Tropical Zone Gardening: Traveler's Palm Bug ATTACK: to prune or not to prune?, 1 by bbode

bbode wrote:
Some months ago, I was searching for a pair of Traveler's Palms to put at the end of my garden/back yard. I found an almost identical pair but, before buying them, I failed Newbie 101 by not checking for obvious things like mealy bugs or scale, known pests of these semi-palms. (See attached recent photos showing bugs and leaves post spraying with Ortho's house & garden spray with its educational label splattered with bug shots.)

So I bought the semi-palms but failed again by not wind-testing them in various parts of the yard before digging a couple of holes and planting them.

Being leery of making a third major error, and chopping off some vital part that I think might be too buggy, I'm turning to y'all for help.

First, my apologies, I'm imposing on folks' helpful nature by posting two more photos. One is another bug close up showing the damage, or what I think the damage from the combination of mealy bugs and the Ortho spray. The other shows the current condition of the pair. Leaves on both plants are rapidly deteriorating but the leaves on the far left are nearly dead.

Second, my questions. Can I chop off the damaged and now drying leaves (fronds?) that are oldest, i.e. closest to the ground and in the worst shape? If I did so and removed three palm fronds on each side, I'd be left with three or four in the center of each plant. That pruning would leave them completely unprotected. The winds have really been ripping through the trees and plants back there. I know I once knew this but do winds change directions with the seasons?

The palms are planted in the east, according to my map, any suggestions for protection or for a better direction to move them?

Thanks in advance, you guys are always so helpful!