It's a palm and not dead at all. In fact, best I can tell, it looks perfectly heathy. Those are just old fronds hanging off it and they can be removed for aesthetics and to eliminate hiding spots for unwanted visitors. Like rats.......

Gardengal, I can’t figure out a way to contact you directly exactly, but would like to relating to helpful comments you posted about a 2 vs 4 year horticultural education. I am a physician and had a biology degree from a 4-yr college, mind you, a while ago. I have been entertaining and now seriously looking into gaining a formal horticultural education and degree. I would like to do garden design, or one of many possible careers this degree may offer. I always loved growing plants, but this year, redirected my doctor energy into massive research, planning and finally practical application in my backyard. Started growing indoors, then designed a huge outdoor garden, graduating into “design input” and likely irritation of the landscape designer hired by my family. I ended up learning about so much and truly enjoy it.

I am curious as to programs you would recommend to complete such a degree. I live in the Boston area, but also have roots in the Pennsylvania area as well as a willingness to go anywhere really. I want to learn, research, but then practice in the field. I have and would like to continue to have my hands in the dirt rather than in a lab.

Ok. Hope you are enjoying your June.
Warmest regards,
Abby

Wow. That’s great to hear! As far as the removing old fronds, should i hire a professional or is it something i can do as a DIY?

Depends on how comfortable you are using a suitably tall ladder :-) They should pull off easily....just a matter of reaching them.

Abby, you can private message me by clicking on the message tab on my profile page.

its not the tall ladder.. its the ladder.. plus the saw.. plus this thing called gravity ...

when dropping limbs or fronds from height .. if the limb .. on the way down ...knocks the ladder over.. gravity insists you fly towards the ground ...

luck defines whether you hit your head on the structure on the way down ...

be safe.. hire it out ... and make sure they have active insurance like all good tree guys have ....

ken

ps: on honeymoon on bora bora.. we spent an enjoyable hour watching this being done by the natives.. ladder smadder.. who needs that .. lol ...

pps: i usually link to videos.. but in this case i dont want to give you any bright ideas ... lol

abby.. contact gal directly.. by starting your own post on the topic .... addressed to the group.. and asking for help.. rather than hijacking this unrelated post ...

someone will offer guidance ...

ken

Our variety, like yours, has dead fronds. I need to learn- here's online:

"The bottom fronds of some palms like Mexican fan palms and the California fan palm (W. filifera, the only palm native to California) turn brown. Some will fall off of their own accord, but others stay put. In that case, the owner may want to trim them off for aesthetic reasons."

Lol. Thanks Ken. Hiring it out makes more sense.

ken, the fronds are just big leaves! They are not heavy and no saw is required. When they are brown and hanging down like that they are dry and dead and snap or tear off easily. In fact, removing them is a far simpler and less hazardous task than the routine pruning required for productive fruit trees or shade tree maintenance.

And no skill required! I'd just make sure someone else was around to steady the ladder if I didn't have an orchard ladder handy.

Mine is shorter, with long fronds. It isn't easy: I held onto one, twisted it around as though wringing out something wet, again and again.

Too cheap to hire someone. [Now it's too tall though.]

Check this, just for info: Dead brown leaves / the skirt hanging from a palm tree doesn’t hurt the tree; in fact, they help shade the trunk from strong sunshine, and will provide bird-nesting sites, but they can be a fire hazard and sometimes harbor yellowjackets. If you trim a palm’s skirt, don’t do it in the summer; the fierce summer sun will scorch the previously shaded trunk.

It’s not too expensive a job and by a pro will be done in a few minutes. If you have the necessary equipment to get up there and do it safely it is not difficult, I’m sure.

Some palms will easily shed the fronds with a good tug. Some won't. They have to be cut off with a sharp instrument. The Washingtonia in this case has all the leaf bases firmly attached to the trunk almost to the ground. This is a cut the fronds off palm. The stem margins on the fronds are lined with very stout, recurved thorns that will happily rip your flesh on the way down. Proceed at your own risk, but yes it can be DIY for someone who knows that palm is not dying and the hanging brown fronds are as normal as could be.

Awww it's a healthy baby palm! Watch the teeth on those. :)

Some trash services don't want palm fronds in their green waste cans so check ahead of time so you don't have to handle them twice. (They can be hard to compost.)

Over time …the way these fronds are removed can leave an ugly mess or nice neat layers of cut fronds..get a pro to do it …if you live where palms are common the cost will be surprisingly inexpensive….

I'd go pro. Those serrated petioles are nasty. AND you don't know what critters are hiding in the canopy -- rodents, hornets, etc. Or just have the palm removed. It's only going to get taller and taller.

That tree is very much alive and just needs a little grooming. It will be worth it to hire a reputable tree service to saw the fronds off neatly. They cannot be pulled off. They will wear proper protection as sometimes insects nest (speaking from experience, here) and the fronds are spiky and will sting if you get poked. A good arborist will also shave the trunk so it looks nice and neat.