# Identifying a kind of palm tree **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919 "2017-06-26T15:26:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/1 "2017-06-26T15:26:48Z")
Specifically, I want to know what kind of a palm tree has grown–unassisted by us–in a planter in our yard. It’s about 5 feet tall, and has fronds with wide heads and sharp, serrated stalks. We’re having it sawn down flush with the ground, and I’d like to know what kind of root structure it would have. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/2 "2017-06-26T17:12:42Z")
[Mexican Fan palm.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washingtonia_robusta) They re-seed themselves like crazy. I saw one growing out of the sound-barrier wall on the freeway just yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/3 "2017-06-26T19:29:53Z")
The handyman has come, and sheared the trees off! Only the stumps remain. What’s the best way to get rid of the roots? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/4 "2017-06-26T19:36:49Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > The handyman has come, and sheared the trees off! Only the stumps remain. What’s the best way to get rid of the roots? They have a very shallow root system - just dig around the base, and dig out the stump. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/5 "2017-06-26T20:36:21Z")
If the tree only grew to 5 feet, how deep will the roots have gone? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/6 "2017-06-26T20:49:59Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > If the tree only grew to 5 feet, how deep will the roots have gone? They don’t have a taproot. Most of the roots grow out from the base. Just cut through them with a shovel. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/7 "2017-07-15T15:19:01Z")
We got a compound from Home Depot, to use on the stumps. We drilled several holes in each stump; then poured the compound in the holes; and once a day I pour hot water in the holes. The instructions on the bottle say the natural course of decomposition will take 4 to 6 weeks; I wonder how long I should wait before I attack the stumps with my mattock. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/8 "2017-07-15T16:02:16Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > We got a compound from Home Depot, to use on the stumps. We drilled several holes in each stump; then poured the compound in the holes; and once a day I pour hot water in the holes. The instructions on the bottle say the natural course of decomposition will take 4 to 6 weeks; I wonder how long I should wait before I attack the stumps with my mattock. I think this is a waste of time. **beowulff** is right, the roots are shallow, and for a tree that was only 5 feet tall, you should be able to dig them out unassisted. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/9 "2017-07-15T16:15:20Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > We got a compound from Home Depot, to use on the stumps. We drilled several holes in each stump; then poured the compound in the holes; and once a day I pour hot water in the holes. The instructions on the bottle say the natural course of decomposition will take 4 to 6 weeks; I wonder how long I should wait before I attack the stumps with my mattock. Five feet of trunk or five feet to the top of the highest frond? ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/10 "2017-07-15T17:22:36Z")
Five feet to the top of the fronds. With fronds like these you don’t need anemones. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/11 "2017-07-15T17:30:44Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > We got a compound from Home Depot … [snip] \ That compound from Home Depot will work better if you mix in some sulfur available on the next aisle over … even better if you grind up some BBQ brickets and mix that in … \ If that compound is saltpeter, mixing it with sulfur and carbon makes gunpowder … probably not the way you want to get rid of the stump … ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/12 "2017-07-15T17:37:41Z")
CERTAINLY not! The stumps are less than one foot from our west wall! We would get rid of more than the \*stumps \* that way! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/13 "2017-07-15T20:06:11Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > CERTAINLY not! The stumps are less than one foot from our west wall! We would get rid of more than the \*stumps \* that way! :eek: Understood … a _very very_ wise choice … The stump will disappear on it’s own eventually … it’s a nuisance and an eye sore in the mean time … you can remove it “easily” using your magic potion … or you can remove it “quickly” with a shovel and axe … if you want “quick” and “easy” together, you’ll need a backhoe (or dynamite) … ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/14 "2017-07-15T20:48:35Z")
I think, though, as far as the park management is concerned that’s a no-no. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/15 "2017-07-15T22:19:36Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Five feet to the top of the fronds. > With fronds like these you don’t need anemones. You should be able to dig up the whole palm and its root ball with a good sharp shovel and pick. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/16 "2017-07-15T23:35:43Z")
Ghetto idea! No experience with palms but, i’ve gone to digging out a little bowl in the stump and dumping a certain type of root killer and water in it for a few days will help to remove it. If you don’t have a winch, dig around it enough to “grab”, attach a chain to a trailer hitch, put car in first gear, and pull slowly. Worked for me the one time I tried it. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-a-kind-of-palm-tree/789919/17 "2017-07-15T23:56:04Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > You should be able to dig up the whole palm and its root ball with a good sharp shovel and pick. I said I have a mattock…