Question:Β I have a palm tree the city wants me to trim. I donβt want to spend the money to have someone else do it. I donβt want to climb a 20-foot ladder with a chainsaw. And I like the way this tree looks. Can you help me by saying something about how this form is considered by many people to be attractive and is a common landscape practice?
Answer:Β It is a common practice to leave a full skirt on palm trees and you can find others in the city just like yours. Most palm trees with a full skirt are a bit taller and as long as the bottom 10 feet of the tree is bare and the dead fronds are away from anything that might catch fire, everything is deemed okay. Some people find the natural form of these trees with a full skirt to be attractive and others like to see them well pruned. Unfortunately for you, the city requires the latter when the skirt hangs low like yours does. The hazards of palm skirts and the risks are mostly fire and having it fall on someone and crush them.
Peter L. Warren is the urban horticulture agent for the Pima County Cooperative Extension and the University of Arizona. Questions may be emailed toΒ tucsongardensage@gmail.com
