Help with identification and diagnosis

[mjj1409 1]

Hello all, glad to have found this forum, already have learned a bunch. 

I was looking for help identifying a set of palm trees on my property, one appears to be thriving and the other is struggling. 

They were placed in the ground around the same time about 9 months ago.  The struggling one started out with virtually no visible fronds/leafs and after about 5 months some growth finally started, but in the 4 months after it has only reached the point you see in the attached picture.  I'm wondering if I can expect that the struggling palm will eventually recover from this state and start growing like the other one.   Any advice is welcome.

[kinzyjr 4,955]

@mjj1409 Welcome to the forums!

ID: Sabal palmetto

Doesn't look like there is any green in the crown on that second photo.  You can look down in the crown for any green to see if it is still alive.  If you had them installed, did they come with a guarantee of any kind?  My opinion is that you'll probably end up having to replace the palm.

[sonoranfans 2,589]

Yes the one looks dead.  You should get your money back as chopping them like that(hurricane cut) comes with risks of killing the palm if it isnt cared for prior to delivery.  that think could have sat around for a while, they treat them like dead logs sometimes.  I would never accept a palm like that without at least 3 green leaves, there is no reason to cut them all off.

[mjj1409 1]

Thanks for the information, I'll try and get a closer look at the crown to see if any green is in there.   This was a new construction home and they were planted shortly before I took ownership, I do believe I have some recourse there though, will definitely be following up on that.  

I can still get this replaced, I'll definitely be requesting one with at least 3 leaves as mentioned, appreciate the tip. 

[Johnny Palmseed 365]

The live one should be fine but I wouldn’t remove any fronds at all. It would be ok to remove the seed branch if you have clean tools. The other one looks dead and probably will not recover as others have stated. It is actually pretty common for these to be severely pruned up top to compensate for the root pruning. Most survive but some don’t. If you get a replacement, you might want to wait until spring since it will be limited on the number of leaves that it will be able to produce before the winter. Did you get these from a nursery or were they part of the new home landscaping package?

[mjj1409 1]

16 hours ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

Did you get these from a nursery or were they part of the new home landscaping package?

They were part of a new home landscaping package.  Glad you mentioned that it might be better to wait until Spring, because I'm in no rush so I'll see if that is an option