my pygmy palms got hit hard this year by the frost, some more then others, but they are starting to recover slowly. i think every winter since we have put them in, they always get some frost damage and it does take a while for new fronds to replace the damaged ones. since the damage was so extensive this time, i do not think they will look great again until next year (if we do not have another hard freeze). i know some people in our neighborhood have already ripped out their damaged pygmy palms and have replaced them with new ones. i am going to be patient and just wait it out since our palms are pretty large now. give them a little more time. how established were your palms before the freeze?

Hi Al, Yeah, unfortunately. They are just coating the new fronds that have not yet opened, and the opening fronds are all spotted and yellow. I collected some and we looked at them under the microscope, and sure enough, that's what they are. Little red shiny dots surrounded by fuzzy white stuff. You know, Al, it's funny you should say that about Florida, because the university web site there says that the red date scale was eliminated in California, and it cites a 1990 source. I am going to call the extension office tomorrow and let them know about this, just in case, but I find it hard to believe that I have the only case of it in CA. There were numerous other bugs too. It was kind of interesting looking at this whole little microworld: scales, mealybug destroyers, little brown beetles and little weevilly things. But there must be millions of those little brown scales. I'm worried about my Queen Palms- they don't look so hot, but that could be the drought. They are not listed as a species that gets infected by this scale. Renee

R/Lisa: What a generous offer! Thank you for making it. I have contacted a couple of neighbors but they don't want to put it in their "pretty" truck. Ha! I don't have the room or I would be up there. Thank you again and I hope someone is able to take you up on it. Terri

How long have you had the palms for? If this is something that has happened suddenly then its got to be something that they are getting differently (could chemicals from washing a car or something like that have gotten into the soil near the palm?). If they are recently planted (within the last year or so) then whatever it has, it got from the place you bought them and usually if it's not too serious, the problem corrects itself in those cases. If the browning isnt worsening and the new leaves are not an unhealthy looking color, then I think you will have to wait for new fronds to replace the old, damaged ones, and see how those look. If the browning is getting worse, then that means the problem is still there. Try not to water too much right now and see if that helps the problem. Don't let it dry out too much though since they do like water, but since you are in Florida, you usually get plenty of water this time of the year naturally. Good luck! Keep us updated! -Alex