Question
I live in central NC,My Sega Palm was given to me 8 years ago, It sites in a screended in porch facing east out of the direct sun, I bring it in during winters, It has 4 rows of canes but now the bottom have turned yellow and brown, now the dreaded white mold is on the dirt area. How do it treat the mold and how often should I prune the canes.

Answer
Hey, Pete.

I'm assuming that you mean the trunk of the palm when you say "canes." I have not heard them called canes before; could be a regional thing (like in Texas we had Norfolk Island pines; out here we call the Star pines). I'm also assuming that "the bottom have turned yellow and brown" means that the bottom leaves have turned turned yellow.

Springtime is the time to shed old growth and put on some new, so it's not surprising that the bottom growth has turned yellow and brown. However, you also say that you have white mold on the dirt. That, coupled with the yellow and brown leaves on the cane could indicate that you're overwatering the palm. Certainly if the trunks(canes) themselves are getting yellow/brown and feel mushy when you squeeze them, then they have been overwatered and probably can't be saved at this point. They don't need a lot of water--they grow nicely here in San Diego with just our 11 inches of annual rainfall and no additional watering.

Remove the top layer of dirt with the mold and replace it with some fresh soil, prune the yellow/brown leaves, and don't water as much. If any trunk is mushy, remove that one because it can't be salvaged at this point.