What is an easy way to remove sago palm

Question

We have 2 sago palms in the front yard against the house.  They keep getting new shoots around the bottom and those have to cut off constantly.  How can I get rid of the palms completely?

Douglas Hunt · Answer

I'd put an ad on Craigslist and offer them free to someone who will come and dig them out. Mature sagos are expensive, and I think you would have a lot of takers.

Rita Doyle · Answer

I agree with Doug on this one! I had a nice long comment to make and went to send .....lost it! so mad! I had it detailed out how to do it! but the computer 'BURPED' and poof it was gone! I'm not going to re-iterate all that I typed just suffice to know ....if nature planted them there...I'd mark the north of the plant and re-plant it in your yard! I have paid upwards of $799 for 1 plant in my yard only for the fact that I LOVE Segos! they are Hypo-allergenic and I don't have to fuss over them! IMHO~ Dig them up like you would any other plant you wanted to get rid of is the best answer I could give! without care BUT! KNOW that your throwing away a great deal of $$ that other people would love to own!

Claudia Watts · Answer

Thanks to both of you, Doug & Rita for your help. Leaving the palms in place and some how cutting off the big shoots around the bottom would also be good, but what would I use to cut them off? I've tried kicking them and nothing moves, they are really tough and pretty large. Any other ideas? Wonder if stump rot would work and not kill the whole palm?

Vicki · Answer

those of us here in the midwest would love to have them for houseplants as we cant grow them outside :(

Coco Tree Service Corp · Answer

A great way to get rid of a plant is to email a local plant lovers email list. Maybe some permaculture lists. There is very likely someone quite happy to come and do all the labor to come remove it for you because they want it.
If you are concerned about it growing back from roots, cover the area with black plastic to deprive the area of sunlight and moisture. The hot sun on the black plastic might cool the roots too.

Claudia Watts · Answer

Thank you for sharing this information with me. I'm going to cut off the new green growth and put the black plastic over the stumps I want to die. You didn't say but I thought I'd use my black garbage bags, hopefully this will work. If this works, I'll leave the palms in and if not I'll go back to having them totally removed.

Claudia Watts · Answer

Hello again, finally got my photo's uploaded. These are the before and after putting the black plastic bags around the base of palm. Also, one picture shows the upper part of the palm that looks like it has a problem (moldy looking), is it sick and if so what can be done?

Douglas Hunt · Answer

Claudia, that sago is really much too close to your house. It's a very valuable plant, however, and I'm sure you could sell it to someone looking for a specimen sago. I have to say that I don't like the idea of that black plastic bag around the base, either. You're going to concentrate heat and moisture around the roots of plant, not just the offsets you want to get rid of. The problem you most have to worry about with sagos is Asian scale, and I don't see any sign of that. There's anecdotal evidence that coffee grounds do a lot of good things for sago palms. If you keep the plant, you might want to spread some around the base twice a year.

Claudia Watts · Answer

Do you think the foundation of the house may have a problem due to the sago being too close? We are experiencing foundation problems on that side of the house. I don't know, do the roots run deep on these palms? Also, I'll remove the black plastic but I thought that was going to keep the baby pups from continuing to grow. Do you think I should dig these up because of being too close to the house? And would it be too hard for me to do this myself, I'm no a young person, or should I get someone else to do the digging? Finally, I certainly appreciate all your recommendations and help.

Claudia Watts · Answer

Thank you for the advice, I'm going to do as you recommend..

Diana Boos · Answer

Just and FYI Sago Palm is highly toxic plant to dogs. They have to be removed carefully because even a small portion of any part of the plant can kill a dog. Just ask me who had a dog spend 3 days in ICU at U of FL vet school from eating part of the plant.

Patricia Brannan · Answer

I removed all the fronds and Just added salt, baking soda and water to a watering can and poured over the plant, I know baking soda kills the weeds in my yard so I'm going to try it. I made a moat around the bottom so there would be no run offs. I'll let you know what happens.

Laurie Anne Hill · Answer

We just removed a sick 40 year old sago from the front yard. What is left of the stump and roots remain in the hole. Do we need to use something to kill what is left of the root? And if so what? glyphosate herbicide? How long should we wait to plant something else in that area? The main part of the plant was rotten inside. It's had scale for years. Thank You for your time,

Laurie

What is an easy way to remove sago palm

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What is an easy way to remove sago palm

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