Large palm trees are stunning and graceful but also hazardous. Remove them in time! 

South Florida has an ideal climate for palm tree growth, therefore it is not surprising to find them ubiquitously growing everywhere, from golf courses and city parks, to parking lots, shopping centers, beaches, side of the roads and private properties. In fact, 60% of South Florida’s landscape consists of palm trees of all types: short and bushy, squab and thick, slick and skyscraper tall, producing nothing but fronds to coconut and date baring. Typically, palm trees don’t cause much issues, unless they grow too tall or produce coconuts. 

Some of the most common palm trees that you find in South Florida are Coconut and Royal Palm trees that can grow 70 to 100 feet tall with fronds extending over 30 feet, which is twice the size of the wingspan of the wandering albatross, a bird with the largest wingspan in the world and 4 times larger than the wingspan of an American Bald Eagle. 

But with size also comes the trouble.

Even though the trunks of palm trees look sleek and elegant, don’t be fooled into thinking that they are harmless, since a palm tree can weigh anywhere between 100 lb to 1000 lb per trunk foot, so now, if we do the math, the lightest weight of a 70 foot coconut palm would be around 700 lb, which is enough to completely rack the roof of your house or smash your car into a pancake. Apart from that, a 30 foot long frond falling from a 100 feet can cause quite a lot of damage too. However, the biggest hazard with palm trees in South Florida is falling or flying during the storm coconuts. They can truly cause awful damage to the property and serious injury and even occasional death to people. If a coconut lands on your car, it can create a pretty impressive dent or shatter the glass, if it falls on the roof of your house, you can almost be sure to get a crack or a hole, which might be a thrill, if you are looking forward to watching the night sky from your bed or the couch. A coconut can also hit your window and give you a reason to replace it for the hurricane resistant type, unless you already got that covered. Nevertheless, coconut palms are very common in South Florida and falling-flying coconuts present a serious concern, especially during the storm season. Thus if you have one or more of those palm trees near or on your property, it is best to remove any coconuts they produce before they start falling. 

Sometimes an entire palm tree needs to be removed, especially if it starts to show signs of illness or looks unstable. Keep your vigilance and an eagle eye on a large palm tree on your property and consider removing it right away if you notice the following: 

• The trunk is dry or damaged beyond repair 
• Roots are unstable and protruding too much out of the ground 
• The trunk is leaning to one side
• More than half of the fronds have dried, and no new growth is detected
• The palm is infected with mold or infested with pests 
• The palm is too close to the road or a building

Regular palm pruning and trimming are a must if you wish to prevent possible hazards. This also allows for a thorough inspection and detection of possible disease and infestation, so it can be treated in time, before the plant is gravely damaged. But if you have any suspicions about your palms, contact professional arborists. They will advise you on how to care for your palm and if you should remove it. 

Remember: never remove a large palm tree alone! Always hire professional arborists to help you out. We will estimate if you should remove the palm and what is the safest way to do it. 

If there is enough space around the large palm tree, you can remove a palm like this: 

• Remove the fronds one by one 
• Section the trunk into smaller pieces 
• Remove pieces one by one 
• Remove the last part as close to the ground as possible
• Remove the stump 

Some large palm trees are valuable to collectors, so do some research and if you realize that your palm tree is expensive, try to dig it up and sell it. 

How to dig up large palm trees? 

1. Estimate the size of the root 
2. Dig a hole around the root 
3. Undercut the root 
4. Use a lever and a rope to pull out the tree 

Once you pull out the large palm tree, you want to protect the roots. There are two ways to do it. The first is instant transplantation, which does not require any root protection. The other is wrapping a root into soil-enriched natural fiber bags until it is ready for a transplant.