Palm plant dying - help!

10 years ago

Hi There,

As part of a project to recorate our dining room, last month my husband and I purchased a big 8' palm plant. After looking healthy for the first couple of weeks, I started gradually noticing problems. First it started drooping and losing it's shape. Then I noticed some browning at the tips. Next some of the lower leaves began turning completely brown. As this has happened some other leaves have started to "split," down the center and show brown spots.

At first we were watering once per week. Now we're watering at least twice (whenever the soil gets really dry). It's in a bay window facing east in San Francisco. There's plenty of space for drainage in a large planter.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwPRMbRMVStoWURuMC1uWUF4UTg/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwPRMbRMVStoaFdoVHMtNkU1TU0/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwPRMbRMVStocHhwbEVkdzFuLU0/edit?usp=sharing

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,

-Sebastian

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Comments (8)

User
10 years ago
A native of Madagascar, the Dypsis Lutescens palm plant -- also known as the areca or yellow butterfly palm -- grows clusters of slender, erect stalks with feathery, compound leaves. This palm does best in warm, humid conditions. A popular houseplant, the areca palm is fairly easy to care for as long as you donÃ¢ÂÂt over-water it. Although it is a heavy feeder, its fronds may yellow if it is over-fertilized.
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veimar
10 years ago
Are you misting it? And what is the exact name of it? I have a Majesty palm (fronds look very much like yours) and I mist it every day although it still struggles to survive Illinois winter. Do not overwater - the yellowing of the leaves might also be because of overwatering. And make sure it doesn't stand on the way of any drafts coming from the heater or windows. Good luck!
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Hi Justin Stevens! I'm afraid I have some bad news about the palm. The white spots are pests, spider mites I think, and they are very difficult to deal with. Also, majesty palms are notoriously difficult to grow indoors and are hard to keep alive. The yucca doesn't seem to be in good shape either, and needs a lot of light to truly thrive. They are grown outdoors in full sun here in California. I'm not sure if you paid for the plants or not, but if they were free I would recommend tossing them and starting over. It would probably take more time and money to rehabilitate these two then it would take to get two, healthy, new plants. Plants that look similar but are much easier to care for are parlor palms, in place of the majesty palm, and a dracaena in place of the yucca. If you would like to rehabilitate these plants, I would recommend purchasing some neem oil. Dilute it in water in whatever ratio is recommended on the bottle, and spray it all over the leaves and stems of your plants, then wipe down the leaves and stems with a paper towel or cloth. Do this once every week until the pests are gone. Trim off the dead trunk on the yucca, and trim away all the dead leaves on the palm. When you re-pot them, check if they are root-bound. If they are, move them into pots one size up from their current pot. If they are not root-bound, you can re-use the pots, but make sure to disinfect them with some rubbing alcohol. I like to use MiraceGro African violet soil or MiracleGro Housplant soil mixed with 30 to 50% perlite. The majesty palm likes lots of humidity, so you can place it on a humidity tray or purchase a humidifier. Water them when the top inch of soil is dry. I hope this helps and good luck! damask_rose : )
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Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
10 years ago
Is it just the oldest leaf turning brown?

The pasted links wouldn't work for me.
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jean001a
10 years ago
To see an image, copy the link, paste it in the address bar of a new tab (or window), then click the arrow (toward the left) to download it.

As to what might have happened, any chance of exposure to cold?
Say, during transport to your place?
Or after you got it home?
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Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
10 years ago
I did that, Jean. The images were not there. Were you able to see them? If downloading is necessary, I'm not doing that. I still can't see the pics, but here's the links in clickable form...

1

2

3

This post was edited by purpleinopp on Thu, Feb 20, 14 at 9:42
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sgtonkin
Original Author
10 years ago
Sorry for the trouble with the links. I'll use dropbox next time.

I don't think this could be from exposure to the cold since it never dips below 50's outside here and is not that cold inside.

I have started misting it regularly in case that helps.

Yes, the oldest leaves appear to be the ones browning.

The palm is a Kentia palm I think.

Seems to be holding steady in it's current condition for now...
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Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
10 years ago
A palm is designed to discard the oldest leaf periodically, it's just what they do. Hopefully that's all that's going on with your plant.

Does the pot have a drain hole? Are you using water with chlorination or fluoride? Any chance it got too much fertilizer?

You can still add more pics here using the browse button, 1 pic per post, or may want to try a service like Flickr, Photobucket, Imageshack, that folks know work well to post pics here (multiple pics in single post, using "HTML.")

If google wasn't holding my email hostage from something I must have signed up for years ago but don't remember, I'd try to help with that, how to share pics stored there if possible. I can't supply the phone number I used at the time, remember what it was I signed up for, when I might have done it, and they won't email password.
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birdsnblooms
10 years ago
Purple, thanks for the links.

The problem isn't frost-bite. The spots are brown, frost-bitten leaves are gray.

Sebastian.. How large is the container? You said you first watered once a week, 'when soil got 'completely' dry,' now twice a week.
'Palm' soil should never get extremely dry.

When you water, do you saturate the entire root ball? Please, don't give sips.

Palms love rain and/or showers...But carrying an 8' palm is a lot of work..not good for the back either. :)

In the meantime, mist fronds, daily if possible.

Unfortunately, brown fronds will not green. Perhaps, some leaves can be trimmed...

Rotate your palm 1/4 turn, once a week.

Good luck, Toni
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Palm plant dying - help!

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veimar

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Palm plant dying - help!

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veimar

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