Palm Tree Removal in Gauteng
Palm tree removal is a different job from felling a tree, and we do it across Gauteng every week. A palm has no branches to rig from, so it cannot be dismantled the way an oak or a gum can. Our climber goes up the trunk, strips the crown, then cuts the trunk down in rings from the top, with each section roped to the ground crew so nothing lands on your paving, pool or wall. We grind the stump if you want it gone, and every frond and ring of trunk leaves with us.
If your palm has outgrown the garden, is dropping fronds and seed pods onto cars and into the pool, is lifting paving, or has a crown you can no longer reach to trim, this page tells you what removal involves, what it costs, and whether anyone will take the palm off your hands for free. Tree Felling Guys has been doing this for ten years, we are fully insured, and you get a written price before anyone climbs.
Can You Sell Your Palm Tree, or Get It Removed for Free?
Half the people who search for palm tree removal are hoping to be paid for it, so here is the honest answer before anything else.
A palm is only worth money to a buyer if it can be lifted out alive with its root ball intact, transported, and replanted. That needs a tree spade or a crane, a truck, and a palm that is small enough to survive the move, usually under 4 metres of clear trunk. For a palm that size, a nursery or landscaper might collect it for free or pay a few hundred rand, and it is worth phoning a palm nursery in your area to ask. For a mature Phoenix, Washingtonia or queen palm at 8, 12 or 15 metres, the lift costs more than a new palm from a nursery, so nobody buys them and nobody collects them for free. That is why the "palm tree buyers" searches lead to nurseries selling palms, not buying them.
What we can do is price the removal honestly and leave you with a clean site. We do not buy palms and we do not remove them for free, and any company that says it will is either taking only the small ones or has not seen yours yet.
Why Palms Come Out
Most palm removals in Gauteng come down to one of five problems, and the species usually tells us which.
- check_circlePhoenix palms (Canary Island date palms) grow too big for a suburban stand. At 7 metres and up the crown is three metres across, the fronds have spines that go through a glove, and trimming becomes a job for a climber every year. Removal often costs less than three more years of trimming.
- check_circleWashingtonia palms (the tall skinny ones) develop a lean and keep growing. A 20-metre Washingtonia on a boundary wall is a falling risk in a Highveld storm, and the dead-frond skirt that builds up on an untrimmed one is a rat and fire problem.
- check_circleQueen palms (Syagrus) drop seed pods by the thousand. The pods rot on paving, stain pool decks, attract rats, and sprout everywhere.
- check_circleDate palms send out aggressive roots that lift paving and crack pool surrounds.
- check_circleAny palm planted a metre from the house in the 1990s, now with a crown over the roof and no way to reach it.
If the palm is healthy and only the fronds are the problem, palm trimming is the cheaper fix. We clear dead fronds and seed pods without cutting into the growing crown, which keeps the palm alive and tidy for another year or two. Our arborist will tell you which your palm needs.
How We Remove a Palm Tree
- 1Assess. Species, height, lean, what is under it, and whether a bakkie and chipper can get close. This is what the written quote is based on.
- 2Strip the crown. The climber goes up on spikes or from a platform, cuts the fronds and seed heads first, and lowers them in bundles. On a Phoenix this is the dangerous part, because the spines are long and the fronds are heavy.
- 3Section the trunk. With the crown gone, the trunk comes down in rings from the top, each one roped and lowered. A palm trunk is fibrous and heavy with water, so a one-metre ring of a mature Phoenix can weigh over 100 kilograms. Nothing is dropped near a roof or wall.
- 4Grind the stump. Palm roots are a dense fibrous ball rather than deep spreading roots, so a palm stump grinds out faster and cheaper than a hardwood stump of the same size. See stump grinding and removal.
- 5Clear the site. Fronds and trunk rings go on the truck. Palm wood does not chip well and has no firewood value, so it is removed whole. The site is swept before we leave.
Most single palms are done in half a day. A row of Washingtonias along a boundary, or a 15-metre Phoenix over a house, is a full day with a crew.
Palm Tree Removal Cost in Gauteng
Palm tree removal in Gauteng costs from about R1,000 for a small palm with clear access to R6,000 or more for a tall palm over a roof, pool or boundary wall. Height and access set the price. Species matters too: a Phoenix costs more to remove than a Washingtonia of the same height because the crown is heavier and the spines slow the climber down.
| Palm | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Small palm, up to 4m, clear access | R1,000 to R2,000 |
| Medium palm, 4m to 8m | R2,000 to R4,000 |
| Tall palm, 8m and up, or any palm over a roof, pool or wall | R4,000 to R6,000+ |
| Palm stump grinding | from R500, quoted with the removal |
Several palms on one visit are priced as one job, which brings the cost per palm down. Stump grinding is its own line so you only pay for it if you want it. Full ranges are on our tree felling prices page, and photos get you a written figure, usually the same day.
Do You Need Permission to Remove a Palm?
Not for a palm on your own property. The common garden palms in Gauteng are exotics and none of them are on the national protected tree list, so no licence applies. A palm on the pavement outside your wall belongs to the municipality, and in Johannesburg only City Parks may remove it. Our guide to tree felling permits and bylaws in Gauteng has the detail.
Do Not Poison a Palm
People search for what kills a palm quickly, and the answer is that you should not try. A poisoned palm dies standing, the crown collapses onto whatever is below it, and the trunk becomes brittle and dangerous to climb, which makes the eventual removal harder and more expensive. A palm does not regrow from a cut stump either, unlike a gum or a syringa, because it has a single growing point at the top of the trunk. Cut the crown off and the palm is dead. Removal is the kill.
Palm Tree Removal FAQ
What is the best way to get rid of a palm tree?
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Cut the crown off and section the trunk down from the top, then grind the stump. A palm has one growing point at the top, so removing the crown kills it and it does not regrow. Do not poison it; a dead standing palm is more dangerous to remove than a live one.
How much does it cost to remove a palm tree stump?
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From around R500 for a small palm stump, quoted with the removal. Palm roots are a shallow fibrous ball, not deep spreading roots, so a palm stump grinds out faster and cheaper than a hardwood stump of the same width.
How deep do palm tree roots go?
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Shallow. Palm roots form a dense fibrous mat in the top 30 to 60 centimetres of soil and spread sideways rather than down. That is why a tall palm can lean, and why the stump is easy to grind, but also why date palm roots lift paving: they run just under the surface.
Will anyone buy my palm tree or remove it for free?
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Only if it is small enough to lift out alive, usually under 4 metres of trunk, and even then you are more likely to get free collection than cash. Mature palms cost more to lift and transport than a new nursery palm costs to buy, so there is no market for them. Phone a palm nursery for a small one; for anything bigger, removal is the only route.
When should a palm tree be removed?
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When it leans, when the crown is over a roof or pool and you cannot reach it to trim, when roots are lifting paving, when a Phoenix has outgrown the stand, or when the yearly trimming is costing more than removal would. A dead or borer-damaged palm should come out straight away.
Do palm trees grow back if you cut them down?
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No. A palm has a single growing point in the crown. Once the crown is cut off, the palm is dead and nothing regrows from the trunk or stump. The stump still has to be ground out if you want the space back.
How long does it take to remove a palm tree?
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Half a day for most single palms with clear access. A tall Phoenix over a house, or a row of palms along a boundary, is a full day with a crew.
Can you remove a palm near power lines?
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Where fronds or the trunk could reach a live line, we do not cut until the line has been made safe by the utility, and we tell you how that is arranged. We plan every lowering away from live cable.
Do you trim palms as well as remove them?
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Yes. If the palm is healthy and the fronds are the only problem, trimming is cheaper than removal. We clear dead fronds and seed pods without cutting into the crown. See our tree trimming and pruning page.
Get a Free Palm Tree Removal Quote
Send a photo of the palm from a distance, one of the base, and your suburb, and you get a written quote with the stump and clean-up listed, usually the same day. For a row of palms or a tall one over the house, we come and look first.
We remove palms everywhere we do tree felling in Gauteng, from Sandton and Randburg to Pretoria East and the East Rand. See the full list of areas we serve.