Question
Hello,
I have a 25-foot tall Queen palm. About 3 months ago it put out a sheath and none of the fronds every opened. They stayed green and up for about 8-weeks, but never opened. Then they dropped over. About 3 weeks have passed and there is nothing coming out of the top. The tree is too tall for me to climb up and look inside. I was wondering if the tree is dead or if I should give it more time to see if a new sheath comes out? I am happy to give it more time and wait, but my concern is if it is dead I don't want it to fall over as I once had a dead queen palm fall over on a rainy day.
So how much time do you think I should give it to see if new fronds come out or do you think it is already dead?
And how long after a palm tree is dead do you think it becomes a risk of falling over?
Thank you very much for any info.

Answer
Hi Scott, I wish I had an image to look at, but from what you describe, the crown is collapsing for some reason, (again, without seeing it , I could only guess at the cause..)I would wait though, and see if any new fronds emerge, or a pod, this could take several weeks to even begin, and if nothing happens, and the existing fronds begin to brown out, then it is indeed kaput. It would be several Months before it would pose any threat of falling though, so no rush in removing it.