Wellingtonia Palm

[auntiemo]

I think I've got the name right... it's the one which looks like a pineapple once the fronds have been cut back. Is there a way to stop any further growth? We have two four year old plants which, at the moment, look beautiful but it would be nice to keep them at this height. Would it be possible to cut back the bit in the middle where the new fronds sprout from or would that kill it?

[fiona.rob]

Dont know the answer but its washingtonia! Close just different famous person LOL!

[auntiemo]

lol - almost right! So same question for a Washingtonia Palm!

[dolmadis]

Topping is unsatisfactory see photos at http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/3066/#b

I won't post the photos here because of copyright but the text below will allow you to find the right point.

Just topping them will sometimes result in complete recovery (I think this is fairly unique in the palm world). The taller and older the palm, the less like topping it will result in surival, though. But then one still has to deal with the dead trunk. Some elect to just leave it there and dead trunks seem to remain fairly solidly in place of many years, often being used as perches for epiphytes or for landscaping purposes. Most of the time they just get cut down to a stump, which will eventually rot out over many years. But until then, the stumps are useful benches or tables.

Here are shots of a palm that was beheaded, yet it's coming back... what other palm can do that? Not sure why the city did not just cut it off at the base... or did they just want to do a super trim, and if it came back, so be it. Still, the palm is in a bad location so they will have to remove it someday soon (under a traffic light)

This Washingtonia (left) had ALL its leaves cut off... but it came back, too; right photo shows successful removal evidence.

[auntiemo]

Thanks for that Dolmadis. Looks like a lot of good advice to read through.