Why does some palm tree in Hawaii have metal plates around them?
Question:
Answers:
At the base of some palm trees, RDW is correct by sayng they're placed to prevent mechanical damage during mowing and from weed whackers.
Some metal plates are installed further up the tree to prevent rats from climbing up and eating the fruit (usually dates). Rats can't cross the slippery tin.
Another instance when I saw heavy metal plates being installed in Hawaii was when strong winds were snapping palm trees in half. They re-inforced weak spots and the places indicating stress by attaching metal plates onto those areas to prevent them from breaking.
Are they up just under the branches? Just a guess - to catch old, falling branches so they don't hurt people below?
Or if at the base of the tree - palm trees can be uprooted easily. Maybe they're there to hold them up in a storm?
Probably to protect them from overzealous gardeners and their weed-whackers.
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