[JohnN]

OK, so a bit of brown leaves, maybe a foot down on a 5 foot tree, not too bad but ... .so what now, wait til March and trim the brown off? Hadn't been here in winter and spring, so I'm not quite sure. Any advice appreciated.

[samhass]

John, Last year I waited until the damaged fronds dried up before removing them. They came back better than ever..only to get nailed this year. Maybe I am being overly optimistic, but I think they will come back again.

[Mallory]

Landscapers are saying to wait until mid-March before trimming anything. Doesn't look very nice but I'm following their direction.

[chelsea24]

Originally Posted by JohnN

OK, so a bit of brown leaves, maybe a foot down on a 5 foot tree, not too bad but ... .so what now, wait til March and trim the brown off? Hadn't been here in winter and spring, so I'm not quite sure. Any advice appreciated.

JohnN, I was told by several people not to trim the leaves until they are 100% brown. All the way to the trunk. Do not just cut off the brown parts. I have two Robollini's and I am also hoping they'll come back.

[garsha]

I am assuming they have come back by now and are looking pretty good. I was devasted when ours turned so brown. Got the same instructions to wait till all the threat of frost was gone then severely trim. Looks great now. Then I happen to go back to California for a week. They have robellinis there too and they freeze every year, they trim them back and they look great. Never noticed it when I lived there.

[TomW]

May be a timely topic now. I hope my queen palm comes through in good shape.

[Bettiboop]

Originally Posted by TomW

May be a timely topic now. I hope my queen palm comes through in good shape.

From my experience the Queen palms suffer damage from the freezing temps quicker than any other palm we have. One thing that can help is to wrap it (especially the crown) with rope lights (Christmas lights) and keep them on when temps drop below freezing. The fronds may still turn brown but the tree itself will survive to sprout new ones if it can be kept warm enough.

[TomW]

I'm not in TV right now so "Queenie" is on her own. I hope she comes from sturdy stock!

[Leticia Mangual]

After trimming the leaves all the way to the trunk, should I use palm tree fertilizer on the tree? What is suggested in this regard?

[Ohiogirl]

I am still up north, coming down in 2 weeks. Put in our first palm - a Queen - last April. We swung by The Villages for a few hours in mid January, before the worst of all the freezes, I think. The Villages in general looked the worst we have seen it - all brown grass, even the golf courses, except for the greens, and lots of brown, frost-damaged plants.

I've not really seen any postings about how things recovered. Our large bougainvillea was all brown in January, and the hibiscus plants (those have been there longer and recovered after severely cutting back the previous year). Don't know if the queen palm has come back. Are things looking good again in The Villages? Anyone's bougainvillea recovered? I'm not all that concerned about the hibiscus as they are not expensive, but hope the palm and the bougainvillea made it.