How To Save an Over-fertilized Palm Tree
Question: Hi. I read your notes on fertilization and I feel certain the tree got fertilizer close to the roots. This winter was bitter cold (Jacksonville, fl) and some of the tips of the fronds got frozen I think, but now all the fronds have crispy brown tips moving toward the middle of the frond. I can’t tell if the new shoots in the middle are brown as well. It has been raining a lot, but its super dry these days. Should we cut the fronds. It may have also been over-fertilized. Is there anything we can do to ameliorate the problem? Thanks!
Answer: It sounds like your palm was damaged by cold and over-fertilized. Over-fertilizing can kill your palm. You need to water it a lot for a few days to wash out the fertilizer. Cold damaged palms is very hard to treat. Fertilizing will not help. It might take palm over 6 months to recover. The only thing you can do is wait. Make sure you have a regular watering schedule and protect it from cold. ~Susan Brian
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A lot of palm trees die from fertilizer root burn and nutritional deficiencies. To avoid these problems, use fertilizer that has continues release formula, which feeds your palm tree for few months, rather than using a cheap fertilizer that will wash away after 2-3 rains.
I personally use 
It is time to protect your palm trees from cold! To avoid the cold damage, I spray my palms with 
I believe I over fertilized my Christmas tree palms by having fertilizer spikes to close to the trunk, The fronds are starting to turn bunt looking. I have tried to dig out the soil where the spikes where inserted and watered them very heavily afterwards. These trees are indoors in large pots.
Will this help save them or is there something else I can do?
Hi Chris. It sounds like tried to do the right thing and get rid of the fertilizer soil. If the trunk or main roots are damaged it might take a while for the palm to recover. I don’t think there is anything you can do. Replanting it with the new soil will only create more stress for the palm. Keep the soil moist but don’t overwater it. ~Susan Brian