Can You Trim the Trunk of a Palm Tree With a Chainsaw?

Palm Plant Growth

• While colloquially called palm trees, palms are not true trees because they lack bark and a growth layer in the trunk called cambium. Palms do not heal any wounds to their trunk or stems, unlike trees. Any cutting wound creating by a chainsaw on the trunk of a palm creates a permanent wound where insect pests or diseases may gain access to the internal vascular system. Palms also only grow from their stem or trunk tips. Damage or remove the growing tip, and no new replacement sprout develops atop that trunk.

Trunk Types

• Palms may be loosely grouped or described by horticulturists as being solitary or clustering in form. Solitary palms develop one trunk with a frond cluster on top. Clustering palms produce multiple stems, often with suckering shoots that rise from the roots. Solitary palms' trunks are more practical to trim or clean with a chainsaw. Clustering palm's stems are so small or flexible that cutting away any thatch or leaf bases becomes burdensome and time consuming. What the trunk looks like varies from species to species. Some solitary palms, such as royal and coconut palms, naturally reveal a smooth trunk. Some retain leaves or boots on the trunk, such as with date, cabbage and Washingtonia palms. Others grow with a protective yet attractive nest of thatch or spines, such as sugar and zombie palms.

Chainsaw Use

• Not all materials on a palm trunk are easily removed by a chainsaw. Thatch is nearly impossible to remove with a chainsaw. If it is cut away, it clogs the chains or leaves a ratty, tattered and unattractive look to the palm. Use a chainsaw to remove leaves and boots. The fibers and lignin tissues in dead leaves and boots will dull a chainsaw. Start with sharp blades. Dull blades slow the cutting process and increase the danger of jumping or "kick back" of the chainsaw as it is pushed into coarse, harder materials. Lots of powder and dust fibers fill the air when cutting palm boots and cleaning the trunk, so wear eye protection and be prepared for dust and chips to cover your body. Chainsaws can help spread pests and disease between plants, especially if wet, living tissues are cut and the saw blades are not disinfected between different palms.

Trunk Integrity

• Never cut into the trunk, as you risk creating a permanent wound. Angle the chainsaw blade at a narrow angle or vertically to sheer off the leaf stems or boots. Depending on sharpness of the blades and toughness of the trunk materials, you can shave very close to the palm to create a much smoother appearance without cutting into the living layers of the trunk proper. The trunk materials fade in color several weeks after being shaved by a chainsaw, diminishing any hint of trimming maintenance.

  The palms most often cut with chainsaws to clean or smooth the normally coarse-looking trunk include Washingtonia, cabbage and date palms. Washingtonia palms create a petticoat of hanging dead fronds that can be cut way, but also numerous criss-crossed boots. Cabbage palms also display boots, some plants drop their boots while others retain them. Date palms create chevron- or diamond-shaped leaf bases that are visually interesting, but may require some trimming to remove all leaf bases to tidy the trunk.