Stripping Palms

Therrin

Anyone know how you go about stripping the thatched stuff off a palm trunk so it turns out all nice and smooth?

I cleaned up some palms for a guy a couple days ago and he mentioned that someone stopped by his house once and offered to do it to his palms for $10/foot but my client declined.

Do people use a machine to do that or do they just grab the pieces with a big pair of channel locks and try to rip them off?

newguy18

Never heard of it,i only remove that crap so i can set my gaffs and not worry about my footing on removals.Or i guess i could just use my long points on a palm removal.

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old schooler

Eric Frei

Therrin, type of palm? I guess a washy.

I avoid that part but some do try to clean it up, I have used a steel rake before ... still a bit hairy but avoid it like the plague.

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Therrin

Yeah sorry I should have mentioned.... it's on washys.

yeah we just leave them all thatched around here I guess. But when the county or utils take care of the palms in their jurisdiction they tend to strip them. Never seen it actually done so I wasnt sure if there's a technique for it or a machine. It sure doesnt sound like any fun though. Ugh....

$10/foot would cost several thousand dollars to do just a couple palms that I had finished cleaning..... who wants to spend that kind of money?

newguy18

I saw j musgrove's crew do it with stihl polesaws,seems like its really easy to cut into the trunk.

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old schooler

Therrin

It seemed to me that it isnt so much a cutting thing as much as a peeling thing. Otherwise you'd cut the heck out of the trunk.

The one was a good 60 ft tall, maybe 2ft dia at the base but only 10" dia up towards the top... it was swaying around like crazy in the wind with my weight hanging on it.

At what point does an otherwise healthy palm become unstable? Is it a factor of your body weight, wind loading and the diameter of the palm? How do you figure it?

guiripalmero

Very nice question! There are some answers... But: be very careful with this issue!

In the following thread some info can be found on this calculation and its interpretation:
Wind load analysis for trees / Palm stability

But DON'T EVER TRUST MATHEMATICS ALONE! Try to get a hold on those cited publications and you'll understand.

Your common sense, I'd say, is the most important calculation. Don't ever risk your life, get a areal lift or so!

Bernard Keays

Therrin,

I have tried a few different ways. However, I don't know whether I should be offering all of them....

A match
Chainsaw
Steel Rake
Square mouth shovel
Mattock
High pressure hose

I think it just depends on how rotten the leaf bases are. If they’re young they're going to hang in there for a while. So you just cut them as close as you can without cutting into the trunk.

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Bernie

Therrin

I think the match is probably the best idea so far

=)

StrictlyPalms

I use a linoleum knife similar to this. Sharp blade goes right through the tough base of each husk. They don't cut too deep, just through the dead stuff. It gives a nice clean look, if the trunk has lots of hair on it from old stuff they also work well to shave it. You just have to keep em really sharp. I bring a carbide sharpener up with me.

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Strictly Palms, Inc.
Orlando, Florida USA

Therrin

That sounds like ALOT of extra work =(

StrictlyPalms

It's actually not bad, most of the husks that are really old either pull off or take a quick swipe. If the husk is at all moist near the trunk it cuts through the dead stuff like butter. Plus on trees that need full husk cleaning I'm charging 20 per tree and 20 an hour. Max 125 per tree. It's a lot but I'm targeting the high end neighborhoods and get more business than you'd think.

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Strictly Palms, Inc.
Orlando, Florida USA

jeffswede

Carpet knives, linoleum knives or box cutters. We find ourselves doing alot of it. The knives work the best and some of the guys get pretty fast. Average cost by us is $15 a foot.
Jeff Lovstrom