Question about Mexican fan Palm Tree's

Question

Okay I dont really know much about Palm tree's but, I want to know how long does it take for a Mexican Fan Palm Tree to grow full height. I live out here in Texas by Houston. I have one i put in 1 1/2 years ago, and alltogether its about 6ft tall but the trunk or whatever is like 4ft tall. And is it okay to cut some of the Palm leafs off? Does it speed up the growth?

Answer 1

The palm gets its energy thru the fronds as long as the fronds are green. Once they turn brown then you can cut them.  If the lower fronds are in the way you can cut the lower ones.  Look at the palm as a clock and never cut branches higher then 9 to 3.  Its going to take a few years to get any appreciable height.  Of course, once it gets high enough to where you can't reach the fronds on a ladder then you have a whole new set of problems.  You have to hire someone with a cherry picker to trim it.  That's still a few years off.