A picture would probably be beneficial. But generally the thickness of the palm trunk is related to the health and nutrition of the palm at the period in time the trunk was being formed. That is, I can look around at my cabbage palms and where the trunk gets thinner that corresponds to a period of time when the palms were overly trimmed and the palm wasn't getting full sunlight and nutrition. Then the trunk fattens up again as the fronds grew back and the palm was enjoying the benefits of a full set of fronds and photosynthsis. That's why it's really important not to over-trim your palms, just cut off really dead fronds. And Christmas palms are self-cleaning, so you shouldn't be trimming them at all. So basically, whatever caused the shrinking of your Christmas palm trunk is probably damage that is over and done with. It's only as the palm grow taller that you notice it because the palm is happy and healthy now and the trunk is fattening back up again. That was a long and complicated response. And your photo may show it to be completely off-target. But hopefully it's the case because it means your palm should be fine. Julie

Maureen, "I wish I'd seen your doctor when I had my tick bite. I am always heartened to hear of prudent reluctance when it comes to the dispensing of antibiotics." I was very glad to get the 200mg dose of doxycycline in response to my tick bite, which was an engorged female deer tick that had obviously been attached for some time, based on the inflamed nature of the bite area. I was afraid the doxycycline might be too late. I hope to repeat that preventive treatment for any high-risk deer tick bite. Incidentally, apparently I "dodged the bullet" on that one, because the bite site remains clear of any secondary reddening. My tick was an exact match for an actual-sized picture of an engorged female deer tick on the Maine Tick Identification Card. We actually placed the tick on a printout of the picture, and the match was uncanny. Then I called my doctor. "I ended up in the Emergency room, after a botched attempt to remove the little bugger (tick removal + one mega dose of doxycycline runs about $180.00--if anyone cares to know)." You had an unusually bad and expensive experience. My 200mg dose of doxycycline cost me just $1.75 at Wal-Mart. My phone consult with my doctor cost me nothing and they faxed the prescription to Wal-Mart. So we drove straight to Wal-Mart. I took my dose right at Wal-Mart as soon as I got possession of it. We had removed the tick with tweezers ourselves and put it in a bottle for identification. It's OK to gently pull the tick for several minutes, if necessary, to give it time to voluntarily release its mouth parts. Just make sure the tweezers gently grip the head or thorax area of the tick in front of the abdomen. You don't want to hurt the tick. And you don't want to squeeze the tick's abdomen, because that would be just using the tick as a syringe to inject its body contents into you. If I get any more deer tick bites I plan to repeat the single doxycycline preventative dose. A study has shown it is effective in a high percentage of cases in preventing a Lyme infection. When it comes to Lyme, prevention is definitely better than cure. And you take a lot less doxycycline in the long run. MM

Thanks for all of the comments. I haven't see any insects anywhere near the area, but I will double check. Also, as far as cold goes, I don't think it went much below 30 degrees or so this winter (not sure how cold-hardy this species is, but I figured I'd mention it in case anyone thought we had a really hard freeze locally) I'll have to admit that it could be a watering problem. What would be the typical need for a tree this size?

It was only planted in July- that damage could have taken place then. Browning on the edges of the fronds wouldn't worry me but rot in the crown would. I'd be keeping as much moisture out of there as possible and watching it very closely. It certainly doesn't need watering every other day- if you water it deeply then once a week should be more than enough. Next time you water deeply stand there and watch how the soil drains- if it just sits there you have drainage problems and these trees need good, fast drainage, especially as we progress into the fall. It's already stressed from moving, so wet and cold is the last thing you want. Adding sand to clay can often result in hard soil and does not improve the soil conditions- what you want to add is organic matter. If you feel like you do need to replant it due to poor drainage don't use any more sand and plant it a bit higher. Dig up a wide area, mix in lots of native soil with your sandy portion, and perhaps add some compost- that changes the soil in a real way. Assuming you see good drainage I would continue to care for it and hope that spring finds it healthy and settled in. And how far is it to that wall? I'd allow at least six feet or so so you have room to move around.