Question
How to trim or graft palm back so that I can keep it in the house over the winter months, without killing it?  

Present size:  planter 24" x 18", plant is 20" dia. at base/ 8' tall, estimate age 100 yrs.  I've had it since 1978 and figured it to be 70 yrs old than.  it has three shoots coming off the main stem.  Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Respectfully
Dean  

Answer
Dean,

I agree, if you can possibly wait I would also wait until you can put it outside and follow the instructions to air layer it as soon as you put it outsice. Then it has plenty of time to root  and the base will start growing a new top before it has to come back indoors. You will then have 2 plants. You can keep both or give 1 away. Good luck.

Darlene

Dean,

This is the wrong time of year to do anything to it. It is best done in the spring when the days are getting longer, not now when the days are getting shorter and the plant is going into a semi dormant period.

If it were spring I would reccommend air layering the top off. Directions can be found at: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/ornamentals/airlayer/airlayer.html
It is a fairly easy process but it takes time. Once you cut off the rooted top and pot it up in a new pot the original plant will probably produce new shoots and a new top.

Since you need to get the plant indoors soon and probably don't have the time to wait for air layering the only thing you can do this time of year would be to cut off the top, let it dry for 2 days and use rooting homone on the base of it then pot it in cactus soil and give it just a little water to lightly moisten the soil. Then put a large clear plastic bag over the whole thing to form a greenhouse environment so it has a chance to root. Then hang a flourescent 2 tube light fixture over it and keep it on for at least 14 hours a day. That will give you a 50/50 chance it will root. It may loose a lot of the leaves. Don't worry too much about that. As long as the growing tip survives you will know it is rooted when it starts sending out new leaves. You can then open the plastic bag for a week. After a week remove the bag and remove the dead leaves and you have new plant. In the meantime the old base should have sent out new shoots and started growing new tops. You may want to limit the # of shoots on the old base to no more than 2 or 3. It could send out a lot more. Good luck.

Darlene