Chamaedorea seifrizii identification/help

[PalmPilot]

Hello everyone. I spent way too many hours last night perusing the forum and being intimidated by the vast amount of knowledge y'all have so I thought I'd make an account to ask for your sage advice. I am brand new to palms and plants in general. I bought a beautiful Bamboo Palm specimen (Am unsure of exact species, would appreciate if anyone can identify) I named Robert. I was told he was going to be around 4ft, but when delivered he arrived at 5'8" (with spider mites which I am currently trying to handle) which was a lot bigger than expected, and now within 3 months has grown to almost 7ft, which presents a predicament for me as my ceilings are only 7ft tall.

So my main question is, is there any way to try keep Robert at his current size? I've seen very divisive info on root pruning and it seems to depend on the species so I don't want to go into any of that unless it's the only option. I saw the user Pal Meir making bonsai palms which just blows my mind so I'm hoping you guys might have some advice re this.

Another question is that Robert's fronds tend to have leaves browning at the tip now, I'm guessing this might be because I power washed him in my shower a few times (covering the soil but there's no way to truly stop the water from running down) to blast off the mites, and this has led to slight overwatering? I'm only watering when the first 1/3rd of soil gets dry, which with the 3 showers I've given him hasn't been needed. I'm also spraying him with Endall insect killer every 4 days (from my research this is how long the mite eggs take to hatch), and am thinking of stopping the showers and just keeping with the spray to combat any over-watering issues. 

I also moved Robert from his nursery pot about 2 months in, which I hear may have been a mistake which is unfortunate, but aside from the browning tips I think he looks healthy, and he didn't look too rootbound when I was repotting. Some of his lower fronds have pretty thin leaves, is this a bad thing?

God guys, I just wanted a nice easy to care for plant that does well in low light and now I love Robert and would hate to be mistreating him.

Oh and pertinent info: I live in Northern California and Robert is next to a NE facing window (normally more in the corner but the spray mists everywhere so I've pulled him out to save the furniture)

Images attached of Robert in his lair, the towel underneath is to protect the carpet from the insect spray:

Edited July 16, 2020 by PalmPilot

[Steve Mac]

Hi PalmPilot, I believe that you have correctly identified the plant. That Chamaedorea seifrizii is definitely a Robert.  My Friz is is 9 or 10' tall (with no pot) but is outside in the garden. I think that Robert looks healthy and happy. Concerning the height problem given that they are a clustering palm and that they are not a very fast grower, (well my Friz isn't) you could just cut off the tallest stem  (tough love but root pruning is tougher) as it reaches the height limit. That will not affect the health of the plant, I think that you could do that indefinitely.

Welcome to the forum, you sound like a very smart person. You did research, you supplied pics, your location and plant history. I'm sure that a local who is more used to pots than I am can help you further if you need it.

If you need to spray Robert again consider taking him outside first. The spray, I think, is more likely to affect the paint on the walls or you, more than the floor.

[PalmPilot]

Thank you Steve for such a kind and warm welcome to the site! Thanks for the suggestion about trimming the top, I'll definitely try that if he gets too tall! And oh wow yeah you're right about the wall, I didn't even think of that. Robert is so heavy that it's hard to drag him outside, but maybe I can drag him into a bigger room! Here's hoping I can banish the mites and get Robert on a proper watering schedule so he can return to his full glory!

[PalmatierMeg]

Welcome to PalmTalk. I keep potted uber tropical palms on my back lanai with the larger ones sitting on movers' dollies I buy at Harbor Freight. The best kind is a 12"x16" or so plastic base that sits on four wheels. On extra cold nights I wheel the palms indoors until the cold passes - that happens only a few nights per winter. If you set your palm on such a dolly you can wheel it around the houses and outdoors.

[Steve Mac]

5 hours ago, PalmPilot said:

"trimming the top"

Not exactly what I meant.  Cutting the top off will kill that whole stem, they grow from the top only without reshooting out the sides of the stem.

When a stem is too tall you would usually cut it off from the very bottom. It will shoot more from the base.

[PalmPilot]

See this is exactly what I was talking about. Thank you so much for specifying otherwise I would’ve made an awful mistake!

So if one of my big stems is getting too tall you suggest cutting it from the base and it will regrow, if I’m to understand you correctly?

edit: it was supposed to quote your post gsteve but apparently my mobile refuses to do so.

Edited July 18, 2020 by PalmPilot

[Fusca]

10 hours ago, PalmPilot said:

See this is exactly what I was talking about. Thank you so much for specifying otherwise I would’ve made an awful mistake!

So if one of my big stems is getting too tall you suggest cutting it from the base and it will regrow, if I’m to understand you correctly?

edit: it was supposed to quote your post gsteve but apparently my mobile refuses to do so.

Yes, it's important to get all of the information clear.  I believe what @gtsteve is trying to say is that when one of the stems gets too tall you can sacrifice that stem without killing the entire palm.  Whether you cut the tallest stem from the top or the bottom that stem will die.  But because your palm is a clustering type with multiple stems the remaining stems will continue to grow and create new stems.  You can think of it in terms of cutting off a branch from the trunk of an oak tree - the branch that you remove dies but the oak continues to live through the other branches.  Palms are different from oaks in the way they grow - you can trim the top of an oak tree without killing it but if you trim the top of a solitary palm (like a queen palm - just a single stem) you will likely kill the entire palm.  Your palm has multiple stems so cutting one of them will only kill the stem you cut.  Hope that clears it up some.

Jon

[Steve Mac]

 

Jon is right. But no, it would not have been an awful mistake. There is just one more specific thing that you need to recognise. You have to see the difference between cutting off the last leaf and cutting off the actual growing tip of the stem, called the apical bud. This is the part that produces new (higher) leaves This can extend down a few inches below the attachment of the last leaf that sticks out from the upright stem, or less.

You can cut off the entire last leaf, back to the stem and it will not kill that stem or plant, you just can't cut off the last few inches of the stem containing the 'apical bud' (unless you want that whole stem to die) as that will stop it producing more leaves on that stem and then the length of that stem will die, not the whole plant. Now, that said, if you do cut off the end of the stem and not just the last leaves it does not really matter, if you don't mind a dead stem that looks like yellow bamboo in the pot, it will not kill the entire plant anyway. And you can cut that out later whenever you wish, if you wish. I have Clustering Chamaedoreas (in the garden ) with dead stems that look like bamboo) and it is not a problem.  

I could have expressed myself better initially

[PalmPilot]

Jon, GSteve and PalmatierMeg thank you all so much for the info. Meg I will for sure be looking into a small dolly as it would make my life so much easier haha.

Jon and GSteve thank you for clarifying on your statements it really helps, and you expressed yourself fine GSteve, I just wanted to be extra sure I was inferring correctly. Like I said I’m brand new to plants in general and love Robert so I want to be nice and careful with him!

cheers guys!

 

[lzorrito]

Hello PalmPilot! I have two C. seifrizii, both potted, one is on the outside (7 feet tall) and the other on the inside (5 feet tall,  rich, moist, weel draining soil) and thriving fine. As for tall stems, they tend to lose their leaves and look thin, without the tropical look of the short ones, but I love it. Pruning, only completely dry leaves. As for browning tips, the interior one never had them. The outside, yes, but due to the sun, but very little. The one inside is about three meters from the nearest window, and I have very small windows ... despite that, it´s happy and it grows a lot. Sometimes I put it in the rain, she loves it. I fertilize regularly and keep them moist, even in winter. Very easy to care for. Here are some pics.

[Pal Meir]

Root pruning doesn‘t help; you can only cut the stems which are too tall or let them lean straight across the whole room:

[PalmPilot]

On 7/24/2020 at 11:26 AM, Pal Meir said:

Root pruning doesn‘t help; you can only cut the stems which are too tall or let them lean straight across the whole room:

Oh my god that photo is AMAZING. If they’re going to lean like that I might actually just let that happen because that is SO COOL. Although I might ask my landlords can I rip up the carpet because if I want a plant that size I’ll definitely have to have it be more humid in the room, which runs the risk of a very funky carpet.

[PalmPilot]

Hello again friends. A quick question because I’m worried that now because of the mites I may have underwatered Robert in an effort to curb the little bastards. There seems to be no sign of mites but I see new growth browning at the top before the fronds begin to emerge, I’ve not watered him (apart from some mistings because of the heatwave) because the soil was still damp around 2” down, so I’m not sure if the browning on these new fronds is residual issues from overwatering (giving Robert a shower to rid him of the mites) or if I left him too long between (it was at least 5 weeks since I last watered him). There’s such a variety of thoughts on how much you should water these palms that it’s hard to figure out what’s best for the poor guy, especially after that infestation.

He has a lot of new growth which is good I’m guessing (at least 12 new fronds growing as of right now, it’s hard to count as there are so many) which may also be contributing.

Any ideas?

 

(can provide newer pics if that helps)

Edited September 2, 2020 by PalmPilot

[PalmatierMeg]

photos please

[PalmPilot]

Photos! And can provide more if needed.

[lzorrito]

11 hours ago, PalmPilot said:

the soil was still damp around 2” down,

Maybe that's the problem, drainage issues. Must check your soil drainage and also the pot it self. How many drainage holes does it got?

[PalmPilot]

Ooh maybe. The pot has a large drainage hole and I use a mix of generic soil mix and cactus mix, but maybe I don’t have enough drainage holes or need to put more cactus mix in?

[lzorrito]

15 hours ago, PalmPilot said:

Ooh maybe. The pot has a large drainage hole and I use a mix of generic soil mix and cactus mix, but maybe I don’t have enough drainage holes or need to put more cactus mix in?

Only one hole? Maybe you don't need to blend the potting soil. Better not disturb the roots if it has been potted recently. You may add a 2 to 3 inch layer on the bottom of the pot using coarse lava rock or baked clay pebbles. It will help a lot with drainage and root aeration. Try to pull the palm out smoothly, horizontally is better. Watch out for root damage. Check them for bad conditions, like smelly dark brown, spongy roots. You may layer the coarse material and then repot the palm.

[PalmPilot]

3 hours ago, lzorrito said:

Only one hole? Maybe you don't need to blend the potting soil. Better not disturb the roots if it has been potted recently. You may add a 2 to 3 inch layer on the bottom of the pot using coarse lava rock or baked clay pebbles. It will help a lot with drainage and root aeration. Try to pull the palm out smoothly, horizontally is better. Watch out for root damage. Check them for bad conditions, like smelly dark brown, spongy roots. You may layer the coarse material and then repot the palm.

Yeah normally I would drill more in myself but it’s quite a large hole. And that’s a great idea. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Fusca]

20 minutes ago, PalmPilot said:

Yeah normally I would drill more in myself but it’s quite a large hole. And that’s a great idea. Thanks for the suggestion!

Also you can make sure that the pot does not sit in water by emptying the saucer soon after watering or having stones in between the pot and the saucer. 

[PalmPilot]

So I ordered some lava rocks and happen to have some on hand for the moment and took Robert out of his pot. The good news is his roots don’t seem soft or smell, except for a few I cut back (hoping this is the right thing to do as it was only about 4-5 end chunks of roots on one side see photo for what I removed) should i maybe also try a fungicide in case it spreads? I’m reluctant to repot so late in the season. but I think drainage was definitely a problem as it looks like there’s been a salt build up in the soil. I’ve put down a layer over lava rocks (and will add more when I get them) for better draining which will hopefully flush the salts out. He also looks a wee bit potbound, should I consider a bigger pot next year? 

Edited September 4, 2020 by PalmPilot
Added photo

[lzorrito]

Looking good, and no need to repot soon.  Salt building up you say? How often to you fertilize, and type of fertilizer? Tap water?

[PalmPilot]

3 hours ago, lzorrito said:

Looking good, and no need to repot soon.  Salt building up you say? How often to you fertilize, and type of fertilizer? Tap water?

Appreciate all your advice, I love plants but man they can be such fussy little things. At least from a glance at the soil. I have a slow release fertiliser I’ve put in once for Robert after reading that regular fertiliser even diluted isn’t the best for plants (gave him 3 waterings with regular fertiliser), and that’s really it, and use Tap water that’s left standing out at least 24hours. I think the salt buildup was from poor drainage and also from when I hosed off the spider mites a few weeks back, since that was shower water and despite my covering his soil with foil he still got a good soaking. Are there any fertilisers you recommend? The slow release one I got is fine, but I’m sure there’s probably a better one out there for Robert!

[lzorrito]

You are doing the right thing with both water and fertilizer. BTW, what's the NPK ratio of that fertilizer and what dosage did you adopted? Remember that's an indoor potted palm. You must be gentle with the amount of fertilizer.

The salt issue it's probably from the bad drainage. No water flow, salt buids up...

When it rains put it outside to bleach the salt out of the soil.

[PalmPilot]

3 hours ago, lzorrito said:

You are doing the right thing with both water and fertilizer. BTW, what's the NPK ratio of that fertilizer and what dosage did you adopted? Remember that's an indoor potted palm. You must be gentle with the amount of fertilizer.

The salt issue it's probably from the bad drainage. No water flow, salt buids up...

When it rains put it outside to bleach the salt out of the soil.

I’m using this slow release guy (bought it by mistake so am looking for a better one), for established plants it suggests using a drip line which I don’t have but I mixed about a half cup with soil and spread it around the plant, so who knows if that was a good idea. info is here:

 

yeah hopefully the lava rocks will help and then next spring (or if I have further issues) I can add additional drainage holes. 

Oh interesting! I’m assuming out of the rain so it doesn’t get too much water but gets the overcast sunlight, correct?

[lzorrito]

It must be under the rain, at least twice a year, or give it a good bathtub shower. It's not a sunligth question. Rain/shower helps "cleans" the salt that has built up in the soil, and other minerals.

Yes you can add some hole, but be careful! It's a ceramic pot, it may crack or just break...

You probably need to change your fertilizer, it has to much (P) and it's not quite balanced for potted palms. For your  other questions, please, check this:

Nutrition and Fertilization of Palms in Containers.pdf

[lzorrito]

BTW, I forgot to tell you to check the following:  

 Please read this post/topic so you may solve future bug issues on your seifrizii.

[Maj]

Hey everyone I really hope you can help me here

i have a beautiful Chamaedorea seifrizii and my cat today jumped on it and snipped of a large culm of it now I put the culm in water as first thing but is there a way to regrow it back with the rest of my plant please help it really hurts me to look at my plant like this