Cold Damage Palm Tree and Shrub Care

Would trimming palms before last frost date in our area harm the tree?

Hello Edna,

It sounds like you already pruned your palms? Trimming a palm tree prior to a frost should not cause a problem if they were pruned correctly. I recommend to follow the directions in this article on “Palm Tree Cold Damage Treatment” since the trees have already been trimmed. Do Not do anymore for now to avoid over prunning.

Thank you for your comment,
Kurt Kmetz

Nice, thanks.

I am worried about my palm. I didn’t cover it or anything and now it looks like a wheat plant. I hope it recovers, I have not done anything to it as of yet, but I will take your suggestion from the article. Thanks!.

RE: Will,

I hope your palm recovers back to normal. Only time will tell. Follow directions from my article to help it bounce back. Be patient chances are it should be ok.

Thank You for your comment,

Kurt

Kurt, I have 2 palms (not sure what they are called, but they have multiple smooth trunks and are about 7 feet tall). Both of them seemed to have sustained serious damage from the cold we had. All of the fronds are brown and dry. There is some light green visible on the trunks and they appear to be alive, at least to some degree. My question is should I prune all the brown fronds even if that will leave the trees with none at all? I have read to remove the damaged fronds but haven’t seen it addressed if that would mean removing them all. Also, how far (close to the trunk) should i cut them off? Thanks for your help

RE: Todd,

Since all the “Fronds” have been damaged from the cold, Do Not cut them off leaving nothing. (Leave Them On)

Spray the palm trees, (Including the Trunk), with “Liquid Copper Fungicide” 2-Times 10-day’s Between Each Treatment. Also apply a “Granular Palm Fertilizer” around each tree.

Kurt Kmetz.

Hi Kurt,

I have six large Foxtails and two large Christmas Palms. It may be that I HAD these trees. There is next to know green on them except at the tops in the actual trunk. The fronds are all dead. I have followed your advice. How bad of a sign is it when all of the fronds are dead? Is this serious or superficial? They each have lights on them which stayed on during the freezes, and I kept the irrigation on them as well. I live in New Smyrna Beach.

Thanks, man!
Adam

My palmtree branches are green however the center branch pulled right out of the middle of the palm tree-dead. If the center branch of the palm which is down in the trunk pulls out does that mean my trees are dead? The trunk looked Green on the outside but not to sure of the inside. I have asked some and no one has ever seen that before.

Debbie,
It sounds like the Bud ( Heart ) of the tree is rotting. The fact that the center branch pulled out so easily and is dead is a sign the Leaf Sphere is having problems. Even though the trunk is showing green it can still be rotting on the inside. Unfortunatlly nothing can be done to stop it. Rotting can occur from poor maintenance or poor drainage. Another cause can be Weavils have infected the tree,which can not be treated. I hope the problem is isolated to one tree.

Kurt Kmetz

i have three new palms. One has big green branches coming out and look very heathy. the second has some green stems at the top and a wheaty leaf in the center and has not changed in the last couple of months, the third has the wheaty center the branches are same color and when you hit the trunk it sounds hollow the two other palms sound solid please help me i just moved to florida in a new house i have a year warranty on the palms. should i have them replaced before its to late thank you

John,
The palm with new green growth should be fine. The second with green at the top and looks wheaty in the center needs the bad branches trimmed off. Both need to be fertilized with a slow release granular palm food. Treat them with a fungicide liquid copper. The third palm might be dying from from a disease or insect problem, that is not treatable, and needs to be removed to avoid infecting the others. If you can have it replaced under warranty I would. Always follow a scheduled program of fertilization and care to ensure good healthy palm trees. It will take some time for the second tree to fully recover.

Welcome to Florida,

Kurt Kmetz

Hi Kurt,
I have a small palm tree nursery in LaBelle, FL 33935. I am growing 750 Phoenix Medjool’s. The temperature reached 31 Tuesday night but More Freezing temps are coming this weekend. I am wondering when exactly I should treat the trees with Liquid Copper. Should I wait till after the cold is finished completely? I did not cover them, however, they are cold hardy. Just worried Thanks for all your help. Your advice is Awesome!

I have a very large century plant that the leaves are wilting since the cold and are soft. Does this mean they are dead or will they come back?

Hello Dawn,
I apologize for not responding sooner. Treat the palms right away, do not wait for warmer weather. Soak them good with a fungicide including the bud area, for them to absorb it quickly. Repeat after 10 days,treat only two times. If possible cover them if a freeze occurs again. If cold damage has occurred only time will tell if they will be lost. It can take to the middle of summer.

Kurt

Hello Victor,

It sounds like they are not dead, but you won’t completely know the extent of damage until spring arrives. Leave them alone for now other than watering. Just read this article on “Cold Damage Palm Tree and Shrub Care” http://tinyurl.com/colddamage

Kurt

Kurt,

I stumbled across your site.

Great website. No questions for now.

Lou

Melbourne FL

kurt, I have an adonidia palm I planted less than 2 years ago ,it is about 11 feet high. Today 2 of the 4 branches collapsed at mid trunk (3-4 foot level) soft area. I sprayed them with liquid copper mix 4 days ago. Do you think they will make it..they all seem solid at the root base and had some green but mostly brown fronds..now I have 2 stumps and 2 struggling left from the grouping of 4 palms…thanks

chuck …tampa

Kurt

It seems as though we lost ALL but 2 of our 14 palms, fox tails, christmas and spindals..we just had a professional design 3 summers ago..we were trimming our arrecas today, i was “easily” able to pull the new spears out of the center, they had an odor to them and seemed “gooey” at the end…I’m beginning to think these will need to be replaced as well? uugh, although we have new green growth in the center, the bigger trunks of the arrecas 6″ in diameter and the trunks appx 4-5′ are the ones that are left bare, dead or will they make a come back??

Help
last night to my horror i dicovered a brown dead main leaf on my coconut palm. today i woke to see a dropped leaf green. could this be the end? is there anything I can do to save Shakespere?

Help Thanks

Hi, We are doing some excavation and I had some workers dig up a 12′ adonidia (double trunk) to re-locate but somehow the top of one was bumped and came off. (The whole green part of the trunk) The workers appologized but assured me it would grow back. Is there any chance of it growing back or should I cut off the broken side and manuver the other other side to grow straight up as a single?It’s not in a conspicuous location in the yard - just in the back along a fence. If there is any chance it could grow back it wouldn’t exactly cause an “eye-sore” while we waited….. What do you think? Thanks, Judy - West Palm Beach

Hello Judy,

Depending on how much shock has occured will determine if it will grow back or die. Cut off damaged part and treat with a fungicide. It will take a long time to bounce back. New growth will appear if it is to live.

Thanks,
Kurt

Hello Donna,

Treat your palm tree with a liquid fungicide like Liquid Copper. Spray it covering all of it. Apply two times 10 days apart. Only time will tell if any serious damage has occured. It will take a while to come back.

Thanks
Kurt

will a coconut palm tree die if the center frond has bent over?

due to cold or fungus?

I have over 20 palms on my property. Christmas palms, Fox tails and Coconuts. Over half of them have a green limb that grew out of the center after the cold this limbs on all the trees fell or broke. My neighbors have the same situation and they tell me that the heart of the tree is damaged and the trees will surely die. Any insight or suggestions would be greatly appeaciated.

Steve,
If the frond continues to bend over chances are it may die . If other fronds do the same then the tree probably will.
You can treat it with a fungicide but I cannot guarantee It will survive.

Kurt

Darin,
The fact that the limbs fell off is not a good sign. Your neighbors are probably right. I recommend that both of you have a professional landscaper with knowledge of palms inspect them. Call you local extension service and tell them your situation. Perhaps the area you live in is having a wide spread problem.
Kurt

Kurt,

I have Foxtail Palm that was damaged in Tampa, FL with freeze. I trimmed (cut) all dried leaves and center leave that was like a sword. Tree is green al the way to top where i trimmed the leaves.

Do you think this tree will come back to life?

Kirty,
Wait for new growth to appear and you will know if it will come back. It will take a while so be patient. By the end of the summer it should be back to normal.

Kurt

Palm Tree Cold Damage Treatment:

Palm trees that have been hit by cold damage need to be immediately treated with a Fungicide such as “Liquid Copper“. Spray them two times fourteen days between each treatment. Do Not treat more than twice.

I read above and i want to ask you if i should do liquid cooper treatment now (after freeze, damage was about 3 months ago).

Kurt,

Great website, by the way. After the cold winter here in St. Petersburg, I have 6 coconut trees that seem to be on their death bed. 90% of their fronds have fallen over the past 3 months and now the entire tops, on 3 of them, have fallen. 2 out of the 3 even had a few new green fronds on them. Is there anway to save them, or should I just cut them down? Thanx..

Kurt,
I was replanting my christmas palm and broke of the whole green part of the tree, leaving only the brown base. The tree was healthy otherwise. Will it still live?

Erin

Yes Kirti if it has not been treated go ahead and spray it with Liquid Copper.

Kurt

Athena,

It sounds like your palm trees might be dying. Only time will tell if it is fatal. It will probably take to the end of the summer to see if they will bounce back.

Kurt

Hi Erin,

Sorry but I don’t think it will survive the damage.