You can also use household bleach to disinfect the tools.

44 rowsPrune out the wood that bore fruit, cutting canes near ground level. SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER; Any Plants: DO NOT PRUNE shrubs or trees in late summer or early autumn. Pruning stimulates new growth which may not have time to harden off before frost. You may remove any deadwood from shrubs or trees.

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER; Weed Trees and Brush. Mar 14, Experts recommend that you wait until spring to prune your palm tree. Those dead fronds may be somewhat unattractive, but they will help protect the palm from summer’s heat and winter’s cold.

Sterilize and sharpen your pruning tools before you begin. Aug 23, When should you trim a palm tree? You only need to prune palms to rid trees of brown fronds (palm leaves), flowers or fruit. This means your pruning project isn’t subject to a specific time of year.

Instead, the best time to prune palm trees is when it looks like they need it. Size is another factor to consider when planting a palm tree. A small palm tree can grow to over 60 foot at maturity and may have to be removed if it interferes with your view, overhead lines, under-ground lines or too large for your landscape. Dec 01, In fact, it can seriously damage the palm tree. When pruning palms, only remove fronds that are completely brown and that hang below the 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock position.

If you hire a professional, make your wishes clear by putting them in writing. Explain that you want your palms to have a rounded canopy, not a mohawk.

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North Carolina USDA Zones Palm Trees That Grow In North Carolina. Here I put together a list of 14 cold hardy palms that can grow in warm areas of North Carolina. All these palms will survive cold temperatures of Zone 8a down to 10 F. If the freezing weather is accompanied by cold winds, they could benefit from some winter protection. Natural cut is when you trim only the dead fronds leaving all the green leaves untouched.

Notice that old leaf bases near the top have been trimmed in a beautiful diamond pattern. The 9 to 3 cut is when you put hands of the clock on 9 and 3 and then remove all the fronds below that. Basically, the leaves would be parallel to the ground.