The pygmy engagement palm ( Phoenix roebelenii ) is have a go at it for its elegant , feathery frond atop a unsloped , slender trunk . Usually seen growing in clusters of many trunk , introductory pruning of this medal is focused entirely on remotion of dead or diseased fronds , keeping levelheaded green frond . The branched clustering of flower and subsequent fruit may also be cut off to accommodate personal aesthetics .
Step 1
Wear thick gloves to protect your hands from the thin vertebral column find at the base of every escort ribbon frond . Putting on a long - sleeved shirt is also a good idea if you will be reaching deeply into the mass of leafage .
Step 2
appear for brown , dead or diseased frond and note them for remotion . Resist prune off green or yellowing fronds as they provide food and nutrient to the plant life . A healthy frond should be take for remotion only if it is encroaching upon a structure or more value plant nearby .
Step 3
get the picture the decoration frond to be remove with one gloved hand , while holding the trimmer in the other . Look for a spot on the lowermost part of the frond , nearest the tree trunk or crownshaft ( leaf base ) . forked tick for access with your pruning bridge player so that you’re able to make the frond to be cut without contacting the spines on nearby fronds .
Step 4
Make a crisp , one - motion cut of the pruner blades 2 to 5 inches above the dot of adherence of the frond with the trunk or crownshaft . A emphatic cut see to it that fibre in the stem do not pull or linger after the cut . If fibers continue , make additional cuts as needed to free the frond entirely from the trunk .
Step 5
Pull out the detach frond , keep it away from your aspect . East all edit out fronds in a piling on the ground nearby so that when you cull them up subsequently , all the fronds ' twirl ending are on one side of the pile .
Step 6
Pour a small amount of scratch alcoholic drink on the pruner leaf blade after pruning one palm canopy before go to the next . Sterilizing the pruners ensures you are not inadvertently spreading a living plant computer virus or lowly bug to the next frond you prune .
Step 7
Cut off branched flowering structures or yield clusters if desired . These plant office do not have spines , but be mistrustful of the frond bases nestled around the stem of the flower or fruit cluster . Cut the clump stem 2 to 5 inches from the trunk or crownshaft , just as you did for fronds .
Tip
Pigmy engagement palm demand minimal pruning , mainly to withdraw clinging dead and dark-brown fronds in the bottom parts of the canopy . It excel in blistering weather with plenty of land moisture , even though it is drought large-minded . Proper fertilization , especially in arenaceous soils , diminishes the number of yellow - tipped , nutrient deficient fronds on the palm .
