Question
I live in Seminole Fl. just a few miles south of Clearwater.
Last summer I was given a small fishtail palm (14 in. tall) which had two small fronds. I planted it in the ground just with the soil from the pot and nothing more. This palm is in sandy soil and watered every other day. The oldest frond died off just as a new one was emerging. I let it brown completely before removing it. The new frond has opened but is still quite short. I have just recently (November) sprinkled some Miracle-Gro Shake & Feed palm fertilizer 8-8-8 as per directions, from the trunk and outward about a foot and covered with maybe 1 ?1.5 inches of red mulch. We抳e had 4 cold nights so far, below 40 degrees, and I placed a 5 gallon bucket over it to protect it on those nights. The second frond is now slowly dying back as the newest one is almost fully open.
Now I notice small (and growing) circular brown spots on some of the new leaves (tails). This is now on three of them and they are getting larger. These are small spots with the largest about the size of a pencil in diameter. I do not see streaking in the vein. I also note the leaflets are not as dark as green as in my other palms; robellini, cat, queen.
The old frond does not have this but is slowly dying off from the tips.
Can you advise as to whether this might be a lack of nutrients or a disease and how to correct or cure?


Thank you for taking your time to help

Answer
Hi James,,It sounds like you have a decent knowledge when it comes to Palms, I say this because you have done everything right; that said, it does sound like you may have to treat a fungal problem (due to cold nights and moisture). Spray the fronds, top and bottom, with a Copper Fungicide and also (alternately) the fronds with a "Palm nutritional spray" (Home Depot has it in concentrate), spray these in the morning, when the fronds are wet from the dew and the "Stomata" are open (pores),,this is the time when they will be readily taken into the system of the Palm.  The effected fronds will not clear up, but the treatment should correct  the problem and it will show up on the new fronds that have not yet emerged from the heart of the Palm. The first Winter is always a tough time for newly planted Palms, but once they make it through and set their feet, they become more hardened. Nick