The premise
There are two reasons people want a palm gone without killing it. Either they want it somewhere else on the property, or somebody else wants it and will take it away. Both are realistic with palms in a way they are not with most trees.
What is not realistic is cutting the top off and expecting regrowth. A palm has one growing point at the crown. Remove it and the palm is finished, no matter how healthy the trunk looks. Height reduction is not an option on a palm — the only way to keep it alive is to move the whole thing.
Which palms move well
Cocos (queen), Alexandra, Bangalow, foxtail, golden cane and cabbage palms all relocate reasonably on the Gold Coast. Single-trunk palms move as individuals. Golden cane clumps can be divided and moved as sections, which is often easier because each section is lighter.
Canary Island date palms move well but are heavy, spiny and generally a machine job. Very tall specimens of anything become a crane job, and the cost usually exceeds buying a replacement.
Timing
Late spring into early summer, when the soil is warm. Root regeneration in palms is temperature-driven, and a palm that goes into cold ground will sit without rooting and slowly dehydrate through its crown.
On the Gold Coast that means roughly October through December. It is possible in the wet season, and the rainfall helps, but saturated ground makes the digging and the transport miserable and the new hole can stay waterlogged.
Preparation
Water the palm thoroughly for several days before the move. A hydrated palm handles the shock far better and the root ball holds together rather than crumbling.
Tie the fronds up. Gather them gently and bind them upward around the growing point with soft rope or hessian. This protects the growing point, reduces water loss dramatically, and makes the palm far easier to handle. Do not strip the fronds off — leave them on, tied.
Have the new hole dug before you lift. A palm sitting on a lawn with its roots exposed to a Gold Coast afternoon is losing viability by the minute.
Lifting
Mark a circle at your chosen radius and cut straight down through the soil with a sharp spade all the way around, severing roots cleanly rather than tearing them. Go to depth, then undercut to free the base of the ball.
Slide hessian or a tarp underneath and lever the ball out — for anything over a couple of metres this is a machine job, not a lift. Keep the ball intact and keep it moist. Wrap it if the palm is going any distance.
Replanting
The new hole should be about twice the width of the root ball and no deeper than the ball itself. Do not plant deeper than it was growing. Burying the trunk base is one of the most common causes of transplant failure — it rots the trunk at ground level.
Backfill with the native soil rather than a rich potting mix, firm it gently to remove air pockets, and build a watering basin around the edge. Stake or brace tall palms for the first six to twelve months; the new root system has nothing to hold against wind, and the Gold Coast supplies plenty of that.
Aftercare
Water deeply every day for the first two weeks, then taper to every second or third day for the next couple of months. This is the part that decides the outcome and it is the part people abandon.
Do not fertilise for the first two to three months. New roots are damaged by fertiliser salts and the palm is not growing enough to use them. After that, a palm-specific fertiliser with potassium and magnesium.
Leave the fronds tied for six to eight weeks. Expect some frond loss — the older fronds yellowing and dying back is normal and is the palm balancing its crown against the root system it has left. Do not cut green fronds off to "help".
When it will not work
Very tall palms without crane access. Palms already in poor health. Palms in the middle of winter. And palms where the root ball cannot be kept intact because of rock, paving or services in the way.
If the palm has to go and cannot be moved, see the removal guide or palm removal. For the transplanting mechanics on palms specifically, the palm transplant guide goes further.
Ring (07) 5230 8034. More on the blog.
Frequently asked questions
Why do palms survive transplanting better than trees?
Because of how they root. A tree depends on a spreading network of lateral roots, and severing them destroys the water supply to the crown. A palm produces adventitious roots continuously from the base of the trunk, so even after the root ball is cut it can push out an entirely new root system. Many palm species regenerate roots readily once replanted and watered.
How big does the root ball need to be?
As a working rule, a radius of about 30cm out from the trunk for a small palm and up to 60cm or more for a mature one, with similar depth. Bigger is not automatically better — the weight becomes unmanageable and palms do not need the volume a tree would. What matters more is keeping the ball intact and the roots moist from the moment it leaves the ground.
What time of year should I move a palm on the Gold Coast?
Late spring into early summer, once soil temperatures are genuinely warm and before the worst of the heat. Warm soil is what drives new root growth, and a palm moved into cold soil sits there without rooting and often fails. Avoid moving palms in mid-winter, and avoid the peak of the February heat if you cannot commit to daily watering.