Palm trees are native to tropical and subtropical regions.
Besides serving as landscape trees in warm climates, palm trees make for interestingindoor trees.
Palm trees grow slowly, often adding less than 10 inches of height a year.
The Spruce / Alonda Baird
Low-light palm species preferbright indirect lightbut also can tolerate less light, especially during the winter months.
Many palms grow best in slightly sandy soils with ample drainage.
Water
Water your indoor palm when the top inch or so of soil has dried out.
The Spruce / Alonda Baird
Never let a palm sit in water, which can cause root rot and kill the plant.
Considerplanting your palm in a containermade from terracotta or unglazed clay to wick away excess moisture.
Cold-hardy palms include theparlor palmandkentia palm, but even those varieties can only tolerate brief exposure to freezing temperatures.
The Spruce / Alonda Baird
Potassium deficiency is especially common in palms and can result in yellowing or brownish fronds.
If you remove the growing tip, the plant will die.
Potting and Repotting Palm Trees
Only repot a palm when it is completely pot-bound.
The Spruce / Alonda Baird
Palms often have shallow root systems and do not like being disturbed.
If you don’t repot your palm every year, it will grow at a more manageable rate.
Keep an eye out for telltale signs of infestation and treat the plant promptly using insecticidal soap orneem oil.
A controlled-release potassium supplement is the best treatment.
However, browning tips over the whole plant can be sparked by excessive fertilizing.
Check your plant’s conditions to determine the cause and make adjustments to its care.
Keep plants away from cold drafts and maintain temperatures of at least 60 degrees in your space.
Water your palm plant when the top inch of soil has dried out.
Some palms require direct sunlight, while others require indirect light or part shade.
No, you don’t need to spray your palm plant with watermisting is not effective at raising humidity.
If you want to raise the humidity, run a humidifier nearby.
Some palm plants prefer indirect light, while others prefer direct sunlight.
Base plant care and growing conditions on the needs of your specific punch in of palm plant.
Palm trees can only recover from a hard freeze if they still have green fronds.
If the fronds have turned brown, the tree is not able to be saved.
Over-Pruning Harmful to Palms.Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences University of Florida.
Broschat, Timothy K.Palm Nutrition and Fertilization.American Society for Horticultural Science, 19,4,690-694,2009. doi:10.21273/HORTSCI.19.4.690
