Does Driving a Nail Into a Palm Tree Hurt the Tree?

Palm trunks don't heal when injured by something like a nail. University of California Extension specialists advise against using anything that makes puncture wounds, such as nails or climbing spikes, in palms. Besides permanently injuring the palm, the nail hole can provide an entry point for diseases. Avoid wounding a palm trunk, including using string trimmers to clear weeds or grass around the palm's base.

Palm trees have a more pithy trunk texture than do conventional branching shade trees. Over 2,500 kinds of palms, native mostly to tropical and subtropical areas, belong to about 200 different genera. Palm trees are in the monocot division of flowering plants that have only one seed leaf and are related to grasses and lilies. Injured trunks of branching woody trees, which are classed as dicots and have two seed leaves, can form wound-healing tissues over time if treated correctly. Palm trees don't have this capability, however.

A newly transplanted palm tree may need firm, temporary support until the roots become established enough to maintain the trunk in an upright position. Rather than using nails to attach a palm to stakes or supports, pad the palm trunk with burlap in the areas the supports will contact, using twine to hold the burlap in place. Use at least three stakes that are 2 feet longer than needed and short blocks of wood for each stake used. Attach the short blocks with wire above the burlap so they're between the support and the palm trunk. Then nail the supports into the wooden blocks.

Palm trees vary greatly in trunk shape and texture. Many kinds of palms have trunks covered with old leaves, spines or hard, trimmed bases of dead leaves, making it difficult for a nail to enter the trunk beneath. Larger-diameter, smooth-trunked palms such as trimmed-up Canary Island date palms (Phoenix canariensis) are probably more prone to puncture damage by such things as posting signs, attaching gardening implements or outdoor furniture. In smooth-trunked palms, even short nails may penetrate to living tissue. Windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) ) is an example of a palm trunk protected by hard, trimmed leaf bases. Both palms are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 10.

Palm tree pathogens such as fusarium wilt, pink rot and crown rot are most likely to spread with unclean pruning tools that carry diseases from tree to tree, directly introducing them into the wounds made during leaf trimming. Unlike pruning tools, nails aren't usually transferred from tree to tree, but the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program explains that wounds make pathogen entry easier and increase infection risk.