This is possible in it's native habitat. If you buy in many tree ferns (Dicksonia, anyway) they have not foliage and are simple lenghts of stem. Hard to be sure in California, though.

If you need to shorten it, personally I would cut the top off with the required trunk length you want under the crown and replant that rather than just remove the growing point and leaving a trunk. They root out quickly again when planted.