HANDLING YOUR PALM

When moving palms great care should be taken not to damage the trunk or the growing point of the frond. Unlike many trees palms do not have the ability repair damage to the trunk, so the use of soft cloth covered strops is essential to prevent damage.

The centre spike (growing point) of the palm should not be damaged great care needs to be taken to prevent lifting equipment from knocking or damaging the spike. Often it maybe a number of months before damage caused to the spike is noticed.

While this is not so much a problem with palms supplied in containers, great care needs to be taken when handling field grown palms that are wrapped in plastic. When lifting a palm a circular strop is recommended, by placing the strop under the root-ball and then tying it off around the trunk you relieve the palm of the extra weight which prevents unwanted tearing of the surface roots.

Lifting palms and moving them, especially on small sites can cause multiple health and safety issues. It is imperative that you consider these issues before you undertake any planting and if you are not confident that it can be done safely that you get professional advice.