Question
i have a sago palm that has about 4 completed dead fronds.
if you look very closely there is a light white dusting on the fern. another sago on my street has noticeable dead fronds like mine.. the dead ones are close to each other. How should i treat the plant. It is about 5' tall ,outside .i live 28 miles west of houston.  we lost power from ike but it was restored Tuesday!

Answer
Hi Diana

It could possibly be Asian Cycad Scales. Asian cycad can be very damaging to plants if left untreated or allowed to spread. If you have sago palms, monitor the plant and check for white, cottony scales along the veins, stems, and leaves. If you do not have a heavy infestation start by clipping infested branches (fronds) and destroying them. In heavily infested palms it is impossible to clip the branches because you would be clipping each one.  You could try different types of fungus sprays and you may find one that works.  

If you do not have the Asian strain, sago palms seem to always have the fungal problem and you will be having to keep on eye on it always.  Now with this new strain I have read that eventually all sagos will be dead in Florida.  In Houston it could be either form of fungus as I know it is spreading and not sure where now.  You may have to check with you Agricultural Dept. in your area.  So glad you were safe in Texas and only have power outage.

Most websites suggest to just kill the plant as there is no good treatment other then waiting for a natural enemy of these insects to get high enough population in Florida - this insects come from Asia.