Last Updated on November 14, 2023 by Grow with Bovees
Many gardening tools can be used in trimming various species of palm trees depending on their height, leaves, and general form.
In this article, we look at the tools you can use to trim palm trees.
The biggest challenge when trimming palm trees is taking care of the trees whose palm fronds are high above the ground.
In addition, falling leaves, fruits, and flowers require more than your usual hand-held pruning tools.
What Tools Do You Need For Trimming Palm Trees?
Trimming a palm tree requires you to have the right gear if you want to work efficiently. While there are a few things that can be utilized, options for pruning may include power tools such as pruning saws and pole saws or simple tools such as axes, machetes, and hand pruners.
If you are working on a tall palm tree, you’ll also need the right type of climbing gear so that you can trim your tree without causing any unnecessary damage.
Make sure that you use the right types of climbing tools. For a short tree, you may only need a step stool or a ladder. However, a tall tree will require using the right harnesses that can hold your weight while you trim the palm trees.
Rather than ropes and harnesses, extra-tall palms may require you to use a hydraulic lift to trim your palms.
It goes without saying that if you’re pruning or caring for an indoor palm tree, many of these tools won’t be needed!
If You Need To Trim The Trunk of The Tree
A palm tree trunk trimming tool is often considered an essential tool for maintaining the aesthetics and health of palm trees. Several tools can be utilized for the purpose of trimming the trunk of the palm tree.
You only need a tool with a sharp blade, the length of the tool will depend upon the diameter of the palm tree that you’re trimming, but can be anywhere between 16 inches and 36 inches. The blade can be either serrated or smooth.
You need to take care to not actually cut into the trunk of the tree, rather just cut off the old fronds from around the trunk.
Cutting Blades
You don’t really need a special palm tree saw blade, you can use an ordinary blade to cut away the undesired and dead fronds. However, large plants with big fronds and stems and stronger tissue fibers will need tools such as heavy-duty pruning shears, machetes, hand-pruners, or loppers.
Your cutting blade should match the toughness of the fronds. Small stems under ¼ inch diameter will go down using hand pruners or shears.
For palm trees with larger fronds with a larger diameter, long-armed big blade loppers might be the ideal tool for trimming. They can cut the fronds just fine, and they give you an extended reach to the high branches and keep you from getting poked by spiny fronds.
Sawing Blades
While cutting blades can get the job done, a lightweight saw blade is more useful and can cut the tough branches faster when trimming a palm tree.
You can count on hand-held pruning saws to rip through tough dried boots, branches, and fronds.
You may opt for a single handle saw, or a bow saw. This, however, will depend on if there’s enough room for moving the saw back and forth as you cut palm stems and fronds.
For the extra-large palm fronds and stems that can’t come down by a pruning saw, you can use a chain saw to get the work done. A small chain saw will also help you work faster compared to other cutting tools.
A regular saw can be used for cutting through any palm tree roots that have appeared above the ground and are proving to be a problem. However, if there are a lot of them, you should seek professional advice before removing the above ground roots.
Extensions
Mounting pruning blades on extension poles helps you work your palm trees safely from the ground. Extension poles use controls on pulley ropes that open and close to cut the palm fronds.
Ensure that your extension pole is safely attached to the pruning blade so that the saw does not pivot once you start trimming your tree.
Pole Saw
Pole saws are popular palm tree pruning tools as you can trim your palm tree comfortably using them. Ideally, you may only use your pole saw once or twice a year, but they are worth it. You can choose between cordless saws, manual pole saws, and electric pole saw.
Most people prefer powered pole saws compared to manual pole saws when trimming branches and dead fronds on small trees. They are efficient, and you will work on the dead and dying fronds effortlessly.
Electric pole saws are especially light and are more powerful compared to cordless pole saws. On the other hand, manual pole saws are safer and easier to learn how to use, especially if you trim trees while standing on a ladder.
Best Pole Saws for Palm TreeTrimming
- Oregon Cordless PS250
Looks are certainly deceiving as this cordless PS250 pole saw offers you the best reach to high palm trees while delivering maximum power and precision.
This pole saw will go where your old chain saw won’t, and you won’t have to worry about cords slowing you down while working.
The Oregon S250 cordless pole saw packs a 4.0 Ah battery that produces a chain speed of 2817 fpm. The efficient planetary gear reduction system will give you 500 cuts on 2-3 inch branches before draining the battery. You can recharge the Oregon S250 pole saw with a powerful 40v lithium battery for smooth use throughout the day.
- SunJoe SWJ800E Electric Pole Saw
The Sun Joe SWJ800E is a powerful, lightweight electric pole saw that you can use to trim palms.
Unlike the cordless pole saw, you can use the Sun Joe SWJ800E for as long as you want as the tool doesn’t rely on batteries for power, thereby saving you some extra weight.
The Sun Joe SWJ800E is powerful enough to work on your palm trees. It’s easy-to-use and comes at a competitive price.
Saws for Cutting Larger Fronds
Hand saws and pruning saws work best when you need to take care of larger fronds that cutting blades and pole saws won’t cut.
Saw the dead frond near the trunk, but make sure that you don’t cut or injure the trunk in any way. You can also use a chain saw to cut large fronds, but avoid cutting the trunk!
Only prune the drooping fronds that have dropped below a 90-degree angle to the trunk. Only dead fronds should be removed. Don’t cut the healthy green fronds of the tree.
Essential Climbing Gear
Palms can grow to more than 70 feet tall, and to trim these tall species, you’ll need some climbing gear to help you reach the top.
For trees above 15ft, extension ladders are the best option for climbing your palm tree. Trees taller than 15ft might require you to hire a bucket lift.
If you are trimming tall trees, you may need to use harnesses and cables to climb up. Avoid using spiked shoes to climb your palm tree. Spiked shoes will cause permanent damage to the palm tree and should not be used as climbing gear.
Best Ladder For Trimming Palm Trees
The best type of ladder for a medium height palm tree would be one of the telescoping variety. They are available in various lengths, but, the longer versions can be quite heavy.
For trees above 15ft, extension ladders are the best option for climbing your palm tree. Trees taller than 15ft might require you to hire a bucket lift.
As with all ladder work, great care must be taken, and avoid over reaching. Always have somebody to assist with steadying the ladder, and make sure to use all necessary personal protection equipment.
Important Sterilizing Agents
The first step to trimming palm trees is by sterilizing your tools. Clean any dirty pruning tools first before putting them in a disinfecting bleach solution. You can prepare a bleaching solution by mixing one part of bleach with three parts water. Always ensure that you use a fresh solution when sterilizing the trimming tools. Hydrogen peroxide can also be used for sterilizing.
To sterilize a chainsaw, start by removing the bar and chain, and soaking them in your bleaching solution. Soak the tools for a minimum of 5 minutes, then rinse them with water and allow some time to air dry.
Avoid using pruning tools on more than one palm tree before sterilizing, as this may transfer diseases from one palm tree to another.
Use a Knife on Flower Stalks
Use a knife to remove flower stalks or smaller dead fronds. Flower stalks are best trimmed as soon as they appear, and the tree is not harmed if removed. Removing them allows the tree to keep more nutrients for itself rather than creating seeds. A knife with a serrated edge is best for removing the flower stalks.
Other Necessary Equipment to Trim Palm Trees
Safety equipment is necessary when you need to trim palm trees, especially if using a chainsaw. Leather gloves to protect your hands, and also to ensure that you have a firm grip and feel confident while climbing a palm tree.
They also help by acting as a physical barrier against accidental cuts from your pruning tools or spines on the palm fronds. Shoe spikes are also an advantage.
Eye goggles help to keep your eyes safe from being poked by leaves or sawdust. A hard hat on your head is also important as it helps you stay safe from falling fronds and coconuts or accidental falls.