Palm pruning and red palm weevil treatment
Pruning once or twice a year. Weevil treatment three times a year for Canary date palms.
Pruning and shaving
We prune palms once or twice a year. Pruning takes off the old fronds; shaving trims the old leaf bases back down the trunk so it is clean.
A freshly cut frond gives off a scent that red palm weevil picks up from a distance. So we prune in the months when the weevil is least active, and we treat the palm straight after, while the cuts are fresh.
Red palm weevil treatment
We treat Canary date palms (Phoenix canariensis) three times a year. It is the palm the red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) goes for. Other palms we prune but don't treat.
We use two methods, on their own or together:
- Endotherapy. We inject the treatment into the trunk, and the palm carries it up to the crown.
- Spraying. We spray the crown with insecticide.
The larvae feed inside the crown for months before anything shows from the ground, so the treatment runs on a schedule rather than waiting for the palm to look wrong.
Work at height
We climb tall palms on ropes rather than working from a machine on the ground, for pruning and treatment alike.
Above Cala Tarida, some Canary palms were dead before we took the garden on; we treated and pruned the rest. What we found there →
On new planting we use Washingtonia, which the weevil largely leaves alone. For trees other than palms, see tree care.
