Give the center spears a tug to see if they pull out. Remove and dead fronds. You can apply a fungicide following the label instructions carefully. An overhead canopy will keep rainwater from collecting in the hole left by the spear pull. Air circulation is essential. Fortunately Trachycarpus grows at fairly low temps and should recover rather quickly. Keep us posted 🙂

Cheers, Barrie.

Barrie that makes me so happy to hear! thanks very much! I'm heading for some fungicide right now. The spear did come out with barely little pull. I've put a heavy plastic cover overhead and there's much air circulation around the tree. do I cut the dead fronds at the stem where the brown meets the green?
will let you know what happens.

Thanks again! 🙂
Heidi

Heidi, any obvious dead plant material (fronds) can be cut back, as it doesn't provide any beneficial purpose. No 100% guarantees, but this is the best chance for this palm to recover. The new fronds may be small or deformed at first but continued growth will bring on a regular form. Remove overhead canopy once the worst has past and new growth has established.

Cheers, Barrie.

I thank you Barrie for all your help! I've applied the fungicide and covered them (good thing because we got a bit of frost overnight). I checked this morning and the leaves are dry again and we've got a sunny day ahead of us today with 11C. I'll pull some of the mulch back to warm the ground a bit. when I start seeing changes in the plant I'll take another pic for you guys and keep you posted!

I'm learning so much in the past few months, thanks again Barrie!
Heidi

Barrie,I have to disagree with you on wind chill not relating to plants,cold wind may not factor in heat loss to plants but it does wick or strip moisture from plant tissue,my Sequoia has been blown dry by the winter wind where other Sequoias that are protected are just fine.

Barrie,I have to disagree with you on wind chill not relating to plants,cold wind may not factor in heat loss to plants but it does wick or strip moisture from plant tissue,my Sequoia has been blown dry by the winter wind where other Sequoias that are protected are just fine.

Yes hardyjim ... this would likely be the case in Iowa or many interior areas of North America with low winter humidity.
Here in a marine coastal environment, winter humidity is generally quite high (80% or higher) and plants / palms are not subjected to wind blown desication.
So in summary, in your case yes that would be true, in my case, high humidity winds pose no threat.

Cheers, Barrie.

True our winds are very dry,they basically whip the moisture out of your skin,freeze dry it to your face and then blow your frozen face off! pretty much the same with palms, plants in general,even yuccas and conifers that are hardy beyond -30F have been damaged this winter,glad to hear your palms etc, get a moisture treatment,not the case(as you mentioned)here.