How to Trim the Fronds of Coconut Palms

Put on leather or heavy fabric gloves to protect your hands from nicks and cuts; while coconut fronds are glossy and lack spines, stiff fibers on the stem edges can cause a prickling sensation on bare hands when grasping onto leaflets during trimming maintenance.

Climb a ladder or adjust the height of lift equipment so you can reach the fronds comfortably.

Cut off any broken segments from the long, central frond stem by slicing through the stem with a pruning saw. Grasp the upper, hanging/broken segment of the frond and lift it even with the rest of the frond to more easily cut through the fibers that keep it attached to the lower half of the frond. If more than one-half of the entire coconut palm frond is broken, cut the entire frond back at its base.

Remove all limp, yellowed or dried fronds from the bottom quarter of the rounded palm canopy. Do not remove fronds that appear mostly green -- these continue to photosynthesize light and provide food to the palm. Grasp the frond at its base to stabilize it. Place the saw blade at the base of the frond as close as possible to its attachment to the trunk. Hold the frond upright as long as possible while cutting to ensure the saw blade's teeth cut through all fibers before the weight of the frond makes it tear off and drop to the ground.