# Coconut Palm pruning in Maui, Hawaii



## TreeSurfer (Sep 10, 2011)

i trimmed 10 coconut palms today and had a blast! the first 9 palms were mainly just taking seed pods off, fronds hanging lower then 10:00 and 2:00 positions and slicing all loose paper out. 
the game changed when i reached the last palm of the day. it had over 800 pounds of coconuts in it with about 10 fronds that needed to come off weighing in at 30 pounds each frond. i had to SRT up the palm because of the risk of the dead and low hanging palm fronds collapsing on me. 
when i got to the crown, i took off a dozen seed pods, old boots from previously cut fronds and the racks of coconuts. each rack had 6-8 20 pound coconuts with about 5 racks on the tree. i just did the math combining all the palm frond, seed pod and coconut weights. its over 1,200lbs for one tree. thats alot for one coconut palm. 

here's some pics and a great example of how a coconut palm should look after its been pruned.

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heres one of the coconuts off the bunch. here it is being measured with a one foot ruler to compare size too. 

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## rmh3481 (Sep 10, 2011)

Id for sure keep looking up with them things hanging over me. Jeez, I like coconut but sure dont want to get knocked flat by a pod falling from what 60 feet or so? Maui sure looks like paradise, just be careful out there.


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## ducaticorse (Sep 10, 2011)

Love that I have no idea as to what anything you just said means. Looking forward to learning about it. Thanks for the post!


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## jefflovstrom (Sep 10, 2011)

What do you mean,SRT, you are wearing spikes. Is the proper there? Doubt it.
Jeff


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## TreeSurfer (Sep 10, 2011)

jeff, unless you have been trimming palms on a daily basis you have no idea how hard it gets doing it spikless. palms are different then trees bro. they are not treated like trees nor should be. yes spiking is bad but its more of an aesthetics thing then it is health issue for the palm. 

i srt''d up the last palm with a sit stand system to the top while wearing spikes. you dont want to be lanyard in when the whole skirt of dead fronds come sliding down the trunk. do some research into palm trimming deaths each year due to dead skirts trapping the climber. 

yeah it may be a little less harsh for the palm to do spikless, but think about how many hundreds of coconut palms we have to trim each month and then imagine doing it spikless. unless you have a platform there is no way you can do 20-50 palms in one 8 hour day. spiking is faster. but again it has been done for decades with not a whole lot of ill effects other than the trunk looking like it has alot of holes in it which THEY ALL DO. there are no coconut palms here without holes in them.


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## beowulf343 (Sep 10, 2011)

ducaticorse said:


> Love that I have no idea as to what anything you just said means. Looking forward to learning about it. Thanks for the post!


 
+1
I've never even touched a palm tree, am always keen to read posts about them.

Another spike, spikeless argument?opcorn:


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## jefflovstrom (Sep 10, 2011)

TreeSurfer said:


> jeff, unless you have been trimming palms on a daily basis you have no idea how hard it gets doing it spikless. palms are different then trees bro. they are not treated like trees nor should be. yes spiking is bad but its more of an aesthetics thing then it is health issue for the palm.
> 
> i srt''d up the last palm with a sit stand system to the top while wearing spikes. you dont want to be lanyard in when the whole skirt of dead fronds come sliding down the trunk. do some research into palm trimming deaths each year due to dead skirts trapping the climber.
> 
> yeah it may be a little less harsh for the palm to do spikless, but think about how many hundreds of coconut palms we have to trim each month and then imagine doing it spikless. unless you have a platform there is no way you can do 20-50 palms in one 8 hour day. spiking is faster. but again it has been done for decades with not a whole lot of ill effects other than the trunk looking like it has alot of holes in it which THEY ALL DO. there are no coconut palms here without holes in them.


 
First of all, We do thousands of palms a year. I have been in this biz for almost 34 years. And I see you posted the same stuff on TW and TB. I am not as forgiving as Eric.
Jeff


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## tree MDS (Sep 10, 2011)

The company I worked for down in south florida never spiked a single palm.. and that was back around 1992, or so.. maybe they were a bit ahead of their time, but still!


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## TreeSurfer (Sep 10, 2011)

we dont own a bucket truck so, i have no way to trim coconut palms spikeless and i dont want to use a platform that was not deigned for palm trimming and climbing. give me a good reason for not spiking climbing a "coconut palm" other than crown rot disease which can be treated by disinfecting your spikes and saw. i wanna hear your spikeless argument.


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## jefflovstrom (Sep 10, 2011)

TreeSurfer said:


> we dont own a bucket truck so, i have no way to trim coconut palms spikeless and i dont want to use a platform that was not deigned for palm trimming and climbing. give me a good reason for not spiking climbing a "coconut palm" other than crown rot disease which can be treated by disinfecting your spikes and saw. i wanna hear your spikeless argument.


 
Oh really? Are you sure? You claim climbing SRT and you are on spikes? You really want to drag this out and be informed.
Jeff, I'm game!


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## jefflovstrom (Sep 10, 2011)

You said you climbed SRT so the fronds wont crush you, My question is , how did you get the rope in the tree? You complain no bucket access and yet you are able to SRT. How did you set your line for SRT and then why are you on spikes if you are on a line? You are full of @@@@
Jeff


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## TreeSurfer (Sep 10, 2011)

i either hand throw or use a big shot to set my lines but only on coconut palms that have not been pruned for years. i still wear spikes to get a good foot hold once up top after the dangerous fronds have been cut off. i only SRT'd that last palm of the day cause it was dangerous and had the potential for fronds collapsing. 

setting an SRT line, rolling back up your throw line, then climbing up and trimming, comming back down, pulling your line out moving to the next tree takes allot longer then spike climbing. if you were here id race you 3 palms. you on SRT me on the spikes and we will see who wins. ill be drinking some cold beverages and have my gear stowed and crew cleaning up by the time you repel out of the last one. 

:yoyo:


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## jefflovstrom (Sep 10, 2011)

TreeSurfer said:


> i either hand throw or use a big shot to set my lines but only on coconut palms that have not been pruned for years. i still wear spikes to get a good foot hold once up top after the dangerous fronds have been cut off. i only SRT'd that last palm of the day cause it was dangerous and had the potential for fronds collapsing.
> 
> setting an SRT line, rolling back up your throw line, then climbing up and trimming, comming back down, pulling your line out moving to the next tree takes allot longer then spike climbing. if you were here id race you 3 palms. you on SRT me on the spikes and we will see who wins. ill be drinking some cold beverages and have my gear stowed and crew cleaning up by the time you repel out of the last one.
> 
> :yoyo:


 
See, there is a good post that could of kept me from looking like a jerk. Just not sure why you need spikes if you are tied in, unless it is a production thing. 
Jeff


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## TreeSurfer (Sep 10, 2011)

its a production thing jeff. im not trying to be rude to you brah so please dont think im flaming you. i just dont like being attacked for spike climbing palms. i wish i had the money to buy those baumvelo rings but they are like $3,000. if the customers wants it done spikless then i do it but if its a production job with a condo then its done with spikes.


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## jefflovstrom (Sep 11, 2011)

TreeSurfer said:


> its a production thing jeff. im not trying to be rude to you brah so please dont think im flaming you. i just dont like being attacked for spike climbing palms. i wish i had the money to buy those baumvelo rings but they are like $3,000. if the customers wants it done spikless then i do it but if its a production job with a condo then its done with spikes.


 
It's all good. And you are not rude, you seem like a cool guy.
Jeff


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## MacLaren (Sep 11, 2011)

Man, I sure would like to go back to Maui again sometime. I really never have liked going to the coast in the US, Atlantic or Pacific, but I loved Maui. But who wouldnt right?


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## TreeSurfer (Sep 11, 2011)

come on down brah. we got some 100+ foot eucalyptus trees to climb and hang out in. BYOTB bring your own tree boat.


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## Blakesmaster (Sep 11, 2011)

I know nothing about palms or palm climbing but it looks like these guys have have a real sweet setup and they're in Maui. 

Pure Life Palm Trimmers : Spikeless Coconut Climbing on Maui Hawaii - YouTube


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## Bermie (Sep 11, 2011)

I will spike climb coconuts if there is no access for a bucket. My concession is to put an adjustable friction saver in once at the top and rappell down to save at least one set of spike holes each time. Plus its quicker to get down.
If the palms are close enough I climb the tallest one then swing over to the lower ones on the way down.
I have cut down some coconut palms for various reasons, usually ones leaning over roofs, drop one nut and it will do serious damage to the roof...I like to make cuts through obvious spike scars to see whats happening inside and with coconuts all I've ever seen is a discolouration around the hole, no deeper than the hole itself.
Yes, multiple spike marks look a bit ugly, but its not the same as spiking a tree. Somewhat weak argument maybe, but that's life when it comes to coconuts. Yet I suppose I could take up half a dozen loop runners for footholds once at the top...save another set of holes...


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## arborpros (Sep 11, 2011)

Pretty neat. Being in STL, I have never encountered a large palm of any kind but it looks like a lot of fun. You could really get a lot of them done in one day. Doing tree work in paradise, can't get much better than that. What is the going rate for a single cocnut palm trimming like the video above?


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## jefflovstrom (Sep 11, 2011)

They suck. Hey Josh, how much do you pay to dump palm? Here it is alot.
Jeff


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## TreeSurfer (Sep 11, 2011)

jeff, we pay something like $65 a palm base price for pruning. the scale house at our green waste charges like $50 per 1000lbs. a single coconut palm with 6 months of growth can have 300-500 pounds of green waste. so we often pay $150 for the whole truck load.


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## jefflovstrom (Sep 11, 2011)

TreeSurfer said:


> jeff, we pay something like $65 a palm base price for pruning. the scale house at our green waste charges like $50 per 1000lbs. a single coconut palm with 6 months of growth can have 300-500 pounds of green waste. so we often pay $150 for the whole truck load.


 
Dang! Palm is trash here and you pay by the ton. A couple of palm removals could cost $600.00 to dump. Stuff degrades slower than Pamper's. 
Jeff


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## MacLaren (Sep 11, 2011)

TreeSurfer said:


> come on down brah. we got some 100+ foot eucalyptus trees to climb and hang out in. BYOTB bring your own tree boat.


 
I really will :hmm3grin2orange: Man, are you kiddin? Maui and chainsaws? Hellz yeah! :rocker:

Why shoot homie, we'll head on up to cowboy town and see if ole Willie's there servin pancakes! 

I have said it before, and I will say it again, that Banyon tree in Maui is something to behold!!!!


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## ozzy42 (Sep 11, 2011)

jefflovstrom said:


> They suck. Hey Josh, how much do you pay to dump palm? Here it is alot.
> Jeff



:agree2:



Blakesmaster said:


> I know nothing about palms or palm climbing


 
You ain't missin nothing bro.
I envy you guys that have never had to trim them.You finds all kinds of critters in them;rats ,snakes ,mice, roaches,not to mention the array of human object caught up in them and then all the nasty fiber crap that will have your nose full of big brown goobers and coughing up the fibers for a few days after is always a GREAT time as well.

The tropical members here ........know what I'm talking about.









BTW 
For the record Most guys where I am here trim them the same way when no bucket available.
Ladder just below the head.then spike from there up if needed. 
Spike holes make them look like ####.

Surprising though.I find I am one of the very few that T.I.T.S. when trimming them.
Very scary.I have nicked more lanyards on palms than anything else due to the fact that one usually tries to reach the whole head from one position ,which requires reaching around with one hand with the saw.
I like to tie in around the first 5or6 fronds in the center,Then on the way down I do a toe slide thing on the outside rails of the ladder.Got grooves in the soles of my boots from it.


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## jefflovstrom (Sep 11, 2011)

If they just took a wrap.
Jeff


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## Bermie (Sep 11, 2011)

Check this out...old school vs new school...
I like to put my wire core around the trunk, then a lanyard up through the fronds on my bridge so I can sit...then choke my climb line (or adjustable friction saver) when finished and rappell down. And I had a camel back as well 'cause it was August...HOT and HUMID!

The other chap had a waist belt, a short flipline and spikes...and a ball cap.


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## ozzy42 (Sep 12, 2011)

Bermie said:


> Check this out...old school vs new school...
> I like to put my wire core around the trunk, then a lanyard up through the fronds on my bridge so I can sit...then choke my climb line (or adjustable friction saver) when finished and rappell down. And I had a camel back as well 'cause it was August...HOT and HUMID!
> 
> The other chap had a waist belt, a short flipline and spikes...and a ball cap.


 
Hey Bermie,I just noticed your new dual residency.
Are you part time she-devil now?:msp_ohmy::hmm3grin2orange:


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## Bermie (Sep 18, 2011)

ozzy42 said:


> Hey Bermie,I just noticed your new dual residency.
> Are you part time she-devil now?:msp_ohmy::hmm3grin2orange:


 
Yup...look out eucalyptus and euro trees...here I come!


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## Koa Man (Nov 16, 2011)

TreeSurfer said:


> i either hand throw or use a big shot to set my lines but only on coconut palms that have not been pruned for years. i still wear spikes to get a good foot hold once up top after the dangerous fronds have been cut off. i only SRT'd that last palm of the day cause it was dangerous and had the potential for fronds collapsing.



It is impossible to set a climbing line in a coconut palm by using a throw ball and pulling the climbing line through it, and I will bet you any amount of money you want that you can't do it. I have seen many attempts and not one successful. And what "dangerous" fronds on a coconut palm are you talking about? They don't have a skirt like Washingtonias and some of the other fan palms that can slide down the trunk. 

I would also like to see a 20 lb. coconut. Even an extremely large one weighs less than 15 lbs, with the average weight of a mature nut only 8-10.5 lbs. You and I both know that you did not SRT up that palm and just spiked it. No shame in that, even the local arborist association's guidelines permit spiking a coco when other means are not practical. You have been posting bs on various tree forums and pretending to be someone you are not. Just be honest and admit you know next to nothing and have very limited experience.

Don't go talking to my buddy Jeff like he never touched a palm in his life when you didn't know the size of the operation he runs and like he said, the thousands of palms they trim a year. You need to be humble and stop lying so much, unless you want me to direct others to threads in other forums where you admit that.

Disclaimer: after a careful review of my 28 years in biz, I have only trimmed coconuts between 30,000-32,000 times but still stand by what I stated above.


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## MacLaren (Nov 16, 2011)

I've got to get back to Maui. Just loved it there.


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## arborjockey (Feb 12, 2012)

*really really*



Koa Man said:


> It is impossible to set a climbing line in a coconut palm by using a throw ball and pulling the climbing line through it, and I will bet you any amount of money you want that you can't do it. I have seen many attempts and not one successful. And what "dangerous" fronds on a coconut palm are you talking about? They don't have a skirt like Washingtonias and some of the other fan palms that can slide down the trunk.
> 
> I would also like to see a 20 lb. coconut. Even an extremely large one weighs less than 15 lbs, with the average weight of a mature nut only 8-10.5 lbs. You and I both know that you did not SRT up that palm and just spiked it. No shame in that, even the local arborist association's guidelines permit spiking a coco when other means are not practical. You have been posting bs on various tree forums and pretending to be someone you are not. Just be honest and admit you know next to nothing and have very limited experience.
> 
> ...



Relax on the locals . Any amount huh. 28 years in the biz and you haven't found out how to put a line in a coconut tree? What if the coco was a removal with a back lean that just needed a rope put in it. Let me guess you would un load Da spyder .Yes you and I know it can be done. Not easy but I can do it. NO PROBLEM. Koa man you may do better work but your speedy youtube video of your so called coco prune doesn't prove it. My guys could do 32,000 trees in a week if that's what u call a prune. Calling the kid a liar and saying he couldn't srt it. It maybe silly but calm down. He came to show the pics of which aren't so hot. You left a lot of crap under the frowns. Lots of guys doit. Most guys say they leave that to naturally fall off or they hold up the other frowns. Forgetaboutit it looks crappy and should be cleaned. 
I've seen big operations butcher trees as bad as a hilbilly with a craftsmen chainsaw. Your # 's dont impress me. If your gunna #### talk brush your teeth 1st.
you guys talk about production and you can't doit because it takes to much time. Our average coco is $25 a prune.


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## Koa Man (Feb 12, 2012)

arborjockey,
you don't know what happened between me and Treesurfer at the time of my post, and I am not going to air it out here, especially since he has since sent me a sincere apology.

I think most of the guys here, and everyone who knows me personally, know that :
1. I don't exaggerate or bs people
2. I can back up or prove what I say.
3. I am willing to put money where my mouth is.

I have done many coco removals where it was necessary to set a line to pull it in a certain direction, 18 in one vacant lot on Kahala Ave. That is where the most expensive homes on Oahu are located. All of the palms were between 60-70 ft. of trunk. To set the line, we climb about 3/4 of the way up, tie a running bowline on the trunk, and use a figure 8 to come down on that line. That takes less than 2 min. How long does it take you to put a line in the head of a coco and how tall are the cocos you are talking about? How can you be sure it won't slide off the fronds when pulling? How big is your crew to have the capabilty to trim 32,000 cocos in one week? Even if one guy can do 200 (an unrealistic nbr) a day, do you have 32 climbers??? I thought the biggest tree company in Hawaii only had about 10. That coco I trimmed on the video did not have a lot of crap left on it as you said. You cannot see the head clearly enough to make that statement. I go back there next month and I will take an overall photo, and then a close up so you can tell it is the same tree before I trim it, and you will see even 3 months later, there is not a lot of ”crap” on it. I still am willing to bet whatever amount you want, to prove my statement false, that it is impossible to pull a climbing line through the head of a coco using a throwball line.


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## arborjockey (Feb 12, 2012)

I


Koa Man said:


> arborjockey,
> you don't know what happened between me and Treesurfer at the time of my post, and I am not going to air it out here, especially since he has since sent me a sincere apology.
> 
> I think most of the guys here, and everyone who knows me personally, know that :
> ...




1st What i meant was treesurfer left a lot of crap under the green frowns.
2nd In your youtube video you definitely left paper and crap under the frawns.
3rd I never said any of the techniques Im arguing are practice by me.

What I am saying is that its not impossible. It started off when I was in a pickle one time and had to go up a coco and I didn't have my bands. I threw threw my 2 throw bags over left of center. The individual leafs of the the frawns stop it from slididing to the center. Then after you connect your 2 lines together tape the tip with electric tape so it has a point. I don't do that but it helps. Pull the line through. Yeah its hard and you have to put a mean wip on the rope to get it back to the center. Not impossible. Yet very time consuming. 
Now koa man, your gunna tell me you have a picture of that same coco you made 1 whirl around cutting only frowns. Leaving stubs and not cleaning around the trunk.:msp_sad: maybe the video stopped short and you pruned it later.. That's why I put the average at 32,000 a week. Oh... Did I put week I meant by noon.
Falling 70-80' coco's takes big kahunas. If your going to critique everyone here about every move that's good keeps people sharp and makes them explain their actions. Like why is you're guy descending on a rope you keep dropping trees on. Just saying. You have been in coco's longer then I've been in the business all together. Maybe the kid lied about his work but the technique is not not impossible 
P.S. I have Asian flu pics maybe 2 days. Hell I'll make a video and tube it for you.


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## MacLaren (Feb 12, 2012)

I would be totally content just to be in Maui right about now. :msp_biggrin:

Maui and new hotrod 2171 with a some big azz trees to cut up......whew! :msp_w00t:


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## Koa Man (Feb 12, 2012)

arborjockey,
1. I don't bs people and go back and trim it up to make me look good. 

2. I am the guy who descends on the pull line. Why? Because there is virtually no stress on the line with me using a descender to come straight down. If I did not trust the rope to support 150 lbs on a descent, I certainly would not trust it to pull a 70 ft. coco with a back lean. 

3. If you can in fact pull a climb line through the head of a coco attached to a throw line, why don't you show me and make a lot of money? You have one hour to make one successful attempt.

4. I don't critique ”everybody”. I only try to correct wrong or false statements in my limited area of expertise. Wrong information is worse than no information.

I am trying to be nice, but you are starting to push my buttons and I don't have the time or energy to waste on this matter. I give up, you win.


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## arborjockey (Feb 19, 2012)

Well played......... pics.......no make that video on its way. Got the asian flu right now but their cumn


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