A decade ago, I had to have two huge pine trees taken out due to pine-beetle infestation. The tree-surgeon (funny name for someone who cuts down trees) and I counted the rings on the largest one and the tree was 110 years old. The other was almost as old. They were what we call Plantation Pines, nothing like the spindly pines that snap off in winds.

{{{Hi Elaine}}} Long time no post.....

So sad about those Washingtonians, losing something that large really hits hard. Are there symptoms, other than the sudden wilting, that someone can look for? They are among the hardiest of palms but we had an unprecedented 30 hours below freezing here and on two separate occasions this past month. The Washingtonians all took a big hit, I have never seen damage like this, literally hundreds of 20' to 30' trees with totally brown foliage. I suspect they will live (it is amazing what is still alive, the soil never froze) but they will most likely be weakened by this and subject to diseases and insects. Are there signs I should look for?

Alice, how great that you found us! I just last week let my subscription to DG lapse, and was sad that I missed you and the others from there. We have a nice Tropicals forum here as well as a thread on Florida Gardening that you'd be welcome to join, (even though you're not here . . you grow so many of the same things) Many familiar names to you will be there incl. plantladylin, and mjsponies.

The palm weevil strikes very quickly, and my neighbor's Washingtonia went from looking ok to all leaves hanging straight down in the course of about 2 weeks. They are huge weevils the size of your thumb that bore/eat right into the heart of the palm. Prevention is the only answer, and of course on a very tall palm it's next to impossible. One old fellow Master Gardener rigged up a douse system on a tall pole to pour dilute insecticide into the crowns of their palms. Not sure exactly what they're using or how often, but probably something with a systemic component.

On the 'up' side, the ones that survive your cold temperatures might be ok. The cold may have zapped the bugs as well as the palms, let's hope! Here, the bugs that don't burrow into the ground get set back pretty severely when we have a cold snap.

For fusarium wilt, look for one side of the leaflets to decline first while the other side remains healthy. Eventually, the entire leaf will wilt. This is caused by an uneven decline in the tissue that conducts nutrients to the leaf. The disease is spread by infected pruning tools and/or the wind. These trees became too high for me to prune so I hired some guys to prune off the dead fronds last fall. I can't say it is their fault for sure but I wouldn't doubt it.

Jim

No matter how often we tell People to spritz their tools with alcohol between plants, they just don't get it do they?

I'll be on the lookout for irregular wilting. Thanks.

Hey Alice !
So glad to see you here. Missed seeing the beautiful photo's you always posted.

Keeping fingers crossed for your palms.

Remember the tiny Agave Queen Victoria seedlings you sent..
2 survived...
and here's one now....

Hey MJ, I can't believe those tiny seedlings grew! Way to grow. I had gotten those seeds at a Plant Delights Propagation class I attended a few years ago.

I don't know what will happen to our palms this year, we keep having spring like days in between freezes. We were the only county in the state that did not have snow or ice this week. Such weird weather. In spite of it all the camellias just keep blooming.