[regnort]

Anybody here familiar with pruning Sago Palms. I have a prop that just had some installed to replace ones that were stolen and the palms are hanging over into the sidewalk. I'm not sure if I can just trim the ends or should they be cut at the ball.

Thanks in advance for any help

Reg

 

[SWD]

By ball, do you mean the crown? IF so, then yes, trim there. Do not make the mistake and trim only the leaf sheaf - meaning frond. Trim up from the crown and leave 3-4 fronds on a top.

 

[pinnacle]

Mate we have palms galore where I live and do alot of palm trimming arfter our winter due to frost damage.

You need to cut the palm fronz that are yellow, burnt, scragerly etc of where they are attached to the main stem.

You should not trim just one part of a single fronz...........just lop the whole thing off where its attached to the main stem.

This may make the Sago palms look a little " bare", though i'm not sure on the extent of damage on your Sagos but I am familiar with Sago Palms (they are very popular in pool-scapes around here) and you will have to let the client that "you have to be crule to be kind" and that it's "exceptable horticultural practice".

This should also be followed by applying a quick release fert ( tropicals spec) You sell them on the fert app and let them know that the triming will "Promote new healty growth" and the fert app will help that "new healty growth" come on faster.

Hope this helps

 

[pinnacle]

Trim up from the crown and leave 3-4 fronds on a top.

Yes that too...............You could even trim all the fronz off up to the top fronz and it would come back fine.

NEVER TRIM THE ACTIVE FROND (the top frond)

 

[Ryan Lightning]

When you prune all the fronds off, are even just leave a few, you can cause the trunck to taper in that spot. It will do that to any palms. You really shouldnt prune any fronds above horizontal. If you look at tall palms, you will see the tapering where ever it was pruned heavily.

 

[mrbob2]

I have a 8 year old sago that went from a single to a double plant. It was in the middle of my drive way. It faced west so it got a lot of sun. It got to big for the drive way. So I moved it 15 ft to the side in a area that use to be grass. All of the fronds are turning yellow. I have cut the worst ones off. I was told I could cut them all of when it gets to the point it is to ugly to look at. Being in the front yard it is there. Will the palm be better off with them all off? It make since because I have read that a tree will try to keep old growth alive and it if you cut the old stuff off it will make it produce new. What do you think of this theory?
Thanks for your help.
Bob

 

[General Landscaping]

It's not a Palm.... it's a Cycad.

 

[ProMo]

I have had a few instances were there were several sago's crowded together and just trimmed off the ends and they looked great, had one that looked like a chair and the customer loved the look

 

[mx315]

I trim all our Sago's in late April to mid May, then follow with Epson Salt and Palm Fertilizer (Azalea fert works well too). It's pretty ugly for about a week, then the new fronds will grow two feet the next week.

 

[Focal Point Landscapes]

I don't take issue with anything posted above , but if you trim the fronds that are hanging over the sidewalk , the new ones will also crowd the same place when the plant grows a new throw - can you just move the plant away from the sidewalk ? I never like trimming a cycad unless the fronds are deteriorating - ruins the look , imo.

 

[New2TheGreenIndustry]

So we've had a pretty cold winter for GA and the fronds on the Sagos are completely brown. Should I trim them all off? If so, should I do it now, or wait until it warms up? My thinking is that if its not very cold hardy, leaving the spent fronds will protect the crown from frost in the coming month(s).

 

[holmesgts]

I have had sagos growing out over walkways or porches in the past that I have repositioned in the same location to redirect the growth. Often times you will barely need to move the plant, you can spin it, or just lean it a little and palms are one of the few plants that don't look bad when leaning. I have on many occasions cut all the fronds from frost damaged sagos and they have always come back. As far as when to do it, the only difference between doing now or in the next two months would be appearance. Would your client rather look at a completely trimmed up crown, or a bunch of dead fronds?

 

[Atlantic Lawn]

It's not a Palm.... it's a Cycad.

A Cycad and it's very poisonous too ! That said there has been lotsa cold temp damage around here this winter on Sagos. Not much to do but cut back and wait to see if the crown was damaged.