I was at a south Florida shopping center this afternoon and I noticed they mounted light fixtures half way up the palms.  The fixture runs 360 degrees around the palm trunk and there seems to be four studs that attach the fixture to the trunk, no idea how deep these studs are embedded into the trunk or if they are just resting on friction.  My guess is they drilled into the body.

They are doing this on every palm.

Hmm...

Looks pretty!

Interesting, I do see a staple over the wire 

Looks like same concept as a Christmas tree stand. If they’re drilling into the trunk though, that’s no bueno

They plant these palms in shopping centers like this the same way I buy in bushes from Lowes.  Unlikely this will hurt the palm materially but damage could look worse in 10 or 20 years.  Holes don't heal but the main light seems 'clamped' on but I would assume tightly enough to press into the palm a bit.

I spotted another light like this one that resembled an illuminated 'halo' around a palm trunk. It gave me the idea of suspending light-up hula hoops around a palm trunk but I can't figure out how to mount it without doing damage.

Ryan

43 minutes ago, Palmarum said:

I spotted another light like this one that resembled an illuminated 'halo' around a palm trunk. It gave me the idea of suspending light-up hula hoops around a palm trunk but I can't figure out how to mount it without doing damage.

Ryan

Fishing line and lots of Boy Scout knots? 

I mounted some with nylon straps once... They take a little maintenance though... You need to re-adjust the straps occasionally...

Butch

My guess is they had to drill into the trunk to attach this fixture.

These looks to be pretty heavy metallic fixtures, and has a hinge to open and close like handcuffs.  There are four studs on each side, I assume these studs are threaded in from the round frame and tightened against the trunk.  But with them being so high I doubt they just sit up there by friction.  So I think they drilled holes into the palm to sink the studs in deeper.  Will the palm heal over the penetration?

18 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Fishing line and lots of Boy Scout knots? 

Maybe. I was thinking of a quicker, easier way to attach the hoops, either center aligned (to appear floating) or with one point of attachment (to appear to be still, as if the palm was 'hula hooping' with it). I have used large pipe clamps before, but they have to be adjusted over time and work mostly on thinner trunks. I will have to figure out a test idea and play with it.

Ryan