Pruning Majesty Palms: Get Clean Plants in 10 Easy Steps 

Pruning majesty palm trees should be in your schedule, especially in early spring so that your palms can grow in good health throughout the growing season.

Palm trees of the Arecaceae family need your help to continue looking beautiful, as their fronds can go ugly, spoiling their appearance.

If you are ready to prune your plants and you need a guide, read this article.

How Do You Prune Your Palm Plants?

You can prune your palm plants by identifying the parts that need pruning, gathering your tools like gloves and shears, removing dead and damaged fronds, and disinfecting your palm after pruning it. Do not cut the fronds too close to their base so that you do not overexpose the plants.

1. Identify Parts of the Palm That Needs Pruning

You want to first mark the fronds and other parts of your majesty palms that need pruning.

Some examples are:

• Discolored fronds: If some fronds are discolored, they might turn brown or yellow in the coming growing season. Remove them.
• Wilted fronds: These may be diseased or lacking water. They may not return to their previous beautiful form, so remove them.
• Damaged or diseased parts: While you will prune off these parts, make sure that you treat your palms to prevent them from getting sick.
• Dead fronds: Of course, these should be your major target while pruning your trees.

2. Gather Your Tools

To successfully prune majesty palm trees, you need some tools. Don’t worry because there are good chances that you already have them or can easily get them.

Here are the basic tools that you need:

• Gloves: You need to keep your hands clean and safe throughout the pruning process.
• Pruning shears: You need shears, gardening scissors, or knives to cut the fronds of your palms. Please make sure that they are clean or sterile.
• Disinfectant: After pruning your palms, you should disinfect them with disinfectants such as rubbing alcohol so that you do not expose them to harmful microbes.

When you get your pruning tools, move on to the next step, as you are ready to prune your trees.

3. Start Pruning the Palms

It is time to start removing all the unwanted fronds. You should start with the bottom fronds and work your way up until every unwanted frond is out.

When cutting the fronds, use your shears to cut them a few inches close to their base or the stem. Please Be careful so that you do not damage the healthy fronds, as it can damage your plant.

4. Wipe the Remaining Fronds With a Damp Cloth

You’re almost done with your palm plant plants. It is time to wipe dust and debris off the surface of the remaining fronds so that your palms can stay clean and healthy. Soak a cloth in water, then squeeze out the water so that the cloth is damp but not wet. Gently use it to wipe the fronds so that you do not break or tear them.

Wipe the fronds with the cloth just once or twice. Do not continue to wipe them until you see water droplets on them or water starts dripping. If water droplets are still on the fronds 30 minutes to one hour after wiping them, use a dry cloth to wipe the fronds gently.

5. Disinfect the Cuts

After pruning your majesty palm plant, it is time to disinfect the fresh cuts so that you do not expose the plant to infections. Leaving the cuts exposed can lead to your palm leaves turning yellow or dying. Remember that microbes can pass through the cuts and attack your palms.

Make use of rubbing alcohol or any anti-microbial products such as fungicides. Ensure that you buy the product from a gardening store and it is safe for your palms. Spray the disinfectant on the fresh cuts, and then you are good to go.

6. Check for Suckers or Outgrowths

Pruning majesty palm is not complete without making sure that the entire plant looks clean. Check if new plants are growing beside the large ones. If you do not want them, now is the time to remove them from their base.

If you want them, clean their fronds and make them beautiful. You can also transplant them if you can carefully remove them from the current pot and transfer them to a suitable potting mix.

7. Step Back and Look at the Palms

You are done pruning your palms. Before you drop your tools and rest, go a few steps backward and look at the palm.

Check the fronds and general appearance if there are fronds yet to be pruned. You need to be very intentional about the appearance of your palms, especially if they are indoor plants.

8. Dispose of the Majesty Palm fronds and Debris

Do not leave the fronds just around your trees after pruning them. Dispose of them to keep your trees clean and free from any chance of getting attacked by pests. Remember that pests hide under debris close to plants.

You can either dispose of the fronds by throwing them into the trash or composting them. If you like, you can get creative with them and make baskets and other products by weaving the fronds. If you can dry and preserve them well, products made with palm fronds last for a very long time. 

9. Water Your Palms

Now that you are done pruning your palms, and they are clean, it is time to water them. You should water them both by misting and spraying the substrate with water.

Misting the fronds will keep them fresh and green, while watering the substrate will keep your plants healthy and help them heal from the stress of pruning.

Make use of room-temperature water so that you do not stress your palms even further.

10. Fertilize Your Palms

Fertilizing your palms after pruning them is essential so that they can continue to grow without having nutrient deficiencies. A palm tree grows new fronds to replace the pruned ones, but if the nutrients in the soil or potting soil are depleted, the palm tree can get sick. Make sure that you enrich their substrate with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer.

If you pruned your majesties at the beginning of the growing season, you can as well amend their substrate with soil amendment products. These products will help the substrate to stay nutrient-rich and suitable for the palms. You can also spray foliar fertilizer on the palm fronds if you wish.

How To Ensure Maximum Quality While Pruning Majesty Palm?

You can ensure maximum quality while pruning majesty palm by avoiding pulling the fronds. On top of that, you can get the best yield when you will only prune your majesty palms when there’s a need. Lastly, using sterilized tools will also help you get the best quality results.

– Do Not Pull the Fronds

When pruning your palms, cut the fronds and do not pull them. Pulling the fronds can damage their tissues and even expose them to some bacterial and fungal infections. If you pull too hard, you will damage the stem of your majestic palms and this makes them sick and look awful.

The same applies when using pruning shears. Cut the fronds some inches away from their base or the stem. Cutting them too close to the stem can expose them to infections as well. Remember to disinfect the fresh cuts when you are done pruning.

– Only Prune Your Palms When You Need To

Majesty palms are tender trees and do not respond well to stress, so you should be very sure that you need to prune them before you go. You should prune the palms once or twice (max) yearly to minimize the stress caused by pruning.

Do not just prune your plants because you see yellow, brown, or spotted leaves. If you see sick leaves, you should make sure that you know the cause and can treat the tree before you start pruning them.

– Use Sterilized Tools

Some people’s trees start to die or wither because they are not careful when pruning their trees. Most of the common problems that arise after pruning majesties, such as root rot and other infections, come from using dirty tools.

To keep your trees safe, make sure that you sterilize your tools before you use them. You can disinfect them with disinfectants, keep them in boiling water for some minutes, or expose them to get hot sun for some hours. Also, disinfect your tools after using them on a sick tree before you move on to the next.

Conclusion

Pruning and growing majesty palms will be super easy for you now, right?

Remember the following points:

• Prune off yellow, dark, or brown leaves from your palms, as they are already dying and are wasteful.
• When pruning your palms, use pruning shears to cut the fronds instead of pulling them out of the plant.
• A palm plant grows more fronds when you prune it, so ensure to fertilize it so that it has access to nutrients with which it will grow the new fronds.
• When you see new fronds turning brown or discolored, it means that the palm might be infected. Check for the issue first before pruning the palm.
• You can water your majesty palm leaves directly through misting.

Now, you are ready to go. Remember to stick to the plant care guide in this article.