The benefit of self cleaning palms

[MJSanDiego]

Hi all! I see many enthusiasts rave about the self cleaning palms. I am comparing my Wodyetia bifurcatas to my Syagrus Romanzoffiana. Why am I not seeing the benefit? The lower fronds on my Foxtails get tattered and junkie well befiore they would naturally shed the sheath and reveal the next ring. I have 3 lower fronds already cut off at the trunk and the 3 lower sheaths havent shed. The lowest one is splitting and cracking but nowhere near shed.  So if I have to cut off the lower fronds anyway, as they don't shed in sync with the sheaths, what is the benefit? On my Syragus Romanzoffiana I cut off when they are crispy brown. Unless my foxtails are not doing well and fronds are getting tattered too soon instead of N Sync with the sheath shed? Or am I missing something else 

[Merlyn]

@MJSanDiego both Foxtails and Queens are self-cleaning, but that doesn't mean they *look nice* when the fronds die off.  It just means you don't have 20 years of dead fronds hanging on there like on a Washingtonia Filifera.  I don't have a particular preference for self-cleaning or not-self-cleaning.  The guy who got me into palms refused to own any palm that was not self-cleaning.

• Self-cleaning - drops old dead fronds by itself, requiring less "intentional maintenance" or climbing of trunks to cut stuff off.  Dead brown fronds might hang on there for a long time, looking untidy.  They fall randomly, which might be a problem for stuff underneath.  That's a big issue for Royals, because they drop 20' long 50lb fronds at random.
• Not self-cleaning - requires manual pruning to remove any old dead branches.  Useful if you like the "skirted" look on Washies, but a real hassle and expense on tall palms otherwise.

[MJSanDiego]

@Merlyn I see what you are saying. I mistakenly thought most kind of referenced the Queen as non-self cleaning just because tbey do hang onto the crispy brown fronds often a long time before shedding, but its definitely not like the skirts of Washingtonia Filifera or Robusta. Some do report self cleaning on Robustas but much later in its lifespan.  Chamaerops Humilis, Trachycarpus Fortunei and Phoenix Roebellini are definitely not self cleaning. So I guess my Foxtails are fine then. I had a misconception that the sheaths and fronds shed in sync when the frond is done

[Merlyn]

@MJSanDiego it depends on the palm too.  I usually end up pruning the brown fronds from Foxtails and Queens near the boot.  After maybe 2 months or more the dead boot eventually falls off...usually after a thunderstorm.  But the ~6 foot trunk Spindle next to the front door usually peels off a week or so after the frond browns.  In Floriduh eventually all palms are self-cleaning, more or less.  The constant swamplike humidity and rain rots all the boots and fronds off after a while.  So it's sort of a matter of timescale here...weeks...months...maybe a year or so.  

[Harry’s Palms]

For ease of leaf base removal I prefer crown shaft type palms . The easiest in my garden is the Chambroynia , the leaf base almost falls off immediately after the frond gets brown . The next is my Venezuelan Royal , they come down right away. The tougher ones are the non crown shaft palms that can hang on to leaf bases for quite some time . As @Merlyn says , cut the old petiole as close as possible for a cleaner look. I have some pretty tall Syagrus R. that I have trimmed every year and the bases are removed by the trimmers but still occasionally one will come falling down . A couple of times one of my understory palms has a broken frond from it. Harry

[Harry’s Palms]

I was trimming my Caryota Obtusa and thought of this thread . This palm is on the stubborn side of leaf base removal. Getting one to come loose is a chore. This one is years old and very dry so I was able to convince it to come off. HarryThe fibrous black “hair”is in between the bases.

[SeanK]

Sometimes depends upon relative humidity