carve into live palms?

Anyone know if you can carve into live palms? I know there is a risk of killing a tree due to sickness/disease etc but will it die otherwise? Just curious. Ive seen a few newely caved examples online but who knows what they looks like after a few months. Any info is much appreciated! Thanks- :tiki: Noyes

Since there is already concern for the tree, I suggest re-purposing an already fallen palm tree and have that carved into a tiki that way it can be moved when the owners of the tiki move. If the property that has a tiki carved into a live tree or dead tree is to be sold the seller might have to cut down the tree in order to sell the property, thereby ruining part of the charm of the property.

Then, if it is on city property it could be $10,000 worth of bad mana.

Mana good when mana good but, when mana bad mana very very baaad. Sorry I sound like Grog. :)

It is OK to tattoo yourself and pierce your own doodads but, not so cool on other living things.

My auntie thinks I am going to hell because I bow to a false idol. :blush: :roll:

here in phoenix there was a guy , her Had a nursery and the had some pretty big palms on the property, well he had a guy cave them and that was years ago and they are still growing strong, very cool, they were not city palms. Scott w aka tikibad

Hey Justin,
Just noticed where you are. My niece is 40 miles south of you.

We get about six inches of rain in the winter/spring. Whereas you might get three inches by 3pm. So, aside from carving into the live tree your flora will grow 20 times before ours grows once.

Here's an old thread; guy carved tikis into the live palms in front of his house. Turned out they were on city property, city decided the carving weakened the trees and made a liability for the city. City chopped down the trees and charged the carver "several thousand dollars" to replace the trees.
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=29318&forum=1

Here is a pic of a tree that is stil alive in my neighborhood.

Here in FL you have to be extra careful. Sabal palms (the state tree) is protected by state law and can be subject to a hefty fine. I would suggest sticking to the dead ones.

Thanks for all the helpful info! The palm I was asking about specifically is one they are taking down completely but rather than remove the palm, customer want me to carve after the tops chopped and the "post" cures for a bit I do some carvin. I was mainly curious If there was any reason for me to try & convince them to leave some green on the top. I figure it'll still be secure afterwards-seen a few dead freestading palmtree "totempoles" that carvers have carved. Kinda figured there might have been a reason not too many live palm carvins around. Thanks again! Ill put some progressive pics on TC in a bit.
:tiki: -noyes

I'm not sure I would do one again, for various reasons, but this is a photo of a tiki I did in a live tree here in Florida. The carving was done about 18 months ago. It sits at the edge of a bulkhead on the intracoastal waterway in Jacksonville beach. The tree is still very much alive and growing quite well. I did however have to put some serious commitment into this project after the carving.

Once a tree has been injured (and let's face it - that is what we are talking about here), it becomes very sensitive to pests and disease. I oiled the wounds with linseed oil and cleaned the surrounding area at least every 3 days for about a month & a half. Since then I have been very careful to re-apply oil & check for pests about every 2 months. I am very confident that this tree will survive as long as continued care is given. I am also very confident it would die without constant care.

There is a company around the corner from where I live that sells soil, mulch, stones etc. that also has a tiki carver working there. I have seen MANY live trees become tikis there only to die & rot into sad slumped over empty tubes of bark.

Unfortunately, carving a dead tree that has had the top removed often faces similar consequences. The roots continue to draw moisture into a tree that is no longer using the water, causing the wood to rot and/or become infested with pests. I have seen examples of hardwoods that did fine in this situation, but not palms.

I also have to say that at the time I carved this I may not have thought it all the way through. Erik the Red said some very important things earlier in this post that must be considered.

Tyler

Thats a serious carvin! Lots to think about for sure. I hate the thought of seeing this tree put out to the refuse pile(I would snag the logs anyway!) Not to metion its a gig & I dont want to lose the acct. I suppose we could hack it at the base & reintall it later on like usual. Although I live right down the street from the project so I suppose I could keep an eye on the wear/condition but thats a bit overkill once hes been teaked out. Its no a vey big tiki pole so hopefully that will help in our favor against a topheavy rot situation. Lots of knwledge here on TC! Thanks again :tiki:
-Noyes

Dig em up and flip them over. Rootballs are fun.