of green at the top. The one in my yard is a clump of about 8 palms. Right now it is just one big ball. Is this a prob?

Let me know what you think. Being new to the world of Palms, I don't know if I can (or want to) do the needed work. I'd like to know what to expect to pay for maintenance.

love
nick

 

[fmueller]

Kerosene and a match!

 

[JJackson]

Date Palm? seen people take lower fronds of and shave the bark with a chainsaw..dont know much about palms was only in
CA for 2.5 years..just dont top it....

 

[Treeman14]

It appears to be a Senagal Date Palm. Start by cutting off all the dead and yellowing fronds. Watch out for the thorns. After that, you'll probably want to cut off all the babies at grade level. Repeat every six months. You'll end up with a decent looking specimen once its cleaned up. BTW, around here it would cost about $5K to have something like that installed in your yard.

 

[rumination]

Definitely a date palm, Treeman14 is probably right about it being a Senegal Date palm (Phoenix reclinata). His suggestions on care are pretty good too. As for removing the babies, this is a matter of taste. Clearly you don't want too many as the whole thing will become a choked up mess, but a nice clean clumper with a handful of trunks can make for a really nice specimen. Looks like this one has potential.

If it were mine I would probably reduce it two three or five palms in the clump. Like Treeman14 said all you have to do aside from that is remove the dead and yellowing fronds. Watch out for those thorns!

 

[NickfromWI]

Thanks guys. I think I have to wait a couple years before I cut off some of the stems. I can't even get in there to see what all I have! It is so thick.

I was just paranoid that since I never see clumpers around here, that it was a bad thing.

love
nick