Help!! Gardeners over pruned palm tree!

[Frankpalm]

Hi, first time here! I need help!! Will my palm tree go back to looking how it was before? Our F’n gardeners pruned our palm tree way too much. It actually had like 3 more fronds than shown in picture. But our AZ monsoon winds have knocked several since, leaving only two left standing. Will more grow back?? The Xmas picture shows what it looked like before

[happypalms]

  On 9/1/2023 at 10:44 PM, Frankpalm said:

Hi, first time here! I need help!! Will my palm tree go back to looking how it was before? Our F’n gardeners pruned our palm tree way too much. It actually had like 3 more fronds than shown in picture. But our AZ monsoon winds have knocked several since, leaving only two left standing. Will more grow back?? The Xmas picture shows what it looked like before

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Hi frank take the chainsaw of the gardener and give him a pruning lesson it should recover but I hope the gardener never gets a job as barber hope you enjoy my photos I love my garden and enjoy sharing it for the Palm community to see I think of your environment and you must dream of the tropics I know I do 

[Tracy]

  On 9/1/2023 at 10:44 PM, Frankpalm said:

Hi, first time here! I need help!! Will my palm tree go back to looking how it was before? Our F’n gardeners pruned our palm tree way too much. It actually had like 3 more fronds than shown in picture. But our AZ monsoon winds have knocked several since, leaving only two left standing. Will more grow back?? The Xmas picture shows what it looked like before

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Welcome to Palmtalk.  It is unfortunate that your landscape maintenance people abused your Canary Island Date Palm (Phoenix canariensis).  To answer your question, these are pretty hardy palms, but abuse like this doesn't leave room for recovery if further trauma is introduced.  Further trauma could come in many forms, whether weather related or insect.

You have to move forward from here though.  The lesson is to communicate expectations with your gardeners frequently.   I have a rental property with lots of palms and cycads and despite having shared my expectations I have to remind them often to avoid backsliding.  Palm trimmers often want to over trim so the customer gets "their money's worth."  These pages are loaded with similar posts to yours as a consequence of this behavior. 

Good luck. 

[aztropic]

WAAY over pruned! No need ever to take them back this far,but if pruner doesn't like to see ANY brown tips,etc,it's time to get a new landscaper,or do the pruning yourself. In AZ,brown tips are ALWAYS to be expected,and not a reason to prune. Your trees will regrow, but it is time to hire different landscapers with a better idea of what normal growth patterns are,and realize we can grow 100's of palm species here,just not to perfection. 

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

[Tracy]

  On 9/2/2023 at 3:32 PM, aztropic said:

WAAY over pruned! No need ever to take them back this far,but if pruner doesn't like to see ANY brown tips,etc,it's time to get a new landscaper,or do the pruning yourself. In AZ,brown tips are ALWAYS to be expected,and not a reason to prune. Your trees will regrow, but it is time to hire different landscapers with a better idea of what normal growth patterns are,and realize we can grow 100's of palm species here,just not to perfection. 

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

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There was clearly a trend of over trimming too.  Observe the Phoenix roebelenii (pygmy dat palms) in the Christmas photo. They're are getting a similar treatment.   To be fair, the gardener didn't take it back to the two leaves, but clearly set it up, if they took it back to 5 or 6 leaves, for a major setback which Hilary dealt. That is according to Frankpalm's original post.

 

Your point is well made given that there is not a lot of other landscape maintenance work at this house.  If they are doing poorly with the one major type of planting, it's probably not their forte!  Time for a replacement gardener that can handle the task better or at least take direction.

[96720]

Generally only remove dead fronds but some of my palms are getting too tall for me to trim (Washington’s) so I’m paying to have them trimmed and have them trimmed more than I like they are fast growing so it’s not that bad!!

[meridannight]

That's not the only overtrimmed palm in your yard. I will never understand what kind of a mindset a person needs to have in order to think pruning them like that is a good idea.

[Tyrone]

Fire your gardeners

[Little Tex]

  On 9/2/2023 at 10:07 PM, meridannight said:

That's not the only overtrimmed palm in your yard. I will never understand what kind of a mindset a person needs to have in order to think pruning them like that is a good idea.

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Money, for the non palm savvy gardener, if they pay to get something trimmed they want it TRIMMED these landscapers hit dozens of homes a week and they go with what everyone else wants unless you communicate clearly

[Tom in Tucson]

  On 9/3/2023 at 1:28 AM, Tyrone said:

Fire your gardeners

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I most definitively agree!

Please excuse me a moment while I "go off the rails". "I've had it up to here" with so-called gardeners. Case in point: My next door neighbor has been using the same "gardeners" for the last 5 years. Last month while they were leaf blowing, they blew thousands of sweet acacia twigs and seed pods over on my yard, and then they left my neighbor's mess for me to deal with. I told the neighbor what they did, and she said she would tell them, but that's all she said.

Yesterday they returned for their monthly "blow fest". When I heard the deafening noise from their gas powered blowers, I immediately walked next door to tell them what happened last month. The "boss" said he would clean off all the debris off my yard from last month before they left. I thanked them. A few hours later I went out to work in my garden, and found that they had done nothing to my yard to remove their mess.

Today while working in my yard again, I saw my neighbor headed for her car. I said "have you got a minute?", and told her what her "gardeners" had promised. She said "I'll tell them what you said". I told her she needs to find some other gardeners. She said they'd been working for her for 5 years. I said I was extremely upset that they lied to me about the clean up, and I'd be glad to find some other gardeners for her. She then drove off.

End of rant.

Hi 102˚, Lo 71˚

[Frankpalm]

  On 9/2/2023 at 7:13 AM, happypalms said:

Hi frank take the chainsaw of the gardener and give him a pruning lesson it should recover but I hope the gardener never gets a job as barber hope you enjoy my photos I love my garden and enjoy sharing it for the Palm community to see I think of your environment and you must dream of the tropics I know I do 

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Thank you for the response and advice. After seeing how they left my palm I most definitely considered letting them go, this reassures me I must. I love my palms, and this canary palm tree is what made me buy my house.  Ugh, well im hopeful it will grow back. time will tell. Anything I have to do on my end to help it heal and grow back to normal? Any  palm tree feed or fertilizer I need to give it? Love your palms btw!

[Frankpalm]

  On 9/3/2023 at 3:50 AM, Tom in Tucson said:

I most definitively agree!

Please excuse me a moment while I "go off the rails". "I've had it up to here" with so-called gardeners. Case in point: My next door neighbor has been using the same "gardeners" for the last 5 years. Last month while they were leaf blowing, they blew thousands of sweet acacia twigs and seed pods over on my yard, and then they left my neighbor's mess for me to deal with. I told the neighbor what they did, and she said she would tell them, but that's all she said.

Yesterday they returned for their monthly "blow fest". When I heard the deafening noise from their gas powered blowers, I immediately walked next door to tell them what happened last month. The "boss" said he would clean off all the debris off my yard from last month before they left. I thanked them. A few hours later I went out to work in my garden, and found that they had done nothing to my yard to remove their mess.

Today while working in my yard again, I saw my neighbor headed for her car. I said "have you got a minute?", and told her what her "gardeners" had promised. She said "I'll tell them what you said". I told her she needs to find some other gardeners. She said they'd been working for her for 5 years. I said I was extremely upset that they lied to me about the clean up, and I'd be glad to find some other gardeners for her. She then drove off.

End of rant.

Hi 102˚, Lo 71˚

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So unfortunate, leaf blowers are the worst. Aside from fkn up my palm tree gardeners use the leaf blower after cutting grass and blow all trimming into my pool. Hope next time they clean up your yard bud. 

[Frankpalm]

  On 9/3/2023 at 1:28 AM, Tyrone said:

Fire your gardeners

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Most definitely!

[Frankpalm]

  On 9/2/2023 at 3:32 PM, aztropic said:

WAAY over pruned! No need ever to take them back this far,but if pruner doesn't like to see ANY brown tips,etc,it's time to get a new landscaper,or do the pruning yourself. In AZ,brown tips are ALWAYS to be expected,and not a reason to prune. Your trees will regrow, but it is time to hire different landscapers with a better idea of what normal growth patterns are,and realize we can grow 100's of palm species here,just not to perfection. 

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona 

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Greetings from Yuma! Thanks for the advice bud, any palm fertilizer or feed I should apply to help it regrow or heal? Aside from Hillary our AZ high winds / monsoon doesn’t help. 

[happypalms]

  On 9/3/2023 at 5:13 AM, Frankpalm said:

Thank you for the response and advice. After seeing how they left my palm I most definitely considered letting them go, this reassures me I must. I love my palms, and this canary palm tree is what made me buy my house.  Ugh, well im hopeful it will grow back. time will tell. Anything I have to do on my end to help it heal and grow back to normal? Any  palm tree feed or fertilizer I need to give it? Love your palms btw!

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Iam not to sure about how dry it gets in your climate  a good watering program might help reduce any stress involved for the palm i would not recommend fertiliser for a while until it recovers but iam sure there are others who might say use a mild fertiliser I don’t use fertiliser on my palms just mulch good but your palm will recover in time iam sure just don’t let the gardening team back at it with a chainsaw