Question
QUESTION: I live in Baton Rouge, LA and have the same problem with my Queen Palm. I was planted it several years ago and it was very healthy. This past winter killed it back badly. How long should I wait to be sure it is truly dead? Is the only way to tell if it is still alive to wait it out?
Thanks,
Ray

ANSWER: Yes, it can take up to a year for improvement, but if it is to decline, it will do so pretty rapidly; spray it with Copper, keep it properly watered and watch and wait. If a Queen declines, the crown usually will just shrivel up or even collapse.

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QUESTION: It doesn't appear to be declining, but it doesn't appear to be improving either. What is the crown, so I will no what i am looking at?
Thanks again,
Ray

Answer
Ok Ray, time for Palm 101...lol.....the crown is the entire top, all the fronds that emerge from the "heart" which is just below where the crown meets the trunk; the trunk of a palm is actually tissue, and anything (nails, trimmers etc.) that drives into it, harms it considerably. What you want to see, is a spear like emergence from the heart, which will eventually become a new frond. This emergence can take a long time, because of the cold stress, and patience is the recipe for now; spray the fronds with the Copper, and (if you can find it), a "Palm nutriitional spray concentrate", and water it weekly. Nick