Sago palms worth saving?

Quick question, do you think these are worth persevering with. I've been feeding them in the hope they recover

 

Actually they are Washingtonia, a type of palm that is not totally hardy.

But yes they look like they will recover when things warm up, but they really need frost free conditions to do well, especially when young.

 

Thanks for the reply. Sorry your are right, they are washingtonia. Really hope they come back as they were wonderful last year. Any tips on how to recover them?

 

I would remove all the brown fronds at the base to tidy each plant up, making sure you don’t remove the growing tips. Then, if you have had them in their pots for a while they may be pot bound so I would repot them in slightly larger pots using a soil based compost like John Innes no 3. If they are not pot bound you could remove the top couple of inches of compost and replace them with fresh JI3. Try to keep the compost surface free of weeds and water regularly, keeping the compost moist but not waterlogged. I give my palm in a container a couple of handfuls of Blood Fish and Bone in spring and again in mid summer, plus the occasional application of seaweed extract to the leaves and soil surface. It acts like a tonic rather than a feed. They are thirsty and hungry plants!

 

They should come back if you follow @Plantminded advice, palms have big roots so they are very likely to be pot bound.
Washingtonia is probably one of the fastest growing palm we can grow in the UK so lots of feeding once growth gets going and water, most palms like more water than is often thought during the growing season.

 

Thanks so much for the advice. Newbie question but how do I know if they are pot bound and if they are is it a case of taking out and putting in bigger pots.

 

Try to lift one carefully out of its pot @Cjxblade. If you can only see a tangle of roots and little compost, it is pot bound. You could also look at the drainage hole in the base of the pot to see if the roots have reached it, which may be easier. Then simply repot the plant in a larger pot with more compost in the base and around the sides to give the roots extra space to grow and access to more nutrients and water.

 

Well, you really would need to get one out of the pot, its really up to you, if you cant go for bigger pots then the top dressing idea is all you can do, and continue feeding.
I dont think Washingtonia is a good palm for long term pot growing to be honest.

If you have a nice sunny warm spot you could try one in the ground.

 

Fantastic, thanks for all the info. Really appreciate it. Will have a look tomorrow and maybe get bigger pots of needed. Pots are already quite deep but not very wide I suppose.

 

Those pots do look good @Cjxblade but the tapering will restrict the root growth if you intend to keep them in pots long term. A pot with a wider base will also provide more stability as the plants get taller. If you have a suitable location in the ground, as @pete says, they will be much happier, but you will need to provide winter protection if you don’t get mild winters where you are.