Caring for your Palms

Remove any dead or dried out, yellow to brown fronds off your palm plants. During your pruning sessions, be careful not to tug so hard that you damage the plant’s trunk.

Move palm plants from any source of cool drafts, such as an open window or cool air leaks coming through the wall. Sudden cool drafts cause palm plant fronds to turn brown and die.

Palm plants generally need a lot of water, but you should not water palms unless the top 1/4 to 1/2 inch of soil is dry. After watering, allow the residual water to drain into the saucer and then dump the water out of the saucer. This will prevent root rot and ultimately palm plant death.

Place your palm plant in a location where it can receive adequate levels of sunlight. If the frond tips are brown and burnt, the palm is probably too close to a sunlight source. If the fronds are yellow and drooping, the palm may need more sunlight. Palm plants prefer indirect or filtered sunlight.

Mist palm plants daily with a spray bottle and water to provide a humid atmosphere. Low humidity may be a reason why your palm plants are drying out. A great idea is to have a humidifier that also adds warmth to the room.

Check for insect pests that may be attacking your palm plants, and causing their fronds to turn yellow and drop. Look for spider mites, that look like miniature red, yellow or brown spiders, mealybugs, that look like white puffs, or scales that show up as little bumps. If you have an infestation, wash the fronds with warm, soapy water every second day and then rinse with warm water.