Comments on: Indoor Palm Trees

By: Tom Wilson

Tom Wilson — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 01:03:14 +0000

I have 100 palms that I have propogated from seed and need to find the name of. The seed came off of a tree next to an Areca and they look very similar except the ends of the leafets are trunkated or choped off and ragged. The areca seems to have a sharp point on the leaflets. Could you help with a name?
Thanks,
Tom

By: Susan Brian

Susan Brian — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:28:02 +0000

Hi Nick. Most palm trees like a lot of natural light, moist well drained soil and warm temperatures. Make sure it is getting enough water. Place it next to the window with a lot of natural light, but no direct sun. Since you don’t know what kind of palm that is, I don’t think you should be expose it to full sun. Palms like occasional misting. Also, keep it away from heaters, palm trees don’t like dry air. Apply slow release fertilizer few times a year. That is about it. Let me know if you have any problems. ~Susan Brian

By: nick

nick — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 06:58:03 +0000

Hi Susan
hi i have a baby indoor palm tree but i don’t know what kind it is. it is about 6 inches tall and has a lot of little trees not just one can you help me. i want to know what kind it is and how to care for it. thank you :)

By: Susan Brian

Susan Brian — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:58:58 +0000

Hi Lori. Not all palms need full sun. Some of them grow better in partial shade. Try to provide as much light as possible. Palms also like high humidity so occasional misting will be nice. In zone 5 you really don’t have much of a choice other than growing palms indoors :) Susan Brian

By: Lori Weber

Lori Weber — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 14:59:45 +0000

Hi Susan,
I have a very tiny ruffled fan palm tree potted in palm / cactus soil. It’s been outside on my deck with my other tropical plants all summer. I live in z5, and overwinter my bananas and elephant ears each year. But I’ve never had a palm, and well, I’d like to place it with my orchids which I have growing under LED tracklighting. Can palms do well under lighting? This isn’t like direct sun or anything. These lights are specially made for orchids lit from higher up, not close up. They are natural white light, not the ‘disco’ colored ‘grow light’ so many people use. ???

By: Bridget

Bridget — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 17:37:22 +0000

If a frond is dying and all of the leaves have either fallen off or are yellow and brown, can the tree be saved? If so, how can I save it?

By: Letitia Kronenberg

Letitia Kronenberg — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 03:18:21 +0000

Hi Susan,
I have a coconut palm that was purchased in a 12″ inch diameter pot, about 12″ deep, and it is in need of transplanting. It has grown two new fronds in 6 months. It is about 4 feet tall. It lives indoors in a nice window and is doing very well, but growing out of it’s pot. I would like to know the best soil to use and if I keep the coconut sitting about half way in the soil and half out as it is now. We purchased a much larger pot with a good drainage hole in it. I also don’t know what kind of coconut palm we have, although it looks identical to the small ones in pot shown on your webpage “growing palm trees”. Any thoughts? Thanks for your help.

By: Beatrice Molano

Beatrice Molano — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:22:08 +0000

Thanks so much for your advice, Susan! I greatly appreciate it.

By: Susan Brian

Susan Brian — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:56:46 +0000

Hi Beatrice. Sorry to hear about your palm. You need to make few holes at the bottom otherwise your palm might get a bud rot. It is very easy to do with a power tool. To get rid of mealy bugs spray the palm with Safer Brand Insect Killing Soap. Let me know if this worked. ~Susan Brian

By: Beatrice Molano

Beatrice Molano — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 22:30:10 +0000

Hi Susan,

Please help! I received this palm as a gift and it now looks like it is on its last leg. I was told that the palm is called a “Living Room Palm.” It has had an ongoing problem with leaves turning yellow unless the soil feels moist. In the end, I may have overwatered it. It came in a pot that has no drainage holes and I am not sure if I will be able to extricate it intact from the pot. It now has many yellow leaves with dark brown leaf tips and a few dark brown spots on the leaves as well. I previously noticed long solid lines of a powdery white substance on the stalks. I took the palm outside today and allowed the rain to wash it. It now looks like the stalks are covered with white spots rather than a solid white line. Could the plant have mealy bugs? Can I try to hose the white things off with a hose? Should I try to dig the palm out of the pot and hose off all of the soil and then repot it? Please advise.

Are there houseplant services to take the tree to for treatment?

I took photos which I could send to you if this would be helpful.

The tree and I live in Northern Florida on Amelia Island.

Thank you so much for any help you can give me.