Palm trees are among those plants that thrive best and most beautifully if they are cut back very rarely. To ensure that the southern plant ambassadors are not damaged during this care measure, various points must be observed.

Diseased or dead fronds can be trimmed all year round

When can you cut?

The unique spatial effect of palm trees is based on their attractively shaped, lush green leaves. Although never fully pruned, occasional pruning is required. In this article we would like to go into detail about the following aspects:

  • How to deal with brown, dried leaf tips?
  • What is the correct way to cut off dead fronds?
  • What happens to plants that are too big?
  • Special case Yucca

Trim unsightly leaf tips

With many palm species, the tips of the leaves discolour as a result of the aging process. They turn brown and dry up, which can severely spoil the appearance of the palm tree. You can trim these unsightly tips at any time. However, be careful not to cut into the healthy green to avoid unnecessarily weakening the plant.

Remove dead foliage

Palm trees do not branch, the leaves only grow back from the middle and the base of the dried fronds forms the ever thickening trunk over time. In nature, the leaves slowly sink to the ground and eventually break off. This forms the characteristic crown and a healthy trunk.

When is the best time to trim the fronds properly?

Prune the palm, preferably in late autumn, just before you bring it indoors for the winter or initiate the hibernation of indoor palms. This allows the plant to recover from the hardships of the care measures in peace and quickly drives out new, strong fronds in spring.

What can you cut back?

If possible, the foliage is only cut off when it has completely dried up. This allows the palm to draw off all the usable nutrients and use them to form fresh greenery.

The brown leaves can often be easily plucked off by hand. Alternatively suitable

  • a knife with a smooth or serrated blade
  • a pair of sharp pruning shears

for professional pruning. In any case, the cutting tool must be very sharp so that you do not injure the plant with this care measure. It is also advisable to thoroughly disinfect knives or scissors. This ensures that no pathogens or fungi are transferred from other plants to the palm.

method

  • Cut leaves close to the stem.
  • Alternatively, carefully break off by hand.
  • Cut back the remains of the leaves on the stem.

This is very important, as fungi and pests can lodge in the small pockets of the remaining leaf axils. Well protected from environmental influences, diseases and insects can multiply here by leaps and bounds and massively damage the plant within a very short time.

Exception:

If a palm tree transplanted outdoors shows frost damage after the winter, these fronds are cut off immediately. The damaged parts of the plant form an open entry point for fungi and other plant diseases and, in the worst case, can result in the death of the plant.

The palm tree is getting too big

The crown of the palm tree is its growing point of the plant. If you prune the growth here, you risk dying it. Here, too, the leaves are only removed when they are completely dry.

With large palm trees, the only thing that helps is to give them a location where they can develop freely. Be happy, because such a magnificent palm tree in living rooms or in the garden is not only rare, it is also an extremely attractive room decoration that not everyone has.

Special case yucca palm

The yucca, which is often found in our apartments, is not really a palm tree at all, but belongs to the asparagus family. The plant, more correctly called palm lily, is extremely robust and usually grows vigorously and quickly. After just a few years, it will exceed the available space and have to be cut back.

In contrast to palm trees, you can shorten the yucca considerably, and the severed trunk sections can even be used for propagation.

tips

If you want to cut the palm tree because it is getting a lot of brown or yellow leaves, you should take a close look at the plant. At best, only natural aging or dry air is the cause of the discoloration. Sometimes, however, harmful insects have settled on the crop and the attractive fronds die off as a result. Then first apply a pesticide and only then cut back.

Category:

Trees