Re: Palms, spike\'em or not?
I work in South Florida. We rely on pruning palms here. It may generate around 60% of our revenue. We routinely spike palms that are 30'-40'+. If we have limited access like pool decks we have to get them done. We will not spike any Phoenix spp. We use loop runners girthed around the trunk to prune the Dates. It is pretty unacceptable to spike Florida Royal Palms. The Palm that the guy was working on last week was a Royal Palm (Roystonea spp.). These palms are pretty difficult to prune when you have limited access. I have also used a pole saw off the top of a large ladder before (many times). The big difference is I would not do that when there is an electrical hazard present. The meristem will not tolerate a climbing line because it is tender. The best asset of these palms is the trunk, or Grey Wood. That is the money shot (so to speak) and nobody wants to mar the trunks. There are definately options, though. ANSI Standards advises us to set a line and ascend the palm to the top and work our way down. That is for palms with 3 years of growth or more. So, from someone that prunes palms everyday, I say spike them (in Florida) when necesarry. Preferably from the top of a ladder. With consideration of the species. And never in the presence of Overhead utilities. Work safely.
