Everything I know about palm trees is in this post.
Palm trees are a California fetish that I have yet to appreciate. Perhaps it is because I have them in my yard and have to take care of them.

They look great in my neighbors yard when there is a full moon. Like a California postcard. Seems like a lot of work that just keeps getting farther away. Farther away in the direction of UP.

Follow up:

They pay someone to trim them. He climbs up there about 45 feet with a little chainsaw and a bottle of water. He spends a whole day up there and they look nice all the time.

Folks who don’t pay someone to trim them have two choices. You can trim them yourself or you can have a rats nest. Oh sure those little black birds are cute and they like them but that ball of fallen leaves is full of vermin.

For those that don’t know, running down the length of the palm frond stalk is 2 rows of razor sharp hooked thorns. If you grab that thing just wrong it will cut you. It really looks like a double edged saw or rows of teeth.

I have learned how to trim them. If you look at the tree and imagine a clock face everything that hangs below 10 and 2 goes. My trees are not tall enough to climb I cut them from the ground. I can fit a couple of months worth of trim of one tree in the bin for the garbage guy.

I have found that the easiest way is to lop off the heads with clippers and gather them up and drop them in the bin cut end down. They pack in there pretty well. Next I take my silky and cut the stalks at the trunk at a down angle so they shed the dirt and droppings.

If you don’t have a Silky Zubat tree saw and you take care of a yard. Save your pennies and buy one of these. It is the best tree saw money can buy. Get your own, sharing one is like sharing a needle. Whips through 6-8 inch trunks in the blink of an eye. Comes with a cool scabard you can hang on your leg.

If there is one thing I have learned and learned the hard way, it is this. As a common courtesy to the next poor bastard that has to trim the damn thing. Even if you think it is going to be you again. For love of God man, cut the downangle beginning before the first thorn. For blood will be drawn and that’s just not cool.