Potted plants

Question

Someone gave me 2 plastic pots of what appears to be 2 sago palms in each pot about 36″ tall. The pots have been laying horizontally on the ground since March. I intend to try to plant them in zone 8 in my wooded yard, in a sunny location. My question is related to the condition of the plants. One half of one potted plant seems to be dead. The other plants seem to be mostly green on top with some green in middle. Where do I start? Do I prune, plant, wait for a certain phase of the moon, fertilize first or what?

I really want to save them and want to take the right steps. When I cut the plastic pots, if there are two individual plants in a pot, and one plant is dead, do I try to separate the roots, or prune the dead fronds and plant all the roots, or just dispose of both plants in that pot? Also, is burning the dead parts a safe way to dispose of unwanted parts? Thank you so much in advance for any advice you can give me!
Gale
Rusk, Texas
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Answer 1

I would recommend reading the articles below to refresh yourself on the care and growing requirements.
It would seem your Palms are all ready stressed and suffering some issues. Sago Palms do not like to be disturbed and you will want to minimize the stress with your planting.
If you clearly have a dead plant in the same pot with a still viable plant, certainly carefully separate the two plants.
Disposing of dead material is really a matter of what is legal to do in your area. Burning plant material that may be diseased is an effective way to keep the disease from spreading.

Proper planting location, soil conditions, watering and fertilizing will help to give the plants the best chance possible to survive.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/sago-palm/prune-sago-palm.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/sago-palm/how-to-care-for-sago-palms.htm