There are measures you can take to reduce damage brought on by winter freezes. First, make sure to keep plenty of frost cloth on hand to wrap palms before very severe weather. You won’t need to wrap or cover palms very often, but when you need to, it will make a dramatic difference in the plant’s appearance and health.
When the threat of freezing weather has passed and temperatures start to warm up in March, here are a few things you should do to ensure the health of your palms:
• Trim off any completely burnt foliage, but don’t worry about leaves that have just been burned toward the tips.
• Drench the heart areas of all palms with a gallon or two of our ferti-lome Systemic Fungicide to prevent crown rot. Crown rot is brought on by serious frost damage. It is a dangerous condition that causes the inner heart of the palm to wither, die, and rot in a period of a few months.
Fertilize your palms in April with our Carl Pool Palm Food, and they’ll put on a good flush of growth.
For our organic customers – we don’t have a definitive control for crown rot. Our best suggestions would be either horticultural corn meal as a tea (let steep for several hours), or potassium bicarbonate spray. Both of these materials act as contact fungicides. Work more horticultural corn meal around the root systems of your palms, as well. Feed palms organically with our Natural Guard All Purpose Plant Food 4-4-4 and Hi-Yield Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) in April.
Many of our customers who have palms (especially sago palms) have reported moderate to severe cold damage in the winter. The good news: most of the “dead” looking palms will look much better once they’ve put on new growth, but you’ll need to be patient and wait until June 15th to see if new growth emerges. Dunk them with the fungicide, and simply wait. Most of the palms will be fine.
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