Parlor palm help
I have a 10-12 year old parlor palm. It's not in very good shape. I rescued it from a friend, but am not sure how to help it. The first 6-8 inches of the trunk is a lot smaller in diameter than the rest of the trunk. The pot originally had three different palms, but now only this one is alive. The container it is in is falling apart, and is much larger than it needs I think? The bottom is completely gone, so I really need to re-plant it. Can I plant it deeper or is that a mistake. Or, is this really even a problem? Oh yeah, it also suffered substantial cold damage this winter. I have trim all the dead fronds, actually only leaving one live frond. Can it be rescued?
-
Delilah
- Cool Member
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2009 9:05 pm
- Location: Coastal Australia, warm-temperate climate
Hi
Re-potting sounds like a good idea - probably at the same depth, give or take.
A key with indoor palms is not to over-water. They hate to be water-logged. So water it in very well after re-potting, but then leave it. (You could add some milk to the water, to help with preventing mouldy roots.) Don't water it again until the pot starts to feel quite light weight, and even then water mainly around the edges of the pot so as not to water-log the roots in the middle.
The other thing that people do with indoor palms is to assume that they can grow in extremely low light. Your friend may have left it in a spot that was just too dark. If you have a shady (and not too breazy) outdoor area, put it there for two months in bright shade. That means no direct sun (except maybe the very first or last rays of the day), but not deep shade either - an open protected spot.
Good luck
Re-potting sounds like a good idea - probably at the same depth, give or take.
A key with indoor palms is not to over-water. They hate to be water-logged. So water it in very well after re-potting, but then leave it. (You could add some milk to the water, to help with preventing mouldy roots.) Don't water it again until the pot starts to feel quite light weight, and even then water mainly around the edges of the pot so as not to water-log the roots in the middle.
The other thing that people do with indoor palms is to assume that they can grow in extremely low light. Your friend may have left it in a spot that was just too dark. If you have a shady (and not too breazy) outdoor area, put it there for two months in bright shade. That means no direct sun (except maybe the very first or last rays of the day), but not deep shade either - an open protected spot.
Good luck
Thank you so much for replying. You gave advice that I can follow!!! I appreciate the watering and the lighting advice. My friend had it in a dark corner of her house, so you are probably right about the light. I actually have a perfect place for it, (I think). Under a big oak that has good bright light, but no direct rays until late afternoon. I never knew about the milk tip so thanks for that. I will follow your advice and thank you so much again. I do have one question, you mentioned placing it outside for two months. Do I just see how it responds, or move it somewhere else after two months? I'm okay with leaving it outside until winter.