Question
Here in central Florida, while gone, we had 22 deg. for several hours. All our pygmy date palms are dark brown, look burned. Same for foxtail palms and ALL our tropical plants, even the St.Augustine grass lawns. The entire development is severely damaged. I know the palm leaves won't regenerate - should we cut them off in the spring, or are the palms just totally lost...? (THOUSANDS of dollars in landscaping lost in our area)-Sebring, Fl.

Answer
Hi Mary, I know, I too had damage down here in Port Charlotte, but don't fret, beleive it or not, most will come back, but wait until you start seeing new growth before you begin pruning out the dead wood and fronds, this way you are sure to prune out only that which is beyond help. Right now you need to control your desire to go out and get rid of everything brown, the time will come for that, but its still several weeks away. Nick