Question
Hello,

I have had my Madagascar palm for two years and it is doing very well. It sits in the sun all day, which dependant on the time of year may be direct or indirect sunlight. We live in Sydney Australia so are just coming out of winter now. It has developed black spots on its leaves and is losing all leaves.
I wondered if you knew what the problem may be, any help is appreciated as I struggled with google search to answer this question.

Thank you

Answer
Dear Lowana, Your Madagascar palm has a slight fungus on the leaves, but don't worry; it will be fine.  Generally speaking, most Madagascar palms will lose their leaves in winter.  This is a natural condition.  Even in Madagascar where the climate is warmer, there is probably a warmer - wetter season and a cooler - drier one.  During the winter, you should reduce the water while the weather is colder and it will lose its leaves naturally.  Since you still have some leaves on the tree, I would spray the leaves with NEEM, an organic botanical that kills fungus, insects and mites.  Remove each leaf as it falls to avoid spreading the fungus.  You could even trim off the black areas of the leaves, since there are probably not too many leaves on a Madagascar palm.  Then keep the water reduced until it starts putting on new leaves and then start watering normally.  The Madagascar palm is actually related to oleander and these plants also have the milky sap and go dormant during the winter. Your palm should be fine after it drops the leaves and starts up again in the spring.  Good luck, Melissa