Pods on your palm tree

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It's spring, and the pods are starting to reappear on my dwarf date palms (Phoenix roebellini). I'm no expert in botany, but I've always thought that these pods always looked a little weird. The good news is that they are perfectly natural and it is a sign of a healthy plant.

The pods open and little tiny white-yellowish flowers appear. After a while the fruit appears (I guess they're dates), it all dries up and just hangs there, all brown and scraggly. In my experience the best thing to do is to leave it alone until it's all finished and then trim them off. If you try to cut the pods off while they are still growing, it will make a mess, I know!

If anyone walks up to you and confronts you, asking you the name, you can say that they are inflorescence - although I doubt that anyone will. Just "clusters of flowers" will do.

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