Trimming the old lower fonds on a Canary Island Date Palm

[Slifer00]

Hey guys. Recently, I purchased a neglected CIDP for just 13 euro (about 14USD). Now, it is doing much better receiving sun (if at all!) from around 11-15:30 daily. It was planted way too deep with fronds poking out of the dirt, so I put it in a larger pat that now has maybe 3-4x more volume.  Now, it is even pushing out a new frond. I want to prune the 3 lower fronds of the CIDP, because they look pretty ugly, and one of them is a weird brownish colour, which for some reason is not visible from the photo. I understand that this may somewhat stunt the growth, but I am just double checking to see if it won't damage the palm in and way, right? 

Come winter, I plan to bring it inside my veranda where it stays consistently about 2-3 deg C warmer than outside, with the added benefit of being protected from cold winds. If it goes below -5C, I will wrap it around with bubble wrap and/or a gardening fleece.

I would greatly appreciate any more tips on caring for it. Thanks

 

[Chester B]

Really, unless they are totally crisped off I would leave them.  I have a lot of palms I put in the ground this year and the older fronds look terrible, but I know they are aiding in growth and act as an energy reserve.   So I leave them and practice a little patience, I know they'll come off at some point.

Can you cut those old fronds off and not kill the palm? Yes.

 

[MJSanDiego]

That is seriously root bound. Is that a snail inside the root ball? These are massive big palms that grow massive trunks. You can prune old fronds with no issues. You may not be able to keep that in pots for too long though before moving to the ground. It will outgrow pots quickly and won't have enough soil for the roots to spread and floirush. I would transplant to the ground ASAP and use either B-1 or Superthrive products to boost it and prevent transplant shock

[Las Palmas Norte]

The members from UK can advise further on this palm. They have countless Phoenix canariensis growing and to very impressive sizes.

[Slifer00]

34 minutes ago, MJSanDiego said:

That is seriously root bound. Is that a snail inside the root ball? These are massive big palms that grow massive trunks. You can prune old fronds with no issues. You may not be able to keep that in pots for too long though before moving to the ground. It will outgrow pots quickly and won't have enough soil for the roots to spread and floirush. I would transplant to the ground ASAP and use either B-1 or Superthrive products to boost it and prevent transplant shock

Yep, that is a snail living inside haha. I probably should have mentioned that was what it looked like beforehand. Its fine now

[Slifer00]

51 minutes ago, Chester B said:

Really, unless they are totally crisped off I would leave them.  I have a lot of palms I put in the ground this year and the older fronds look terrible, but I know they are aiding in growth and act as an energy reserve.   So I leave them and practice a little patience, I know they'll come off at some point.

Can you cut those old fronds off and not kill the palm? Yes.

 

If I were to cut them off, would it be best to do so straight after or before winter? Or does it not make much of a difference?

[Chester B]

The longer they're on the longer they provide nutrition to the palm, so after is better.  Some of them may totally brown off on their own over the next few months anyway.

[MJSanDiego]

The consensus is to prune them off in late spring and early summer when the palm is in its most explosive growing season. But it also depends on where you live. Here palms grow year round although slower during winter. We prune year round and it makes no difference. If your palms are mostly dormant in winter it is preferable to prune summer. Or if the palm is struggling leave them on until at least spring even if it's unsightly. If they are completely brown and crispy, meaning the palm is done with the frond, you can remove anytime of year

[Merlyn]

@Slifer00 hopefully when you stepped it up you stuffed dirt into the hole in the middle of that mass of roots, right?   

I'd echo the others, cut it off if it's cosmetically offensive.  Otherwise it's usually better to leave them on until they are dead and dessicated brown.  I routinely prune off fronds from palms along my pathways, and when they smack me in the face when I mow the grass.  There's always a risk of fungal or bacterial infection when pruning green tissue, which is why most people advise to only cut old dead fronds. 

[SeanK]

When you plant it, keep in mind its adult size. You won't want to move it later.

[MJSanDiego]

I recommend rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol cleaning of any pruning tools just prior to pruning one palm. As a secondary precaution, clean the tools again before proceeding to the next palm. I do this religiously! 

[Slifer00]

21 hours ago, Chester B said:

The longer they're on the longer they provide nutrition to the palm, so after is better.  Some of them may totally brown off on their own over the next few months anyway.

I guess I will leave them on their own, for now. Will give them some time