Here is a picture of the healthy one as a comparison!

Many times, a coonties will drop all it's after you first plant it. Not watering it will make this happen more often, especially if the plants were being watered more often where they came from. Given there is not a second problem, once the plant gets used to where it is at, it will flush again and look good. I would fertilize it in a few weeks with a fast reacting, high nitrogen fertilizer it will produce the new leaves very soon.

Now if you think the stem is rotting, you need to fix that, which is going to take a while to explain. Check that and get back, and I'll find you some links to articles.

Thanks plantsman56. Checked the stem. Compared to the other, it is softer, but I would not say it is mush, nor does it show any signs of rotting I've seen from other plants. That said, this is my first cycad.

They we in a sort of gritty mix, high in bark, from the nursery, so I expect they were watered frequently. I was worried that watering it too much would kill it.

I tugged gently on one of the remaining fronds. On the stem, the base bends out and I can see yellow in the cracks between stems.

I don't really know what normal looks like with these guys. Does that sound ok to you?

Would the developing seeds result in a softer stem, compared to the non-fruiting one?

Again, thank you. I love these plants, but I feel like I know comparatively little about them. Any suggested readings would be much appreciated!

If the leaves aren't just pulling out and damaging the stem, it is probably alright. I deal with problems like this all the time. If you have a cycad that is weak for whatever reason, you need to remove a female cone full of seeds. A sago loses 60% of it's starch content while it feeds the seeds for only 6 months. Coonties take 11 months. There are at least 4 good articles on this page that will help you with your problem, but if you memorized everything in these articles, you will be an expert on cycads and know more than 99% of most nursery owners.

http://cycadjungle.8m.com/cycadjungle/articles.html

Thank you! The articles were very helpful. I've taken your advice and cut off the cone. The soil was also bone dry, so I've started more regular waterings.

Again, thanks!