esrosedotblog

SEEDY

We are up to our ankles in palm seed. It is that time of the year; June. We live in a city of palms; thousands of them. The leaves grow out all year and then the tree puts out long seed pods which spew forth tan hulls; I guess they are the flowers. It is our 'snow'. But a satisfactory substitute because no matter how messy; no matter how 'everywhere' it gets inside and out; it is never ever cold. It is never ever wet and cold. It does not last any longer than a week.

As soon as there is enough 'bloom' the men come to trim the palms back. We do this to stop the husk/flower fall and to stop the seeds from maturing on the trees. The seeds create a second mess if you leave them up there; hard little balls that are just the right size to 'kill' when you step on them with the bare foot. We also want to head off the eventual germination of all those little seeds wherever they fall. They are hardy reproducers, these palm trees.

After you cut the seed pods down, there is still the decision about what to do with the palm fronds which will die and fall back to the trunk. Some people do not cut their leaves back but allow a fringe to grow. Others denude the tree to only three fronds. We do both. On the side where we have neighbors up the hill we have a twenty year dress on the trees to make a screen. It is also a habitat for birds, lizards, squirrels, snakes, rats and bats as well as a windfall for the neighborhood cats. It is like a city in there. The sky dusters and the trees along each 'street' are cut way back. We also strip the trunk of leaf husks before the wind does it. We like the look.