Can I keep the base of this Phoenix reclinata at bay?

[Skenny]

The tree was identified as a Phoenix reclinata, or at least close to one, in a prior thread so that's what I am going with.  It's been here forever it seems.  Right now its a big mess out there as I trim a bit more each day.  97 degrees and 100% humidity really takes it's toll on you.

 

That whole circled area is what I am trying to get under control.  Everything that grows below the main trunks.  I know they eventually turn into new trunks but that could take decades, right?

 

So about the pups (if I am using the right lingo), over the years we have been here they keep spreading out, which I guess is a good thing because the tree is healthy and wants to grow, but it's becoming a jungle out there.  I let it grow in the back because, well, it's the back and I don't go back there is really the only reason, but the front continues to spread.  I do cut it back every few months but despite that the growth is so phenomenal the amount of fronds that grow are hard to control. 

 

 

 

Can anything be done to stop it from expanding every year?  Can the ground growth be directed elsewhere?  I cut the fronds back as close as I can to the mini trunk things along the base but nothing can stop this thing.  The Phoenix name is pretty fitting, no matter what is done this thing rises from the ashes and comes back stronger.

[Merlyn]

@Skenny I remember commenting on the earlier thread.  It sure looks like the fertilizer is working!    

The upside of a clustering palm is that you can prune off sections and select some prime trunks to shape it how you want.  The downside is the constant growth of new trunks and (in Phoenix for sure) the relentlessly stabby nature of the beast.  For that reason I trashed the three other clustering Phoenix in my yard and kept only one single Reclinata.  I have not been aggressively pruning mine back, mostly doing it twice per year.  My tactic is to pick one spot around the perimeter and use long loppers to get in towards the base.  Once I've cleared a foot-wide section down to the trunks, I just go around the perimeter in one direction and chop off anything that's getting close to horizontal.  I get stabbed a lot less that way.

As far as getting rid of trunks, you need to cut them below the bud (growing point).  At that point that trunk is dead and will never grow new fronds.  The risk with cutting trunks is that it might get a fungal infection like Ganoderma or Thielaviopsis, which could affect and/or kill the entire cluster.  But I really have no clue what the risk is.  The bud is up near the top of the palm, maybe 6 inches or so below the point where the new spears come out.  I'm just guessing on the distance, and that varies from species to species.  If the bud is above ground, slicing it off and then coating with a fungicide like sulfur powder, Daconil, copper-based fungicide or similar might work.  See diagram below:

If you wanted to do a cut like that, you could use a small chainsaw or reciprocating saw.  For small jobs like that I use a battery powered reciprocating saw and 6" Diablo 3TPI carbide pruning blades.  A chainsaw can't really be sanitized, but I keep my 6" reciprocating saw blades in a glass jar filled with rubbing alcohol.  I just grab a fresh blade between palms and then wipe the blade down before dropping it back in the jar later.  If you don't want to spend the $$ on a battery powered saw, a small pruning saw should work. 

[PhoenixFXG]

Can’t you just cut out holes from weed fabric and place them around the mature trunks? It has to be pretty tough fabric/plastic but I can’t imagine the pups surviving on no sun.

[TropicsEnjoyer]

5 hours ago, PhoenixFXG said:

I can’t imagine the pups surviving on no sun.

But they could still easily be fueled by the collective root system. The same way other palms sucker from underground and up, obviously the pup can’t survive down there without light but the photosynthesis of everything above it sustains it until it pushes itself out.

[Skenny]

Is this the part I should be taking a saw to?

This is the same section with the camera pulled back a bit

 

 

Here's the front as it is now. 

I've cut back three large garbage cans worth of fronds and might be half way through and have only been able to get that small section on the left cleaned up to the point of being able to see what is going on.  Once that gets collected I'll be back out there this weekend to continue culling the base so I can see the main trunks again.

[WaianaeCrider]

Wow, I have at least a dozen and none are clustering.

[PhoenixFXG]

This is why I only plant single trunks at my house! And it looks better hehe

[Skenny]

54 minutes ago, WaianaeCrider said:

Wow, I have at least a dozen and none are clustering.

What does that mean?  Not what does clustering mean, but what does it mean that it is clustering?

Is this a good or bad thing?

On 5/19/2025 at 11:55 AM, Merlyn said:

@Skenny I remember commenting on the earlier thread.  It sure looks like the fertilizer is working!    

 

Seems like I kicked it into overdrive with what its been doing since then.

[Merlyn]

@Skenny clustering just means it makes new offsets, like yours.  AFAIK Reclinata is always clustering, though some are more...er...prolific than others.  

[Harry’s Palms]

I have one I need to trim . I am planning on cutting unwanted trunks with a small chain saw. Harry

‘Really have to be careful with this one , it’s full of sharp thorns.

[WaianaeCrider]

On 5/20/2025 at 3:56 PM, Skenny said:

What does that mean?  Not what does clustering mean, but what does it mean that it is clustering?

Is this a good or bad thing?

 

Clustering to me means multiple trunks from one plant.  Mine are all single plantings.  Good or bad is up to  you.

[peachy]

On 5/21/2025 at 11:00 AM, WaianaeCrider said:

Wow, I have at least a dozen and none are clustering.

These rotten things are at the base of my deep hatred of clumping palms. I chainsawed,  axed, tried every poison on earth and even tried to burn it out. I am covered in scars from the filthy thing but now know they are indestructible and protected by demonic forces of evil.

Peachy

[Merlyn]

1 hour ago, peachy said:

These rotten things are at the base of my deep hatred of clumping palms. I chainsawed,  axed, tried every poison on earth and even tried to burn it out. I am covered in scars from the filthy thing but now know they are indestructible and protected by demonic forces of evil.

 I read that to my wife, she said, "That sounds like something you said about your palms!"  I was pruning up a superclustering Phoenix hybrid about a year ago.  After getting stabbed or sliced for about the 20th time I just chainsawed the whole top of it off and dug out the roots.  Clearly my magic was more powerful than the demonic forces protecting it!  

@Skenny you can try slicing them off around ground level.  There is always a risk the whole clump gets a fungal or bacterial infection.  And some (or all) might grow back, since they are connected to the entire rootstock.  Weed fabric won't do anything, they'll just rip right through it.

[Skenny]

So from reading this it sounds like my only option is to keep cutting it back every 6 months until I am too old to do so, and then at that point get it removed and plant a bush instead?  The options here sound like they keep things at bay but the power of the cluster cannot be contained and it will just find any possibly way to keep growing.

This tree is why I bought forearm length kevlar lined animal control gloves off of Amazon.  I still get the occasional spike going through the smallest of weak spots but for the most part I can just grab at everything with no issues. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DVXQ9RD

Nothing like having to put on armor to do some yard work.

[Skenny]

I did another round of trimming this morning and have the front and right side cleared out.

 

 

Enough that I can now move around it and figure out what comes next.  So the stalk things that are left,  these are what I need to get a saw and start cutting as close to the base as I can go?

 

 

 

 

I should be cutting below the green frond parts and down through the brown base of the whole thing?

[TropicsEnjoyer]

I’ve heard that over time they become less vigorous suckerers, is this true?

[96720]

The way I understand it is every trunk (sucker) will make 4 more trunks (suckers) so unless you dig down and completely remove the sucker (trunk) you will just have more and more suckers (trunks)!!!! @WaianaeCrider yours must be rupicola and not reclinata!!!

[Skenny]

Three more full garbage cans worth of fronds and I can now get around to the back of the tree.  The light hasn't reached the ground along that fence in years.

Here is what the back side looks like.

 

How many years / decades does it take for one of the suckers to become a trunk?  If I leave the one that's the biggest in place back here will it turn into something during my lifetime or will it take so long there is no point in trying?

Either way it seems like the next step is to begin clearing out the dead stuff and fill up some more garbage cans and see where we end up once that's done.

 

[Merlyn]

@Skenny it does take a long time for them to grow trunks...probably because so much energy goes into growing offsets at the same time.  So if you have xxx water, yyy heat & sun, and zzz fertilizer, you can get 1 trunk quicker or 500 trunks fairly slow.  I only have mine for reference, it's been in the ground for 7 years and hasn't really formed a trunk:

And here it is today.  Mine could very well be a hybrid of some sort, as it's an unknown "mutt" from a local nursery.  To be fair, it was under oak canopy for at least 3 or 4 years and then had AM shade from the Queens you see in the above photo.  They grew to 20' tall telephone poles in 6 years, and I cut them all down last summer.  So this year is really the first year in full sun:

[WaianaeCrider]

On 5/25/2025 at 4:56 PM, 96720 said:

The way I understand it is every trunk (sucker) will make 4 more trunks (suckers) so unless you dig down and completely remove the sucker (trunk) you will just have more and more suckers (trunks)!!!! @WaianaeCrider yours must be rupicola and not reclinata!!!

Ah you got this "old" man.  LOL  

 

[SeanK]

You might try trenching and pouring a cement wall. Maybe 24" deep and 6" thick.

[Skenny]

Another mountain of debris cleared out.  I'm tired, but will continue on.

Here is what it looks like after this weekend:

Took a saw to the base and started cutting things back as much as I could until the blade snapped. 

Anyone have any recommendations on a saw suited to get at this thing?  I would be willing to spend on something that will last because right now I am using whatever dull hacksaw blades I found in my garage.

Even though all of this work over these past few weeks, it's all just going to grow back and I'm going to have to do this again next year, aren't I?

[96720]

I use a reciprocating saw (like a dewalt) you can get them right down to the dirt and the blades still last awhile unlike a chain saw that if it hits the dirt time to resharpen!!

[Merlyn]

@96720 that's what I do too.  If I expect to hit dirt I use carbide tips, otherwise I just use regular high speed steel blades.  I use a Bosch RS325 saw.

[Skenny]

13 hours ago, Merlyn said:

@96720 that's what I do too.  If I expect to hit dirt I use carbide tips, otherwise I just use regular high speed steel blades.  I use a Bosch RS325 saw.

 

14 hours ago, 96720 said:

I use a reciprocating saw (like a dewalt) you can get them right down to the dirt and the blades still last awhile unlike a chain saw that if it hits the dirt time to resharpen!!

This sounds like a really good idea and gives me an excuse to go to Harbor Freight and get myself a new power tool.

How about this one? 

https://www.harborfreight.com/20v-brushless-cordless-reciprocating-saw-tool-only-57549.html

and then pruning blades?

https://www.harborfreight.com/9-in-5-tpi-reciprocating-saw-pruning-blades-3-pack-58110.html

Something like this is what you all mean?

[Merlyn]

@Skenny the blades look like the non-carbide ones that I use.  They get dull really quick if you hit the sand, but are pretty good at pruning trunks and fronds.  I typically use 6" length for pruning jobs.  I have an old mason jar filled with rubbing alcohol, so when I'm done with one palm I wipe it down and then drop it in the jar to sanitize.

As far as the saw goes, the shape/size is right.  Given the number of fronds and trunks you are trying to manage, I think a regular plug-in one on a big extension cord is a better choice.  It'll rip through palm trunks like buttah.  I think you'd be disappointed in how quickly a battery one dies or bogs down.  Besides...as they say any tool from Harbor Freight eventually turns into a hammer.  The Bosch RS325 is $119 at Lowe's.  I demolished around 15 water oak stumps with a Bosch RS7 before finally wearing out the bearings and reciprocating gears.  I made the mistake of buying a Milwaukee for a replacement...the "counter weight mechanism" meant if it got bound up in a cut it would rip the skin off your hands and shake your arms loose from your body.  And the front grip shape caused blisters quickly.  So I went back to Bosch...I'd recommend going and holding them at the store and seeing if the grip and trigger seems comfortable before buying one.  You might hate the Bosch grip and like DeWalt...who knows?

[Merlyn]

@Skenny I finally remembered to take a picture of a local road planting of a big Reclinata cluster.  Here's the big view:

And here's the base, where they cut the unwanted trunks horizontally near the ground.  You can see that some of the trunks finally died after being cut probably many times, but many of them just keep pushing new fronds.  This cluster has probably been there for about 15 years.  In the Google Streetview it's about 6 foot trunks in 2011, but wasn't there in 2007.  So they've been chopping the base clean for a loooooong time...

[96720]

This is a very old clump they have kept it to 6 trunks but if you zoom in on the base you can see it is a continuous job if they let it go for awhile it would be a jungle!!

[TropicsEnjoyer]

These things really dont give up 😂

[Skenny]

18 hours ago, Merlyn said:

@Skenny I finally remembered to take a picture of a local road planting of a big Reclinata cluster.  Here's the big view:

Well this is totally unexpected.   When I am on Int'l. Parkway next week I'll be sure to take a look.  

I saw your post late at night and was in a bit of surprised shock to recognize exactly where this was taken based on the photo.  The chances of being on a highly specific palm tree forum and seeing a photo like that has got to be pretty small.  Or on the flip side maybe all the people into palm trees enough to end up on a palm tree forum congregate in the same general areas.

This is a first for me!

[Merlyn]

2 hours ago, Skenny said:

Well this is totally unexpected.   When I am on Int'l. Parkway next week I'll be sure to take a look.  

I saw your post late at night and was in a bit of surprised shock to recognize exactly where this was taken based on the photo.  The chances of being on a highly specific palm tree forum and seeing a photo like that has got to be pretty small.  Or on the flip side maybe all the people into palm trees enough to end up on a palm tree forum congregate in the same general areas.

This is a first for me!

 It is indeed exactly where you think it is!  There are a bunch of palm wackos in this general area.  If you go to the fall CFPACS meeting you'll probably meet a lot of us.  I *think* it is early December in Longwood, I am sure @kinzyjr knows!

[kinzyjr]

7 hours ago, Merlyn said:

 It is indeed exactly where you think it is!  There are a bunch of palm wackos in this general area.  If you go to the fall CFPACS meeting you'll probably meet a lot of us.  I *think* it is early December in Longwood, I am sure @kinzyjr knows!

@Skenny and anyone else interested:

Mark Saturday, October 4th, 2025 on your calendar for the Fall meeting in the Longwood area south of Wekiva Springs.  We have two awesome hosts with incredible gardens on the docket.  2025 The Holiday Meeting in December is currently slate for Rob Branch's garden in Sarasota.  Keep your eyes on the Affiliate News and Meeting Dates forum, the CFPACS Homepage, and/or the CFPACS Facebook page for updates.

In regard to the Phoenix reclinata, that will be a never ending battle.  Fight the good fight, but they are nearly indestructible here in Florida.

[Skenny]

Power tools!!!

I didn't buy this myself but mentioned it to a friend and he let me borrow his to see how it would work out.  I got the 9" pruning blades from Harbor freight.

This was a life changing experience.  I went from this (it already started to grow back since I cut it a couple of weeks ago..

To this

In about 5 minutes.  I've spent hours out there in the past with hand saws and branch cutters and have never been able to make the kind of progress that I did in mere minutes using the saw.  What an amazing (and now in hindsight, obvious) suggestion.

So, with that being said, what do I do with the base?  It's pretty high up off the ground.  If you look at the picture above the main palm trunks are two feet off the ground.  From farther back..

Besides all the other random things growing at the base, at this point just watch it?  Not the nicest looking thing in the word but better than when it was completely overgrown.  It wouldn't be an issue if the palms were growing at ground level but I guess over the decades its lifted itself up with all the base growth.  I dont think mulch or anything would work, would it?  It would just slide down at the first rain and wash away.

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Make a soil mound maybe? Just something make it look more clean. I don’t really know what else you can do with that mess of a mound 😂

[PhoenixFXG]

I would dry pour a 4 inch concrete slab right around the base. You’ll never have this problem again…