(1)  When Pruning a Palm tree or having the tree trimmed by a professional such as Beechnut tree service , make sure that they do it correctly. Beechnut and the University of Florida recommends that the more green fronds you can leave on the palm itself the Better.  The only things that should be pruned are the brown or dying fronds and the fruit or flowering stalks.
 (2)  When pruning a palm make sure that you disinfect your equipment if you are or have trimmed palms that might be diseased to or infected by something. You don't want to spread the disease. Beechnut tree disinfects there saws after every Palm tree trimming job .
  (3)  When getting your palms trimmed make sure the person pruning the palm is not wearing spikes or spurs. You don't want them damaging you palms trunks with unsightly holes throughout the trunk they cause. Beechnut tree uses ladders for trimming the palms and will not spike palms.
  (4)   When pruning your palms or just getting them pruned remember that there are animals and other creatures that use the palm as a home. if it is possible to save a nest and relocate it then we at Beechnut Tree service gives them the highest priority. 
  (5)   Another good reason to use Beechnut tree service over the competition is that we have experience in pruning these palms to get the maximum health out of every palm.
                Here are some Pictures of palm tree's that are Overpruned. 

    This type of pruning is not only bad for palms but can lead to decline and eventually death. This type of pruning  should be avoided at all costs .
     (6) Another helpful tip is to trim the palms in a 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock appearance then you are assured that the palm will be left with enough fronds to remain healthy. 
      (7) A lot of people get their trunks skinned up . Though this might look ascetically pleasing there is no real benefit to doing this type of cleaning it does nothing for the tree's health. Unless of course they are falling off then it is a good idea to go ahead and remove them. 
      (8) Beechnut tree can safely diagnose any palm issues that you might have and prescribe the right fertilizer if any is needed to help boost the palms health and get it back to looking good. As I have stated before a lot of the palms problems usually occur due to the Overpruning of the palm. But there are fertilizers that can bring them back I have witnessed it myself. 
     (9) A lot of palms just need the messy seeds  and flowers removed to make them beautiful . Don't let the door knockers talk you into pruning them up real hard where its going to take years to fix them. 
     (10) There are a lot of company's out there that will take your money and don't care about your palms health. Beechnut tree Service will always put the health of your palm as our #1 priority. And if you do happen  to need a fertilizing plan for the palms we will recommend the correct fertilizer and the correct plan of action to keep them looking fantastic....

   From time to time Trees and Palms require pruning. It is the most common thing that is done to them. Sometimes done to remove dead branches, or remove fruit, improve tree structure, or maintain safety. Improper pruning can cause damage which continues for the life of the tree or palm.
    Removing foliage from the tree or palm has two distinct effects on its growth. Removing leaves reduces photosynthesis and may reduce overall growth or in the Palms case can increase growth dramatically. Since each cut has the potential to change the growth of the tree or palm no branch or frond should be removed without a reason.
                                             Proper tree trimming.
     A good pruning practice would be Crown reduction. This type of pruning would be made to 
 Improve structure, Remove dead or dying branches, and trim around obstacles.
     A bad pruning practice would be Topping.  This type of pruning will weaken the tree by removing its food supply, badly wounding it, and causing severe structural problems for the tree in the future. In the illustration below you can see the effects of Bad pruning practices Vs Good Pruning practice.

                               This type of Pruning is very bad for the tree.

                  This is the good type of pruning, This is the same specie tree by the way.

     This is one example of many do's and don'ts as far as Pruning a tree. There many others. Just make sure that you get a few estimates and preferably from a Certified Arborist. Beechnut tree service gives free estimates and free consultations.

     Palm Pruning is different then a Tree trimming in the respect that the Palm is actually a part of the grass family. Palms have fronds instead of leaves. They get there energy from Photosynthesis created in those fronds. Constant pruning of these fronds does two things. 1 It forces the tree to put on new fronds, and 2. It causes nutrient deficiencies in the palms. This is  what we call in the business as Hurricane cutting it is a Bad Palm pruning practice. It should be avoided at all costs. Beechnut Tree service offers Palm tree advice at no cost.

         Along with the fact that not only are you stripping the palm of its food source , but there are birds and other animals that use the palm to make their home. Now let me show you what a good palm trimming practice should look like.

           As you can see there are a lot more fronds on the Palms Beechnut tree trims then on the ones above. This is vital to the tree's success. University of Florida recommends a 3 to 9 o'clock approach to trimming palms. Meaning the frond tips should be in a 3 to 9 position on the tree after pruning. 

          In closing I would like to offer my knowledge and expertise in the field of Arboriculture to anyone who would like to learn the proper way of pruning and caring for Palms. Beechnut tree offers free advice and free estimates if you would like too know more . Thank you for reading and this will be a part of a bigger discussion I will be giving in the future so stay tuned to this website.

    I get asked quite often , What the heck is going on with my tree? Sometimes I can figure out the problem right away , and other times it takes a while. A lot of times it involves looking at the leaves and seeing spots on them. That usually scares a lot of homeowners. Is it an insect ? Does it have a disease? Is the tree dying or in decline? There is a lot of reasons for a tree to get stressed any which one by itself is usually not enough to kill the tree or to affect it but a combination of factors could affect it quite dramatically. So diagnosing a tree's problems sometimes takes a bit of detective work. A big problem for me the Arborist is lack of information. 
      Obviously the tree cannot describe the problem to me. The history of the tree is very important. How long has the problem been going on? What were the early symptoms? Has there been any construction , excavation, or chemical treatments in the area?  Careful diagnosis of tree problems requires a careful examination of possibilities by following a few important steps.
    (1)  It is important to accurately identify the specie. Knowing the identity of the plant can  quickly limit the number of suspected causes.
     (2)  Look for a pattern of abnormality. An Arborist must first know what is normal for the Tree, for example when the Oak tree sheds its inner branches and they drop off then he will know that this is normal for Oaks to do this. We will also look at similar trees close by to compare with the specimen we are examining. 
      (3)  Carefully examine the site.  This could explain a lot if the grade has been changed has there been any changes to the soil , has there been any sprinkler lines added or if you live up north any de- icing salts added.
       In Florida and particularly Pinellas and Pasco counties there is an outbreak at this time of a particular little pest called the Asian Scale and it is affecting mostly Sago palms, This little pest is small and white and it survives on feeding on the juice from the sago's. Here is a typical picture of a Sago palm heavily infected with this scale  
     

If your sago palm looks like this either on the trunk or on the underside of your fronds then there is a herbicide recommended by The University of Florida called Horticultural oil. You will want to treat the palm by weekly for a few months to rid your palm of this insect. Although this oil is an insecticide it is desired because it is very or not as harmful as other insecticides. Just remember to follow the instructions carefully. Trust me on this one. 
     Beechnut tree was called out just a few weeks ago to diagnose some dead Italian Cypress as I drove to the site I noticed the customers yard was a stone yard. I asked him how he kept the weeds out of his stones and he told me that he uses Round up. I informed him that the weed killer could have killed the Cypress tree's .
     Another pest that I think you should know about especially if you have Pine Trees on your property This pest is called the Ipps Pine bark beetle it is very prevalent throughout Pasco and Pinellas counties it is a pest that is attracted to the smell the Pine tree puts off when it is stressed out. I cannot tell you how many pines I have removed due to this little pest. Here is a few pictures to inform you and show you what to look for. These pests start chewing on the pine and make small little blobs on the side of the trunk called pitch tubes and look like this.

    And this is a picture of a dead pine on a persons property beside another pine that is not affected . There is nothing for you to do once the beetle infects the pine it is a certain death penalty. All you can do is call Beechnut tree to remove it. and lastly is a picture of the beetle itself, It is very small and hard to see but is a dangerous Killer just the same.

       Another disease that is quite prevalent throughout Florida landscapes in the past few years is a disease called Sphaeropsis Knot or witches broom that is affecting Holly tree's around Pinellas and Pasco counties also . It is often fatal to the tree with no known cure. It is affecting mostly the East Palatka Holly specie for some reason , maybe because it is a cultivar? But it can be spread to other hollies if not removed . If you have a holly tree that looks like it is sparse and in decline then there is a good chance that it has this disease and should be removed immediately . Call Beechnut Tree for a free diagnosis and we can find out for sure. Here is a picture of a holly branch that I took that is affected by the disease. Notice the rips or tears along the branch . This and slight swelling of the branch areas is a sure sign.

     These are but a few examples of all of the diseases and disorders of tree's and plants affected in Central Florida. Then you have the problems and stresses on trees and plants caused by Man himself so there are a wide variety of problems that are to be considered when diagnosing trees. Beechnut tree service can find out what is going on with your plants and trees and if by chance we cannot we have the resources to find out. So in closing there are a lot of things out there that can affect the health of your trees and palms and a Certified arborist will be able to tell you more than any one . We also offer free tree diagnosis for anyone within a 10mile radius of New port richey . Thank you for reading . if you have any questions feel free to contact me at www.beechnutree.com