Quote:
Originally Posted by mtuk100
I have two very large palms (Cordyline australis, the Cabbage Palm) at front and rear of my house. They are around 15 feet high and blocking light to my house and potentially causing subsidence. Can they be pruned back to half their size (would require removal of all foliage) without killing them or do they need to be removed? Thanks. Martin
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Hi Martin, Yes, you can cut them back and now is a good time to do so. I'd cut them off about 3ft above the ground (through the trunk) with a view to making them shoot again from the base (they dont normally shoot again from the trunk but very occasionally they do). Once these new shoots are about 2 ft tall, I'd thin them out to just 3 per plant, then you will end up with 3 trunks. If you leave all the shoots that emerge at the base, you will end up with a very dense bush ! One final thing,it may take a while for these new basal shoots to emerge, so dont panic if they take a while.
Doing the above, is exactly the same as if the cold winter has killed the trunk, they will normally come again from the base as described above.
Cordylines have a mass if fibreous roots (along with often a tap root) so its unlikely that they will damage your house, unless they are extremely close.
best wishes, Lannerman.