Trimming offshoots from a palm tree

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If you have a palm tree that is sending out a lot of offshoots from the base, chances are it's a Mediterranean Fan Palm. And the amount of offshoots at the base is the indication of the health of the plant. The more offshoots, the healthier the plant is.

This one, in the northeast corner of The Tropical Paradise, is spectacular. It has been growing much faster than the other med palms here, because, well, I really don't know. It's just happy there, I guess. It sits on a hill and gets plenty of water, but otherwise I leave it alone.

Mostly I leave the offshoots alone. After all, a Mediterranean Fan Palm is a bushy, clumping, palm tree. I planted it in this corner to fill up the space, and it's doing it. But today, I crawled around the base and trimmed a bit. I will have flowers coming up in front of it, at the base, and I want them to have a bit of room.

The way I did it was to lay down a tarp and throw the fronds into it. Mediterranean Fan Palm fronds are deadly and sharp, so you have to be careful. Once the tarp is filled, I grab the corners up and, very carefully, take it to the trash.

I've had this plant for many, many years, and I've only trimmed it like this twice.

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