Phoenix Arizona arbo's?

gleaf

gleaf

Location
British Columbia
Phoenix Arizona arbo\'s?

Hey guys I just flew down to Phoenix to have my back operated on and am staying with my dad in Peoria. All my 15 years experience working with trees has been in the Pacific Northwest (bc). My dad has lived here for about 10 years and has a number of Palm trees on his property that I've noticed have all been spurred up to clean out the dead fronds. Is this common practice here and how do the palms react to these wounds? If there are any guys here that can give me some feedback it would be appreciated.
 
Re: Phoenix Arizona arbo\'s?

That is standard practice for trimming palms, the inside of a palm is made up of vertical tubes that run from the roots to the meristem however if there are more than 3 years of dead fronds on the palm you shouldn't climb under them ,the fronds can slide down the trunk and pin you or worse, It is recommended to climb over the outside of the fronds by setting up a climbing line through the center of the head (living fronds)and use SRT method with a basal anchor.
 
Re: Phoenix Arizona arbo\'s?

You can spike them for decades with no bad effect. Once I cut down a palm tree that a guy had died in the previous year. Those old dead fronds just fall on you and suffocate you. Rough way to go.
 
Re: Phoenix Arizona arbo\'s?

Talking to an arborist in Florida. He said to be competitive, a good climber might do 150 palms a day. They have to average just a few minutes per tree, climbing.
You'd have to spike them to get that that kind of production.
It's different if production isn't an issue though. Take your time with SRT. They are sketchy though. Talk to the guys that do it first.
 
Re: Phoenix Arizona arbo\'s?

Frax 150 palms in one day is quite a bit ? No way they can do that many in a day unless they are in 5gal cans ..lol

Srt them if you can gelaf or use a ladder , just be safe climbing these full skirt palms .. later in SO-CAL
 
Re: Phoenix Arizona arbo\'s?

150 palms a day figures to one every 3.2 minutes for an 8 hour day. Someone was messing with you Frax. BTW, how is the eye coming along? I also have a question for you so check your PM.
 
Re: Phoenix Arizona arbo\'s?

I absolutely mean no offense to anyone here, but spiking of any type of tree for pruning is definitely NOT best management practice, and this includes palms. Unlike dicots, which have a secondary growth point (the cambium), monocots (palms) do not have this. Hence they cannot "cover" surface trunk wounds the way conifers and broadleafs do (woundwood or "callus" production), although I have seen woundwood on dragon trees, which are one of the few monocots that branch.

I am aware that spiking palms is common practice. I worked in Hawaii a few summers and noticed that even companies with the best reputations there would do it. But it doesn't make it right. Using floating false crotch or SRT techniques can safely put you above and outside of dead frond skirts which are absolutely killers, WITHOUT inflicting wounds that these plants cannot cover. On some super tall palms that may be almost impossible, I admit. In Europe, a device called the bicycle sometimes is used. It is basically a pair of metal hoops that grip around the trunk.

Yes, palms usually do endure this kind of injury, but studying their A&P tells us it is not what is best. I have often seen palm trunk wounds that were decayed, although I cannot say for sure that they were from spikes. I would say live oaks, for instance, can endure flush cuts for years, but we know there's a better way.

And don't get me started on how much live foliage people are cutting out of palms....
 
Re: Phoenix Arizona arbo\'s?

In Hawaii it seems that it's the culture also to spike palms, and by palms I mean specifically coconuts. It all boils down to production. Coconuts are the bottom of the barrel market-wise, so to make any money as a production company you need to put down lots and lots in a day.
A competent production coconut climber can prune at least 30 cocos in an 8 hour day, and there is no way you are going to hit that with anything but spikes (although the tree stand method can get you close, maybe even to 30 if you're comfortable with it.). The Swiss rings or bicycles are horrible-uncomfortable unwieldy, and realistically if you're climbing 70 feet on a gnarly leaning stem, downright unsafe. SRT is solid, but take much longer, so for smaller specialist companies, you can charge high end clients for that.
But mostly, the market price for coconuts is so low that it is almost unskilled labor. Climbing them with spikes and swinging a 5 lb machete that you can shave your face with-OSHA must love that!
And yes, lots of green material is very often removed, and cuts are made far too deep, essentially skinning the palms. Fungal spores are transmitted from palm to palm by unsanitised knives and spikes. They just are not treated well.
But, there are thousands of cocos that have been spiked twice a year for 70 plus years, and although the unsightly spur wounds remain, there is no evidence of rot or decay.
I'm not saying its right, i'm just saying that's the way it is. Lots of high end conpanies will just avoid coconuts all together and focus on the trees.
But they're cool and fun to climb and trim, to a point.

Don't spike fan palms (Fijian fan palms, not sure the proper name) or Mexican fan palms (Washingtonians) and def not royal palms.
 
Re: Phoenix Arizona arbo\'s?

I agree that cocos seem to withstand this better than washingtonians, sabals and cabbage palms, which is what we usually deal with in TX.

Curious why you say not to spike those.
 
Re: Phoenix Arizona arbo\'s?

They don't seem to handle as well as cocos. Royal Palms are easier to SRT than spike, in my opinion. The others seem far less resilient. Obviously it happens, but in my experience they are often not as tall, and there might not be as many to be completed in a day where you can spend the extra time. Also less taper on the trunks, so the swiss rings are a more viable option.
 
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