Question
I bought some potted palms so I could dress up the yard for an upcoming wedding in May. The weather got pretty warm here in Maryland for a week in early April so I put them in pots and some I put directly in the ground. We went through a cold spell at night for a few days with the temp reaching into the 40's. The palms don't look so hot now as they have brown spots on the leaves and some of the leaves have turned completely brown. Will these palms make it ? what should I do? HELP!!!!!!

Answer
Hi Lincoln, you didn't mention what type of palms they were, but palms are tropical by nature and Maryland? I wouldn't attempt to grow them in the ground there, potted outside in the spring and summer is ok, but they are very sensitive to cold temps; the brown spots are caused by a fungal problem, which is directly related to the cold, damp weather. Spray them with a Copper Fungicide and that should help. The ones where the fronds turned totally brown is probably root rot, again, from cold damp temps, they probably won't make it, and there really isn't anything you can do about them, except wait and watch and hope...Nick