Brahea edulis cleanup

[Patrick]

Good evening, I have an edulis (finally making seeds) And its got about 3' of trunk. To the crown ita probably 6'. I want to clean up the trunk and I thought I would ask the group. Are these self cleaning? It sure seems like the old fronds and fibers are clingy. Should I just back off and let nature happen or should I get in there with my carpet knife and work with it? 

 

Thanks in advance for the tips. 

Its probably 2' base, at least. Beefy.

 

[John2468]

You could possibly trim it up a bit if you’d like. I would use a scissor and slightly tug on the fibers so it would cut and not get stuck.

Edited November 5, 2023 by John2468

[Rivera]

46 minutes ago, Patrick said:

Good evening, I have an edulis (finally making seeds) And its got about 3' of trunk. To the crown ita probably 6'. I want to clean up the trunk and I thought I would ask the group. Are these self cleaning? It sure seems like the old fronds and fibers are clingy. Should I just back off and let nature happen or should I get in there with my carpet knife and work with it? 

 

Thanks in advance for the tips. 

Its probably 2' base, at least. Beefy.

 

There are quite a few in the neighborhood and it seems like the leaf bases toward the bottom of the trunk start to fall off when the growing point gets to be about head-high. One on my block is approaching this size and I can see it has dropped a few leaf bases at the very bottom. 

Yours looks much more fibrous, but also girthier! 

Nice!

[Patrick]

Its just been chillin' in the northwest corner of the yard for 15 years. Living the dream! Lol

Edited November 5, 2023 by Patrick

[96720]

They will eventually fall off but it takes time!

[Patrick]

21 hours ago, 96720 said:

They will eventually fall off but it takes time!

Ok, thank you. I will help it a little next time I think to myself "I'm bored!"

I've noticed if you get a little overly ambitious you wind up staring at fiber strings attached to the trunk for years. My L chinensis is like this, but dammit I wanted some clear trunk lol! 

 

 

[Jubaea]

I tried cleaning up my palm and after quite a bit of effort I ended up with this.  I still don't know what the proper tool or combination of tools are for doing this.  The first picture is from August and the second is from October after I cleaned a bit more up.

[Tom in Tucson]

I personally don't care for the clean trimming of palm trunks, but I have watched those that trim palms to get a cleaner look. They use a tool that I think is primarily used to cut and trim leather. It is a very sharp blade which is curved to the point of almost being hooked.

Hi 95°, Lo 55°

 

[Jim in Los Altos]

Mine started shedding when it was about as tall as yours several years ago. If any of the fibers on yours pull off with medium effort, go ahead and pull them off. 

 

 

[Patrick]

9 hours ago, Tom in Tucson said:

I personally don't care for the clean trimming of palm trunks, but I have watched those that trim palms to get a cleaner look. They use a tool that I think is primarily used to cut and trim leather. It is a very sharp blade which is curved to the point of almost being hooked.

Hi 95°, Lo 55°

 

I think you may be thinking of what's called a hawkbill blade knife? Klein makes a few. Or maybe you had something else on mind?

[96720]

I just use a box cutter that way you don’t have to keep sharpening the blade just throw the old one away and use a new one!!

[Tom in Tucson]

14 hours ago, Patrick said:

I think you may be thinking of what's called a hawkbill blade knife? Klein makes a few. Or maybe you had something else on mind?

That's what I saw them use. Thanks for supplying the proper name for it.

Hi 92°, Lo 55°