over pruned sago palms

Question

I over pruned by sago palms in early spring. I cut all the fronds off and now I have what appears to be 3 female plants that have not put out new fronds. There are male plants in the same area, but the males have no “bloom,” which I understand is the pollinator. Two of the plants have put out new frond growth, but three have only the curly head and no fronds; have I killed them? Should I just give up or wait until next year and what about freezing weather? I live just north of the MS. Coastline.

Answer 1

Well thankfully where you live shouldn’t get freezes that are to awfully bad. You can always toss a blanket over them if nasty weather is expected, though these plants are more hardy than what people give them credit for. That said, sagos don’t normally like hard pruning and may or may not regrow. But, they have been known to grow back beautifully. I have seen the sago palms pruned back so hard that there were just a few of the fronds in the center and the rest totally pruned back to the center hub. People thought the sago was a goner, but it grew just fine. With these plants, it’s pretty much a wait and see kind of thing.