Question
QUESTION: I have planted 3 areca palms outside of a window to create a privacy/light
filter.....can I control the height of them by trimming the tallest ones when
they reach the height I want?  Is this realistically possible or am I going to
have a problem with them hitting my roof overhang?  (I am very diligent in
my yard and will do what I have to do ...so they won't be neglected, by any
means)

Thank you!

ANSWER: Hey, Kristi.

Generally you don't want to cut off the top of a palm tree. However, I have seen areca palms successful topped with the main stem then dying and several new shoots coming out at the bottom. Palms, of course, are known for their long main trunk, so generally they don't make good privacy screens because of that and because they grow fairly slowly. If you're going to try, plant several of them and and then top them at different times so that you always have some younger ones growing closer to the ground to maintain the privacy screen. Outdoors the areca palm can get to twenty feet high.

Hope that helps.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: It does.  Thank you.  Do you recommend that I move them now while they are
only 4 feet high to prevent them from hitting the roof?  Or by topping them
as you have described, can I keep them at a safe height?  I guess my question
is, will the stalks get really thick like tall ones I've seen, or can I prevent this
by topping?

Thanks!

Answer
Hey, Kristi.

I think the only thing that topping will do is kill the main stalk and force more shoots to come up from the bottom of the trunk. Areca palms like to send up shoots naturally anyway, so perhaps by the time the trunk gets too high, you'll already have some new shoots that are about 4-6 feet high to keep that privacy screen.

However, I would be inclined to move them now and plant something that grows faster to provide your privacy screen. Have you considered some hedge bushes like pittosporum (comes in a real nice variegated form), ligustrum (full of aromatic blossoms), natal plum (good flowers and large purple fruit, but the thorns can be problematic), boxwood, or lantana.