Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. One plant that really suffered during our December ice age was the sago palm, Cycas revoluta. Sago palms represent some of the oldest living plants on earth and are not palms but cycads. According to Clemson’s Home and Garden Information Center (a great resource –just put the topic you want to know about followed by Clemson hgic), sago palms are hardy in most of zone 8. But hardy doesn’t always mean that they plant won’t be harmed by unusually cold temperatures, and this year most sago palm leaves were killed. Fortunately, the above ground trunk portions of most will live and put out new leaves when warm weather comes. Don’t cut the once beautiful green but now bronze compound leaves back now, they will provide some protection for the growth bud, so wait until late March when all danger of frost has passed.
Helping Your Sago Palm Survive the Winter
John Ruter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org [CC BY-NC 3.0 US]
