TommyMacLuckie

I wait until late March to determine if I need to remove any dead plants. Sometimes they'll let you know by getting mushy and sort of collapse. The leaves/fronds don't provide any insulation unless your plant had 9 to 12 fronds on it and it can fold around the trunk. And even if it did, once they shrivel up there is no insulation, it's just dangling dead leaves...

I usually clean them up after a week because they start to stink. And be careful when pruning the dead fronds off - you'll find loads of lizards and tree frogs hiding in the petiole nooks trying to keep warm.

It's getting down to the low 20s where I live - the coldest temperatures I will have ever experienced in Louisiana. I had plants die from last winter (lowest was 26 - this time they're talking as low as 21) so I'm expecting more to die this go round. I did manage to harvest all of my fruit around town - 4 stalks of Dwarf Cav, some Orinoco and a nice bunch of Saba.