Have I Killed My Sylvester??

[Tamara]

Hi! Writing in from Northeast Florida, where the soil is rich, sandy and drains quickly.

So, we had two beautiful Sylvester palms installed in our front yard a couple of weeks ago. Installers built a moat around each and instructed me to give 15 gallons of water per day for the first two months. I dutifully started doing this with a regular garden hose. (Calculated 15 gallons to be hose stream on at about 75% strength for three minutes.)

Now, after two weeks, one palm continues to look great while the other...doesn't. A few outer fronds are looking brown, but what really disturbs me is that some upper, new growth appears brown. To me, this is not good. I called the palm company and sent the pics linked below. They maintain that I should have been watering with a soaker hose, which I was NOT told. So what's the truth in watering these guys, and can my poor new palm be saved? I've stopped watering for now to let the soil dry out.  Palms