I agree with Keriann. Yes, you should really let them dry out. Matter of fact, once my seedlings are as big as yours, I let them dry out pretty much all the way before I water again. You can tell they need watered when you pick up the flat and it feels light as a feather. Then after you water, it's much heavier. Your method of bottom watering is quite unique, I must say. I think that most folks bottom water the way I do, which is to say setting the cells or cups into a tray of water and letting the plant absorb as much as it wants until you see moisture on the surface of the soil (usually takes anywhere from 5-20 min). Now, I can't say for sure what positive or negative effects your method of watering might have, except that it sure sounds like a pain in the hiney to me, and I somehow doubt that the soil is getting properly saturated. You want to simulate mother nature; a soaking rain. Then you want to let the soil dry out. That's how it is in nature. Roots need water yes, because the plant needs water, but then they need to dry out and get oxygen. Damp soil all the time = no oxygen to the roots. Now, I can't say for certain what part of your program is causing your issues, but I would start bottom watering them as described by letting them absorb water sitting in a tray. I think you will find that using this method, you should only have to water every 3-4 days, or less. I would lay off the ferts for a while, and then make sure only to fertilize when the soil is already damp, or you will burn the roots. I just mix the fert with water, then pour into a tray and bottom water as usual. Give this a shot, see if that doesn't help.

Hi! I am the opposite of an expert, we just got our Kentia (Manny) a few weeks ago. So I really hope some of the experts jump in! But I love Manny too and have been reading around trying to learn how to take care of him, so I figured I might as well get the conversation started. I've read that brown tips can be caused by dry air. Manny has those a little bit, and I've been misting him daily - not sure if that makes a big difference or not. I also read that yellow and brown spots can be due to overwatering, (though I'm sure other things can cause that too.) I don't know if what you're describing is overwatering, I think it's more than I've watered Manny (only watered him once), but we've had him for such a short amount of time I probably wouldn't know if I was under watering yet. http://www.ourhouseplants.com/plants/howea-palms http://plantcaretoday.com/caring-beautiful-kentia-palm-howea-forsteriana.html I hope some of the experts give feedback since they can give you answers based on experience and not just stuff they read!

USUALLY, when there is a yellow ring around the spots, it's a fungal issue. Fungal spores need an incubation period and sustained moist conditions to grow. Misting can provide that incubation period. If it's not fungal, it's related to over-watering. Water (and therefore nutrient) uptake is an energy driven process. The energy used comes from the plant 'burning' it's food in the presence of oxygen to fuel root metabolic functions. Not enough oxygen in the root zone (from over-watering) = impaired root function = the plant's inability to move water to it's most distal parts, usually leaf tips and margins. Also, over-watering causes something called oedema, which causes cells to rupture and leak their contents into surrounding leaf tissue. This results in a necrotic spot on the leaves where cells ruptured. Stop misting. It doesn't do the plant any good. If you need to raise humidity - best way to accomplish that is to raise R/H in the room your plant is in. Make sure you're not over-watering. Use a wooden dowel rod sharpened in a pencil sharpener (best) as a 'tell'. Push it deep into the pot and don't provide water until it first comes out clean and dry, not stained dark from moisture and soil. You might find this helpful (click me). Al

The contrast between "people time" and "plant time" can cause the grower some anxiety and frustration until the grower realizes there's a distinct difference and makes the adjustment by giving in to the idea that a plant has its own ideas about how long it should take to bounce back from adversity. Fortunately, the best form of resolution is usually no more complicated than procuring a few more plants so they can work as a team to satisfy your need to nurture. SOIL: I have perlite so I will add in more of that. Not sure if this is a bad idea, but I do have gravel I could mix in If you decide to include some gravel, use it in the bottom 6" of soil where it will displace the organic fraction of your medium that would normally be filled with water. This is a form of ballast. Don't use it as a layer, just mix it half and half with the bottom 6" of soil where the perched water table (excess water) resides. This in itself will reduce the amount of perched water your soil will hold by 1/2), and my neighbor has bark in her backyard that she said I could have some of to mix in if that's a good option for now? Depends ..... all bark is not created equal. Size and type of bark is very important. BALLAST/WICK: In reading through your posts I understand there are several ways to set these up, but I have an extra terra cotta and plastic pot so I figure this might be easiest? You mentioned covering the drainage hole in this post That reference was to the overturned pot you would be using as a form of ballast such that the rim of the pot would be down and the drain hole would face up. You don't want soil to drop through the drain hole in the ballast pot, so cover it. , but I also noticed [here[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/dealing-with-water-retentive-soils-dsvw-vd~1415041) you said another option would be to leave the hole open and put soil underneath so that it acts as a wick. That is the pot-in-pot technique where the main pot is nested into another pot and rests on top of the soil in the lower pot. This soil acts as a wick. If the soil in the lower pot is deeper than the ht of the perched water table, ALL perched water should move from the upper pot into the lower pot. For this application, there should be nothing over the drain hole(s) in the upper pot - the one the plant is in. Would you suggest one over another in my situation? I would go for the pot as ballast + the gravel in the bottom 6" of soil as added ballast, and even a wick if you like (in the lower pot). I have two options for pots to put inside as ballasts, but I'm not sure which would be the best option. The terra cotta pot looks like it may not take up enough room to help with limiting PWT, but the plastic one may be too large? The plastic one is great - cover the drain hole in it. Ideally, there would be an inch or so of soil above the ballast pot. Fill in the sides with the 50/50 gravel soil mixture up to the top (former bottom) of the overturned pot - cover it with an inch of soil with no gravel - set the plant on the soil - fill in around the edges. As long as you're taking steps to eliminate perched water, it doesn't matter how large your pot is. You can put your plant in a 55 gallon drum if you like, w/o concern you'll be over-potting. ...... once I repot the plant into the better mixture and add the ballast, should I water the plant again or hold off given the amount of moisture already present in the soil? Plants do best when the soil is evenly damp/moist - never wet/soggy. Skip watering if your entire soil mass is moist. Keep in mind, with the steps you will have taken to eliminate perched water, over-watering shouldn't be a problem, as long as you're reasonable. You're making a soil serviceable that otherwise wouldn't be considered as such by a very large fraction of effectual growers, so it's best to try to minimize potential limitations. Use a 'tell'. If possible - site your plant away from heat sources, but in a warm spot with plenty of light. If possible, use a room humidifier and keep humidity in the 45-55% range. I keep my basement grow room at 55% by using a combination of home-made passive evaporative set-ups and 2 ultrasonic humidifiers. I have a R/O water system, so almost never have to clean the humidifiers. To eliminate potential for bacterial issues, I add an ounce of H202 (hydrogen peroxide) every time I refill the reservoirs. Al