Question
We live in a beach town in Southern California. The palm trees that surround many of our historic buildings were planted in the late 1920's and are very, very tall. One of those trees, in the courtyard of a hotel eating area, has recently had three signs screwed into its trunk, asking for people to not feed the pigeons, not litter, and ??? some other request. That means there are six screws placed within a one foot area. Do you think these screws might harm this old, very tall and slender palm?  Thank you for any advice you can offer.

Answer
There is  an excellent chamce that damage will occur form this.  Palm trees are more like a corn plant or blade of grass than an oak tree. The trunk is made of dense fibers and grows to a specific width or diameter from a central point. Unlike trees such as maple or oak, once a palm trunk achieves maturity, it will not get any thicker or have the ability to seal off wounds.

Do not use climbing spikes on a palm or any other tree. Do not use screws to attach signs, notices or hammocks to trees. Do use mulch around the trunk to prevent grass growth next to the tree and the possibility of damage from string-line trimmers.

Cutting or damaging living or green parts of a palm, such as the trunk or green fronds, opens wounds that allow entry of disease or insects. Never remove green palm fronds or rip the leaf bases or boots from the trunk before they have turned brown.