Best chemical to kill a palm tree

[banglay]

Hello All.

 

I have a large Palm tree in my garden next to my swimming pool which I want fell ..... But before I cut it down I want to kill it ...so all the Palm leafs fall off before felling it ..this hopefully will cause less mess and debris when it finally comes down .

 

Can anyone   recommend a a good chemical to do the job ????    I have already tried gallons of neat beach  and bags of copper sulphate to no avail. it is bloody indestructible

 

Cheers in advance 

[Rimmer]

We had over 40 coconut trees in the garden which all had to come down over the years before they got too big, the best way is to cut off the fronds at the top with a saw on a bamboo pole then cut the tree down. Find someone to do it for you if you dont have the pole and saw.

 

In any event I will move this to plants pets and vets forum

[ben2talk]

Napalm works quite well.

 

[jossthaifarang]

Diesel will do the trick, but It's best used on the stump once the tree is cut down paint some on the top of the stump to stop little shoots growing back out.

[Autonuaq]

Normally remove the living animals and then cut. Watch out some times you have snakes and other insects that kan injure or kill.

 

Remove the bark then the flow stops and the top of the tree dies.

 

And for the rest the best is removal of the trunk and the main roots.

 

You have special tools for it that do this job in 5 to 10 minutes.

As well manual labour does the job. Save on your workout in the gym.

 

Chemicals, diesel and so on spoil the soil and area long time after.

 

[Kabula]

Salt in and around the roots.  That will kill weeds and grass close to the tree as well.

[Jai Dee]

28 minutes ago, Autonuaq said:

Remove the bark then the flow stops and the top of the tree dies.

Palm trees do not have bark.

 

I recently removed a large fan palm (about 6m high trunk plus 3m long fronds) from my back yard.

 

First, all the fronds were removed by cutting them off with a saw on a pole.

Next, the root ball was exposed and cut back to about 600mm from the base of the tree and down to a depth of about 800mm.

Using a rope guide to direct movement, the roots were further cut off until it was possible to push/pull the stump over (away from the house and the fish pond in the back yard) and cut off the remaining roots.

The stump was then cut by hand saw into approx 1m lengths which were able to be carried by 2 people outside (anything longer was too heavy).

 

It was quite an exercise and took the best part of 3 days with 2 men working.

 

If i were to undertake a similar exercise again I would hire or buy a chainsaw... good for cutting both roots as well as the trunk.

 

The trunk of a palm tree is very fibrous and soft, so it's quite easy to cut.

[sandemara]

Why not sell the tree - cheap - and let the buyer remove it for you? There is a demand for mature trees (various species) among landscapers or new property owners who want to renovate their gardens.

[JungleBiker]

Sandemara's correct. Big trees/palms are worth a lot of money! 

[drtreelove]

2 hours ago, Jai Dee said:

Palm trees do not have bark.

True, they have a "pseudo-bark".  But the point is that monocots (palms) have vascular tissue throughout the trunk and not just around the outer circumference like dicots (conifers and broadleaf trees). Therefore, girdling or ringbarking as it is called, will not work to stop circulation and kill the tree.

 

Banglay, you can drill a hole and pour in some Round Up or generic Glyphosate 48% (available at most garden sections of super stores) ask for "ya ka ya" (chemi kill grass) or specifically "gly fo set".  Use it full strength or not less than 1:1 with water (to achieve no less than 25% active ingredient.  Plug the hole.  Its a systemic herbicide and will be taken up by the tree to kill the foliar crown. Allow a couple of weeks to a month for a full kill. 

 

It is usually not necessary to kill a palm before removal. There may be advantages and disadvantages. The dead fronds will be tougher and harder to cut than the green, but you will reduce weight of the material somewhat.  If you leave the stump, most single stem palms will not resprout from the base, although multistem fishtails and some others will. 

 

Read Jai Dee's post and take it seriously, know what you are getting into,  it can be a big job.  The biggest job will be digging out the stump and extensive fibrous root system, especially if your digging area is restricted by pool decking.  

 

By the way, a chainsaw is not a good idea for cutting roots, because as soon as it contacts dirt the cutters will be dulled. If you cut roots you must wash them of all traces of soil first. Good luck. 

 

[whaleboneman]

I just have to ask...is the tree really on your property?

[banglay]

The reason I want to kill the palm leave and let  them  die and drop off slowly is that there is a colony of about 20+ small birds all nesting in the palm  .....this way it will give the birds a chance the relocate  and as the leafs slowly  drop off and they can find a new suitable home..it is the best option for the birds ..but not the palm tree 

[Jai Dee]

Without knowing what type of palm tree it is I suspect that if you go the herbicide route to kill the palm, the fronds will not drop off... they will simply wither, die, and dry out over time... making them harder to cut off later.

 

It won't solve your bird nesting problem.

 

It looks like this topic has morphed into a bird relocation problem... perhaps our members have some suggestions for that as it seems that the palm tree is not the primary issue.

[banglay]

11 minutes ago, Jai Dee said:

Without knowing what type of palm tree it is I suspect that if you go the herbicide route to kill the palm, the fronds will not drop off... they will simply wither, die, and dry out over time... making them harder to cut off later.

 

It won't solve your bird nesting problem.

 

It looks like this topic has morphed into a bird relocation problem... perhaps our members have some suggestions for that as it seems that the palm tree is not the primary issue.

this palm ...the  frond die /dry and drop off in the wind  (dropped 3 today  )

 

[elgenon]

I found out only certain types of palms were worth the expense of relocating. Mine wasn't.