I'll have to try that. I got rid of two trees by fastening a cable near the top and pulling them over with my truck, roots amd all came out of the ground. There are two other stumps left that are a pain. I cant get enough leverage on them to pull them out.
Jimmie
If the stump is ball shaped, you may be able to insert a king size eye screw (or two) and wrench it out with a come along.
Palm root balls are fibrous. It won't happin captin.
It is far too late to help this guy but the trick with palm trees is to pull them over and lever the stump out before you cut them. Use a hose to loosen up the dirt, cut around them with an axe to get the surface roots and they will pull right over. You don't need a truck, a couple guys on a rope will do it if the rope is in the top of the tree
The one stump I pulled, I cut around it with a sawzall, and a LOT of blades. the teeth wore off, rapidly. Blades cheap enough from harbor Freight. Though, the alcohol fire sounds more rapid. And a lot less vibration injury.
In all my years I lost only two palm trees. Never worked too remove the roots. In the Mohave desert, the land is compacted, hard too dig into, my landscape..
I'm changing landscape. Some palms just will not work out here.
replying to norminn, MrDowntown wrote: The roots of a palm do not go very deep, but rather they go wide. They are very flexible, and cand bend in in extreme winds. The wide root base helps in keeping them rooted, the fiberous nature of the trunk is what keeps it from snapping (bend one dowel rod, and it snaps easy. Bend 6 dowel rods bound together from end to end, and they will flex without snapping). The fronds are not as strong as the trunk, they are more likely to snap of in high winds, and then just grow back later.
Palm wood is a nightmare to split, and does not burn well unless you make it look like shredded wheat (which isn't worth the trouble unless it's all you have to work with). To split it, it's best to chop it into short logs, and then split small pieces around the outside working your way into the middle. If you try to split it by hand down the middle, it will string up between the halves, and you will waste a lot of time trying to pull them apart. If you must go that route, a good ole fashioned hand saw, or pruners is a lot easier at clipping the strands in the middle.
I drove around taking photos during hurricane Charley (what can I say, I live dangerously). I saw a lot of palm trees nearly bent to the ground during that adventure. Most all of the trees that I saw break were not a palm variety. Ringed tree's can snap in hurricane force winds. We had a lot of trees to remove after the storm.
If you have the time, and the tools, a large self feeding auger bit down the middle will help rot it out faster.
Another thing you could do is dig it out around the base, and chop the roots with an axe, then drag it out with machinery, or a railroad tie tripod, and a winch after you have cut the large roots around the base to a depth of about 18".
replying to gfretwell, KW wrote: I burned my oak stump out. Cross-hatched cuts with a chain saw, ringed the stump with concrete block piled in the briquettes,list it on fire and covered it with my webber grill lid. Two bags of charcoal and two days and the stump was below grade. I think I will try the alcohol and water concoction mentioned above. After I cut a bowl in the stump.
First of all, he had a *palm stump*, not an oak like you.
Second, do you think he's been waiting *SEVEN YEARS* for your answer? You Home Moaners Nubs need to read dates!
replying to dadiOH, Beentherethoughtaboutit wrote: Very dangerous, do not do this, the force required will sling a several hundred pound stump at the vehicle at least as fast as a baseball pitch, you can be killed when it breaks free.
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