How to Prune a Palm Tree using the 9-3 Rule 

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How to Prune a Palm Tree using the 9-3 Rule
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Believe it or not, there is a right and wrong way to trim a palm tree. I’ve got a palm tree here that I am going to prune using the nine-to-three rule. So if you picture a clock, think of nine and three, where they are on the clock face. That is how we want to trim our palm.
Any self-shedding palms, anything like that, not exactly as necessary to continue this pattern. But for a palm like this, we want to follow the nine-to-three rule.
So what that means is that we are going to trim any branches that are hanging below nine to three.
Now if a branch is yellowing or dead, perfectly fine to cut off dead branches. If it’s yellowing, give it a little bit more time because what that is doing, the palm tree is sucking in the nutrients from that branch.
So if you cut it off too soon, it’s going to stop the nutrients taken away from that palm. So I’m going to go ahead and get started.
Now this palm does have thorns. So we want to be careful. But with the Felcro pruners that I’m using, they are really sharp and perfect for trimming palm branches like this. Now following the nine and three rule, I’m going to trim these that are hanging a bit lower and it’s OK to trim them and then step back and see how they’re falling.
You don’t want to go too crazy and then look at your finished product and realize that you’ve gone too far because there is such a thing as over-pruning your palm tree and that can easily invite in pests and disease and then that will completely stunt the growth of your palm tree and affect the health of it.
Now a lot of times in Florida, we see what’s called a hurricane cut on Sabal palm trees and then other practices that are just not healthy for palms in our state and that is a breeding ground for pests and disease.
So you really want to be careful. Take your time with the palm. Make sure that you’re not over-pruning it or over-trimming it. That’s going to harm the palm and invite in unwanted guests.
When pruning the palm, you want to make sure to get as close to the trunk as possible, so that you don’t have any branches sticking out. But they do shed pretty easily after it has been pruned. This palm has some fruit on it, some seeds and it is OK to trim those if you don’t like the droppings that it leaves behind when it falls off the palm. You can cut it off. Not a big deal at all. It doesn’t really contribute to the health. It’s just a maturity thing that when it is a certain age or a certain height, it starts to put out these pods.
So once you finish pruning the palm tree to a nine and three, take a look at it. This one has some branches that are still hanging. I don’t want to go too crazy because we kind of are on the verge of nine and three. I don’t want to be a ten and two. That’s going to give the appearance and it’s just not the appropriate practice for trimming a palm tree. So we have our nine to three. I’m just going to add a little mulch around the bottom just to give it a fresh-it-up look for spring and that’s how you prune a palm tree using the nine-to-three method.
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