Some palm work. nothing exciting here.

yeah i have seen dog. but not here, it was in oahu.

symbioun, dont take this bad man cause im sure your a good guy and have a verry legit operation but unless you prune 100 coconut trees in a month you have no idea what your talking about. we charge a premium price at $45 a palm so, when theres say 20-30 palms on a property, we need to work fast to even turn a profit. the problem with the stands is they dont work on every coco stem. 20" is he max diameter it will work on and 6" is the minimum. i only spike the palms that have been spiked for 20-50 years. the stems that have not been spiked alot, i try to use the spikeless method but again, to turn a profit you have to go fast and spikes are the fastest method.
 
Here I will have to agree, you could never introduce those stands here in Barbados as they would be too inefficient. Climbing palms and cleaning them is so unprofitable here and I will only do them for clients who have lots of other trees on their property. That's the reality. Here the coconut vendors clean most coconut palms as that is their livelihood and that is fine. However a technical removal over a deck or gazebo, well that is a different matter. All has to be rigged and throwing a coco top is quite the experience, the humboldt works best as you stated in your vid and I agree. Paul.
 
Josh, you seem to be keen and enthusiastic about this industry and you talk a big game about changing the way things are done out there in Hawaii. My only concern is not whether or not you spike palms. My concern is the inconsistencies in what you say and what you show in your videos.
If you say you want people to stop spiking palms when pruning them DON'T put up a video of you pruning a palm with spikes on. And don't make excuses why in this case it was acceptable. That palm may have been riddled with gaff marks but there is no way it is more then 20" dbh.
You show videos of your good friend Dave Elberg only spikeless pruning. What is he doing right that enables him to pull in a profit without throwing on the spikes? Or does he just spike the trees that have been previously spiked too?
I don't mean to be rough on you. I'm just saying that is you want the perception of being a game changer in Hawaii, you have to live it and show it everyday.
Your companies name is Maui Palm & Tree CARE.
 
dave has 3 climbers. im the only climber in ours. see the difference? sure i may have inconsistencies in what i say but im young and learning still. do i honestly affect your direct life? if i dont then why let it bother you? sorry if i sound like im coming across mean these days. im just tired of everyone and their bullshat. the tree community is a friggin pissing show to see who is the best in the world these days. why cant we all just come together and teach one another and learn from others instead of criticizing people for their shortcomings and expecting people to know things allready? there is too many ignorant A-holes in the tree world and it needs to stop!
 
I'm just glad I don't have to deal with palm trees!

I could probably deal with the temps though.

Really, Josh, I at least partially agree with you. What works in eastern NA doesn't necessarily work everywhere else.

I believe most of us just want to ply our trade to the best of our abilities and knowledge and most would agree that making bank is the best way to ensure that this is the case. Save switching into a trade for which you have no passion, if you want to be a production arborist, you most definitely are going to have to do something that you don't necessarily agree with. You can change some hearts and minds along the way, but the reality (at least for me and thousands of others) is that there are a pile of folks lined up to do poorer quality work than people like me are even capable of through effort at being poor quality. Just walk away, and keep walking cuz eventually your phone'll stop ringing. Unless you live in a relatively large market with access to the largest market in your state/province like...oh wait...Peterborough.

Maybe one day, when your rep has grown, and you have a long enough list of clients who will pay the premium rate for proper pruning, you can steer clear of spiking palms. Maybe one day a paradigm will shift and we can all heat (or cool) our homes with hope, and pay the mortgage's with dreams.

The best you can do is your best. The rest is up to a whole host of conditions for which your authority is no more than a speck of dust in the wind. Keep up the good fight over there in paradise, dude.
 
Wow you guys do like to attack each other, however in this case I believe the gentleman was merely pointing out that consistency helps your credibility. One is either for or against spiking coconut palms. I climb spike-less for pruning and small removals, however on big removals I like the added advantage spikes give for positioning and though I am not a big fan of spikes they have their place in our work. But really no spikes for coconut palms I see as a bit overboard, coconut trees get full height relatively quickly depending on species and they are a pain if not cleaned regularly. They get full of centipedes, black ants and even rats if not cleaned. Also when cleaned regularly they tend to speed up their growth. Here people climb them free of gear and can be quite efficient, but as for proper cleaning and safety I don't advise this. Too many accidents. There is absolutely no profit here for cleaning coconut palms in Barbados, I will do it for my tree clients as an added service, but don't call me to just clean them for money. Just my opinion every one has one. Exotic palms are a whole different can of worms, absolutely no spikes. Paul the irie island man.Keep it cool dudes.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm just glad I don't have to deal with palm trees!

I could probably deal with the temps though.

Really, Josh, I at least partially agree with you. What works in eastern NA doesn't necessarily work everywhere else.

I believe most of us just want to ply our trade to the best of our abilities and knowledge and most would agree that making bank is the best way to ensure that this is the case. Save switching into a trade for which you have no passion, if you want to be a production arborist, you most definitely are going to have to do something that you don't necessarily agree with. You can change some hearts and minds along the way, but the reality (at least for me and thousands of others) is that there are a pile of folks lined up to do poorer quality work than people like me are even capable of through effort at being poor quality. Just walk away, and keep walking cuz eventually your phone'll stop ringing.
Unless you live in a relatively large market with access to the largest market in your state/province like...oh wait...Peterborough.

Maybe one day, when your rep has grown, and you have a long enough list of clients who will pay the premium rate for proper pruning, you can steer clear of spiking palms. Maybe one day a paradigm will shift and we can all heat (or cool) our homes with hope, and pay the mortgage's with dreams.

The best you can do is your best. The rest is up to a whole host of conditions for which your authority is no more than a speck of dust in the wind. Keep up the good fight over there in paradise, dude.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well said dude good advice.
 
I removed a sick leaning coconut palm for a friend in Mexico with no spikes, and all I can say is, I'm glad it had a sick lean, or there would have been no foothold! It had been tipped over in Hurricane Wilma and then grew straight up for 5-6 more years. LOADED with biting ants and crazy wasp type bees that all moved in unison like sawflies, had to use the handsaw until all foliage and fruit was gone to keep the bees from freaking out. Top weighed easily 800 lbs, bombed it out over a stone wall into a vacant lot, then chunked down the wood.

I'm glad I don't deal with palms on a daily basis.

-Tom
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm glad I don't deal with palms on a daily basis

[/ QUOTE ]

it really takes a certain person to enjoy doing palm work. i come from a landscaping background so i like to look up at the end of the day and see the clean palms and mowed grass below. its soo rewarding to point out to people "hey look at those palms, thats my work"
grin.gif
 
swingdude,
your totally right NEVER spike an exotic palm. it will kill it! we never spike cuban royal, alexandria, spindle, etc etc.

coconut palms here are weeds. EVERYONE has one in their yards. dont get me started on how much a pain in the arse it is to cut up cocos plumosa(queen palms). bar pinchy madness!!
crazy.gif
 
I like this thread so tropical probably boring to you guys up north, but let me tell ya working in this heat can be torture to even the fittest gym rat. Josh alike you coconut palms are like weeds here in Barbados also. I just thought I would give ya a little encouragement, keep doing the trees it's good work wish I had thought about it a long time ago. Don't take everything people say here in this forum as gospel, this work we do varies as we trot around the globe, I have traveled a fair bit and different cultures address different issues, so although one method is applied in A does not mean it will work in B. Just remember to always do your very best and keep things professional. And by the way I love this forum it has given me a wealth of knowledge, but being older I just don't get caught up in any one person's ego. Paul.
 
im starting to not give a damn anymore about other peoples bullcrap. like i said before, unless you have been trimming palms since you were 16, dont even try to tell me how to trim a palm the right way. id love to see you east coasters work on a job with me for the day. ill give you 10 coconut trees to prune and you only have 3 hours. that would impress me. you only allowed a harness, flipline, handsaw and spikes, and a climbing line. no chainsaws
 
Josh people who only climb trees could never understand how nasty and rough coconut palm cleaning is but understand one thing tree work up north can also be no fun especially when there is a brutal windchill and icy conditions. Not to mention their trees can be extremely tall and some very brittle so extreme caution must be maintained at all times. Again I don't think this forum is about who can do more or who can do it better. I am sure the likes of Mark Chrisholm ,Tom Dunlap and Gerry Berenek would agree that this forum is for teaching each other in a respectful way and gaining support from each other in a field which isn't always respected by the non arborist. The work we do is extremely dangerous and every advantage we can get to increase our knowledge and skill level should be greatly respected. Paul.
 
Try not to take anything personal.
Its hard to do especially when you are way out there.
If you can't or do not want to stay under the radar be prepared for words/insults etc that
you may not like.
Keep it positive.
Soar with the eagles.
smile.gif
 
Josh, I didn't mean for my statement to sound harsh and seem like I was dictating how or how not you should prune a palm. I was merely highlighting the inconsistencies of what you say and do.
The internet can be used as a business tool and since you have your company name as your handle on TB and on youtube, any potential client could google your name and find out a great deal about you.
My only advise is to be consistent with what people read and see in your videos.
Instead of showing a video or you pruning a palm with spikes on (which I never said you couldn't do) perhaps highlight videos of you pruning using the tree stand. Have a niche that sets you apart from the other hacks in your area.
I think the stands a good idea and I encourage you to exploit it as a marketing tool. It's seemed to work for Dave.
 
You need to chill Josh , I know palm tree work is a pain , try doing full skirt 70 ft wash palms these are a bitch and can also kill you if not careful, every one has their own style of climbing bro ...

Yea , I'll take that bet on doing your palms if you want to jump on some of my wash palms.... Take care and climb safe '!!!!!!!!!

later in SO-CAL
 
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