Question about our palm / Tiki carving

[dada]

Hi all

i have 2 questions.

1. What will happen to our palm if we decide to do Tiki carving on the lower part of our palm (see picture).

Will it damage entire palm?

2. If we just decide do get rid of entire palm, cut it in half and remaining part use as Tiki sculpture,  is it good idea? Will that carving last? Does it need any maintenance ? Watering etc....

[John2468]

1. Carving the trunk would damage the entire palm or cause death in severe cases.

2. Palm trunks are very fibrous and are different from tree trunks so id say it would not last.

[Silas_Sancona]

Agree w/ the above thoughts that carving up a live palm probably isn't a good idea / would adversely harm it..

That said, Palm trunks can actually make good tikis..

Worked w/ someone here who used to sculpt some pretty neat stuff from Washingtonia trunks they'd cut up on landscape jobs.. 

Not sure where it is now but pretty sure there is a good thread / discussion on the topic somewhere on the forum..

Guy i'd worked with that did carvings painted some, and coated others w/ some sort of sealant / preservative to prolong their lifespan / keep water and bugs off of them.

Now the bigger question is ..would you want to chop up a perfectly healthy palm?  ..or do some local hunting for already cut trunk sections other folks might be tossing..

[dada]

9 minutes ago, John2468 said:

1. Carving the trunk would damage the entire palm or cause death in severe cases.

2. Palm trunks are very fibrous and are different from tree trunks so id say it would not last.

Thank you for reply.

Just for curiosity, i see carved trunk/palms all over CA, AZ and here in Nevada, Maybe they are some different types of palms ?

[dada]

7 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Agree w/ the above thoughts that carving up a live palm probably isn't a good idea / would adversely harm it..

That said, Palm trunks can actually make good tikis..

Worked w/ someone here who used to sculpt some pretty neat stuff from Washingtonia trunks they'd cut up on landscape jobs.. 

Not sure where it is now but pretty sure there is a good thread / discussion on the topic somewhere on the forum..

Guy i'd worked with that did carvings painted some, and coated others w/ some sort of sealant / preservative to prolong their lifespan / keep water and bugs off of them.

Now the bigger question is ..would you want to chop up a perfectly healthy palm?  ..or do some local hunting for already cut trunk sections other folks might be tossing..

Thank you for your reply

We don.t want this palm here.

We have 3 other palms like this in our backyard.

So instead to get rid of entire palm i got an idea to leave maybe 10 ft of trunk and do some tiki carving/

Only thing im not sure is how long it will last and what can happen (in bad way) since palm will nod be getting water anymore.

 

[Patrick]

The growth point is way up at the head of the palm, so if you cut it and leave 10 feet of trunk the palm will be dead. You can then do whatever you like to the trunk. The roots (now dead) keeping the trunk upright would probably last many years before rotting out. 

[Silas_Sancona]

10 minutes ago, dada said:

Thank you for your reply

We don.t want this palm here.

We have 3 other palms like this in our backyard.

So instead to get rid of entire palm i got an idea to leave maybe 10 ft of trunk and do some tiki carving/

Only thing im not sure is how long it will last and what can happen (in bad way) since palm will nod be getting water anymore.

 

As Patrick mentions, Once you lop the top off, that's it for the palm itself.  Growth point would be up near it's top vs, closer to the ground. 10ft of remaining trunk would be plenty of space for an impressive Tiki.. 

Have plenty of other palms in your yard, and this one wouldn't be missed, i say go for it..

Pretty sure if you seal it once you've carved it to your desired design,  it should last quite awhile, like the picture you posted in your first reply.. esp in our dry climate. 

[Patrick]

3 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

As Patrick mentions, Once you lop the top off, that's it for the palm itself.  Growth point would be up near it's top vs, closer to the ground. 10ft of remaining trunk would be plenty of space for an impressive Tiki.. 

Have plenty of other palms in your yard, and this one wouldn't be missed, i say go for it..

Pretty sure if you seal it once you've carved it to your desired design,  it should last quite awhile, like the picture you posted in your first reply.. esp in our dry climate. 

Oh and I just gave the durability/ longevity a thought. PG&E, the northern california utility, cut a bunch of the heads off of these in my town probably 20 years ago- if not longer. The trees were growing up into the overhead lines. Those trunks are STILL there; and this is in sandy soil with wet winters and some pretty good wind storms during the winter.

3009 Main St, Oakley, CA, 94561 if you want to see for yourself.

[dada]

2 minutes ago, Patrick said:

Oh and I just gave the durability/ longevity a thought. PG&E, the northern california utility, cut a bunch of the heads off of these in my town probably 20 years ago- if not longer. The trees were growing up into the overhead lines. Those trunks are STILL there; and this is in sandy soil with wet winters and some pretty good wind storms during the winter.

3009 Main St, Oakley, CA, 94561 if you want to see for yourself.

That is interesting info thanx.

We are sad to cut it but it grew so fast in past 3 years that is causing some problems now.

I cut water supply to it 3 months ago hoping i can slow it down. lol

Don`t know yet if its working.

The reason i posted my question is because carving tiki is not cheap and i dont want it to last only year or two

 

[Silas_Sancona]

4 minutes ago, Patrick said:

Oh and I just gave the durability/ longevity a thought. PG&E, the northern california utility, cut a bunch of the heads off of these in my town probably 20 years ago- if not longer. The trees were growing up into the overhead lines. Those trunks are STILL there; and this is in sandy soil with wet winters and some pretty good wind storms during the winter.

3009 Main St, Oakley, CA, 94561 if you want to see for yourself.

I'd believe it..  There are old Mex Fan  stumps in some planting beds by the hospital here that have remained in place for -at least- 10 years.. Still hard as a rock. 

[miamicuse]

Following...

I have been wondering the same for some time.

I have a queen palm about 30' tall that's been penciling and looks sickly for a while.  May be potassium or manganese deficiency or just not liking my sandy soil, it is also right next to a concrete sidewalk (next means like 8 inches away) so the concrete PH may play a part too.

The consensus seems to be it's not worth saving especially a queen which I tend to agree but I can't just cut it down be a use my wife has vanilla vines and orchids attached and wrapped around it so impossible to untangle now.

So given that I was thinking to cut the queen off at about 10' off and leave a tall stump, a d came to the same question...how long will this stump last in my climate?  I didn't take any action yet because the queen is still alive.

[mnorell]

I don't think the queen palm trunk would hold up long in the rainy and very humid climate of SE Florida. After Irma had wreaked havoc on our island (Big Pine) in the Keys, during cleanup I had our arborist's crew chop up a couple of felled coconut trunks into sections and--though I didn't carve them--I placed them along our entry drive with the idea I might hollow out the tops and use as planters...that never came to pass because those trunks disintegrated pretty quickly. And that's in the (albeit humid) semi-desert of the Lower Keys. While I'm sure they will last for quite a while in the true deserts of the southwest, I'm sure they are just going to return to the earth pretty fast in the climate of Ft. Lauderdale. Even here in the desert around Palm Springs, queens that die (this happens frequently) take a year or two and start disintegrating from the top downward until the owner finally succumbs to the neighbors' glares and plunks down the money to have them yanked out. If you cut down to a stump I'm sure you could treat the top with a good thick coat of lacquer-type sealant and get some more mileage out of it. But eventually...

And it doesn't sound like you're looking to carve the queen palm stump, but in case you do, I can add that I had in our old garden in Mississippi a carved tiki purchased from a fellow in Central Florida, from a Sabal palmetto, and that lasted for about ten years (not sure if it had been treated in any way)...and I suspect the choice of species may have something to do with how long they last, Sabal perhaps being more durable than a fast grower like a Cocos or a Queen. Rick Leitner in Ft. Lauderdale @TikiRick is quite the Tiki artist and PalmTalk's resident expert on Tiki carving, and I'm sure he can make very informed comments (he has posted threads in the past showing his excellent carving skills), not only on carving but on species variability in weathering the climate there.

[Darold Petty]

On 6/27/2024 at 1:47 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

I'd believe it..  There are old Mex Fan  stumps in some planting beds by the hospital here that have remained in place for -at least- 10 years.. Still hard as a rock. 

I cut down 2 too-tall Rhopalostylis palms.  The stumps, in wet soil after 18 months, were still rock hard. I had to cut them into quarter sections with a chain saw, then split the sections with steel wedges and a sledge hammer to dig them out.

[Silas_Sancona]

8 minutes ago, Darold Petty said:

I cut down 2 too-tall Rhopalostylis palms.  The stumps, in wet soil after 18 months, were still rock hard. I had to cut them into quarter sections with a chain saw, then split the sections with steel wedges and a sledge hammer to dig them out.

Something else i forgot to mention regarding the durability of Palm " wood " ...if correctly handled / processed..  No doubt some sps would be better than others for this purpose..

Bowls / etc. items made from palm wood sold on ..pretty much anywhere... online..

Not all options are cheap either..   Wouldn't mind having a few myself, esp. for special occasions.  Thought the 3rd option was pretty neat. 

Creative mind with some skill could make some decent $$$ working w/ palm trunks others would just have hauled off to a landfill..

Hopefully the links work..

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1667909952/handcrafted-palm-wood-bowlswood

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1454768020/handcrafted-palm-wood-engraved-bowl?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=palm+wood+bowl&ref=sr_gallery-1-5&frs=1&content_source=ced506ba88ccf0f9f0d85b0955585e9e22399087%3A1454768020&organic_search_click=1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1737616636/fossilized-palm-wood-decorative-bowl?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=palm+wood+bowl&ref=sc_gallery-1-1&frs=1&sts=1&plkey=7816697b910be3f37bbcb23b639d6d0c0b5bfa67%3A1737616636


 

[NorCalWill]

I agree, it should last for years especially if you seal it, but you might have to re-seal it every few years.

The carving I have is from a coconut tree. I bring it inside every winter just to be on the safe side. They also make for nice indoor decor in the right corner.