Two things: I'm not an expert but based on your description: the opening that you left at the top (with some of the fronds sticking out) served as a catch for any water from rain. Gravity sent the water down the frond to the crown where it collected and with no air to keep it dry-fungus and bacteria formed to eat away at the crown and then downward. Ironically, given the size and your Trachy coupled with your mild winter, you probably would have not had any problems had you left it unprotected with only sprays and mulch. Two: when you bought the palm, was the connecting trunk exposed(above the dirt line)? I ask this because it is bad to raise the dirt line on any tree and I noticed that you can't see it in the pictures. As far as a remedy, Jim gave you the best advice to save the taller trunk. The only other thing I would do is spray the top of the new trunk with copper fungicide to make sure it is all killed. You can use my Beet/Banana formula to give it a nutrient rich boost which couldn't hurt. Hopefully the whole specimen can come back. Good question about cutting away the damaged trunk-I honestly have no idea. Logically speaking, it's not like they share a heart or any other vital organs so I don't why it can't be done. But again, that is an opinion and not based on expertise. Either way, I would hold off and see if you can save it as a whole first. Good Luck and I wish you Guys the best. This post was edited by Kokomo-JB on Mon, Apr 8, 13 at 10:42

I'm in central SC, zone 8a, and I, too, have had issues with Windmill palms growing happily for years, and then slowly dying. I've noticed the emerging fronds begin getting progressively smaller, sometimes over a period of 4 or 5 years, until they finally stop producing new fronds and then slowly start to die. I've tried digging them up and moving them, but nothing helps. Applying anti fungicides is useless. Now, when I notice this happening, I cut them down, even when they're still green and still look good from a distance. I have no idea what the culprit is, and it's very frustrating and disappointing. I don't plant windmills anymore, because of this baffling phenomena. I now grow Butias and Palmettos, which grow beautifully for me and don't display this seemingly random 'up and die' disease.

lascapa - Thank you for the complement on how the windmills look. Its perfectly fine. They will tend to grow out from the house a little anyways. Plus in colder zones palms will get more heat from the side of the house planted like that. Trust me The Virginian got all kinds of info from Sean at Chilly Palm Tree Co when he delivered the palms to his house such as the best way to plant and all the do's and dont's. In areas like ours 7a - 8a its best not to mix sand with the soil. It keeps the soil too cold during freezes. Mixing peat is OK but if it dries up once it'll never soak up water again. Then you end up with these dry pockets in the soil. Sean pretty much said don't baby them. Just use the plain old clay soil you dig out of the hole. Its overkill what some people do to amend the soil. Although it does matter for some palms but we're talking about windmills here. Just dig the hole, plop it in there, throw some fertilizer spikes in when backfilling the hole, fill it up the rest of the way, throw on some milorganite mulch heavily and sit back and watch it grow. BTW. Do you think this windmill is planted to close to the house? Its all a matter of opinion.

I see this thread hasn't been active for months, but, I wanna ask are any of the good heat giving rope lights solar powered? I'm gonna guess, you can't count on them. And Sasha your last pic above is so damn cute. Seriously, some of those protection methods above are great ideas. I'm in zone 6a, I have 4-6 very small Needle or Windmill palm babies, I;m talking only 2-3 spears per plant. I want to eventually try at least one plant outdoors in the ground, but, I want the plant to look great and not be stressed. I am currently growing a Live oak (Quartz mountain) in zone 6, I have christmas lights on it, and if it gets below zero, I just may wrap it up like as if it were my 1st born. I have yet to try a palm outdoors, I have a potted Live oak protected now until it goes back up to at least the 30'sF. The christmas light wrapped live oak also has it's trunk protected by pipe insulation. This is the hardier Live oak variety, not like those in florida and Mississippi, the great southern Live oak. This is the tougher more cold and drier rougher area Live oak tree. This tougher Live oak grows in Missourri, Oklahoma, the drier parts of Texas. It is said to be as hardy as zone 6. I would think that would not be until it is at least a 6-7 ft tree, maybe larger. I am inclined to protect mine until it's too large to be able to do so anymore.