When I heard that local contractors in Florida were asking up to $50 to trim just one palm tree I thought I’d look into what would be the best pole saw for palm trees.
If you are looking to cut dead palm tree fronds or even seed pods, then forget the contractors and get yourself a pole saw, even if you use one just a few times a year it is likely to save you a fair few dollars.
I’m not a palm tree expert but from what I have read and understood on the subject you don’t want to be cutting them back to much anyway. You want to be getting rid of the dead and dying fronds. Also, some people don’t want the palms taking over their backyard and want to keep them manageable in size, so they might want to cut them back for that purpose.
Don’t cut back to many of the green health fronds as this will be detrimental for the health of your palm.
If you want a good step by step guide on how to trim a palm tree then I’d recommend this one from Wiki-How
If your palms are not too tall I would recommend a powered pole saw of some sort, that will cut through them with little effort. If you need to go higher and need a ladder then a manual saw might be what you are looking for especially when it comes to safety.
The longest electric pole saw we found was the Remington Ranger RM1035P which extends up to 10 feet.
So let’s explore some of your options when it comes to buying a pole saw for palm trees
| Image | Title | Prime | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
Top | Remington RM1035P Ranger II 8-Amp Electric 2-in-1 Pole Saw & Chainsaw with Telescoping Shaft and 10-Inch Bar for Tree Trimming and Pruning | PrimeEligible | CHECK AVAILABILITY ON AMAZON |
 | Sun Joe SWJ800E 8-Inch 6.5-Amp Telescoping Electric Pole Chain Saw with Automatic Chain Lubrication System | PrimeEligible | CHECK AVAILABILITY ON AMAZON |
 | BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Pole Saw, 8-Inch (LPP120) | PrimeEligible | CHECK AVAILABILITY ON AMAZON |
 | Happybuy Telescopic Pole Saw 6-24 Foot Extendable Telescopic Landscaping Pole Saw with 2-Foot Saw Blade for Pruning and Trimming Branches and Leaves (6-24 Feet) | Prime | CHECK AVAILABILITY ON AMAZON |
Cordless Pole Saws for Palm Trees
Unless you have a plantation of palm trees most households who require a powered pole saw of some description to use can get by with a battery-powered tool. While lacking the power of electric or even more powerful gas models they are easy to use and maintain and will be suitable for general trimming and cutting back of backyard trees.
The first model we are going to take a look at is a popular pole saw from Black & Decker, the LPP120 will reach up to around 14 feet and can be taken apart for easy storage. You can buy it with the 20-volt battery or without. Some people who already have B&D tools might already have the battery but a backup one is always worth having in my opinion.
Reading customer feedback on this product it seems many used it for cutting palm tree fronds. They found that it took a lot less energy using a powered pole saw than a manual though they only got around 45 minutes to an hour of work done before needing to recharge the battery.
In this time period, it was mentioned that you could get around 3 palm trees trimmed. It took around 5 minutes to cut a branch and a few seconds for a seed pod. Palm husks were a bit of a problem as they tended to get tangled up in the chain.
The Black & Decker cordless pole saw would be satisfactory for those who want to spend an hour or so on the weekend trimming trees but if you have tall palms or a lot of them you might need to have something more powerful on hand.
Best Electric Pole Saws for Palm Trees
We have a couple of good brand name pole saws to look at starting with the Sun Joe SWJ800E . With an electric pole saw you get a lightweight saw that is more powerful than a cordless and of course if you have a ready power supply can keep going for as long as you want it.
So going back to the Sun Joe SWJ800E which is one of the best selling electric pole saws [ we actually look at the full range of Sun Joe Pole Saw’s Here ] it is a real cliche and I hate to use it but I have read a couple of online reviews where they describe it as ‘cutting through palm tree fronds like butter’ not my words!
Many customers purchased it to use on their queen palms which also prompted comments regarding how much they had saved doing the job themselves.
Powerful enough for your palms, competitive pricing and easy to put together make this a good electric option. Some users did struggle with the weight when the tool was at full extension and this model does seem to be thirsty for chain oil but otherwise its a great buy and will save you paying a gardener to do the task.
Another popular brand is Remington specifically the Remington RM1035P Ranger II this is a 2 in 1 power tool as the pole saw can be easily converted to a chainsaw for dealing with all the branches once they are on the ground. If you don’t already own a chainsaw this is a nice bonus addition to your garden power tool collection!
Manual Pole Saws for Trimming Palm Trees
I’m lazy so if I can use a powered tool I will when I can. But there are a lot of good reasons for using a manual pole saw or pruner as well.
The first reason would be the height of the trees, yes you can trim branches up to 15 feet of the ground with a powered pole saw and if you want to take the risk, you can get up on a ladder to add some extra height though I really do advise against taking this risk.
Some of the manual pole saws I am going to recommend extend up to 24 feet so if you need length then these are going to be your best bet.
Another good reason is safety, some users just don’t feel confident using what is often described as a ‘chainsaw on a stick’ or a powered pole saw.
So the first manual saw we are going to look at is the Happybuy Telescopic Pole Saw which gives you a range from 6 to 24 Foot
The saw blade is constructed from Mn steel and the pole from an aluminum alloy so both the saw and pole are lightweight.
It has a nice ergonomic foam grip to make it easy on the hands. Reviews are favorable with one middle-aged woman commenting that she had trimmed 20 palm leaves without difficulty.
The pole comes in 4 sections there are also 3 section versions of this pole saw pruner that is 4-12 feet in length and 6-18 feet if you still require a manual version but don’t need 24 foot.
The tool does need to be assembled and it doesn’t arrive with instructions so you will have to figure out how to put it together.
Apart from the lack of instructions and a fairly unknown brand name, this saw seems to be well received by its users.
Conclusion
So depending on how you like your tools powered electric, battery or good old manpower all these pole saws should do the job in trimming your palm trees and hopefully save you some money in the process.