Indoor Kentia survival does it happen?

[sashaeffer]

Kentia being listed by many sources as one of the 5 best palms for indoors because ease of care etc I was wondering if there are any members on Palmtalk that keep a Kentia palm indoors year around in Northern climates?

I did a search in the "palms in pots" section and read many pages with pictures of Kentia palms succumbing when brought indoors.

Anyone with positive stories? if so, what is the care your Kentia receives, placement, how long have you had etc.

Personally I've been through like 5/6 No direct light, keeping it dry, keeping it damp, RO water, rain water, bottled water....doesn't make a difference.

[Ben in Norcal]

Mine always get covered with scale and mites.  I gave up and just planted them all outside, where the pests disappear.  Luckily I have that option.

People say they are the best indoor palm - but I have far more success with various Chamaedorea sp.  Howea seem to be insect magnets for me, for whatever reason.

[sashaeffer]

1 minute ago, Ben in Norcal said:

Mine always get covered with scale and mites.  I gave up and just planted them all outside, where the pests disappear.  Luckily I have that option.

People say they are the best indoor palm - but I have far more success with various Chamaedorea sp.  Howea seem to be insect magnets for me, for whatever reason.

Yes I have much better luck with various Chamaedorea as well as long as I keep them on the dry side indoors, almost bone dry.

[lzorrito]

Had a indoor H. forstiana for two years plus, at about 12 ft from a window, in very low light conditions. Needed to move it outdoors because the new leafs stretched so much that it intefered with our movements. Tried others before and it didn't went good. So I somehow learned to keep the last one in good shape. Don't repot it, unless it's realy necessary. The tighter the roots, the better they perform indoors. It's strange, a large palm, in a small pot, but it works. Besides that I changed the top layer of the medium (until the first roots apper). Used a well draining porous mix. It is important to keep the base of the stem as dry as possible, doing so you prevent both fungus and mites, and also provide good root aeration. Be careful with watering. I let it almost dry out before watering. Easy with the fertilizer, 1/2 or 1/3 is enough. Each time it started to lean towards the light I gave it a little spin. Dust it once in a while, need to keep the leafs cleaned. This worked for me. But if you want an almost careless indoor palm, stick to @Ben in Norcaladvice and go for Chamaedoreas.

[sashaeffer]

3 minutes ago, lzorrito said:

Had a indoor H. forstiana for two years plus, at about 12 ft from a window, in very low light conditions. Needed to move it outdoors because the new leafs stretched so much that it intefered with our movements. Tried others before and it didn't went good. So I somehow learned to keep the last one in good shape. Don't repot it, unless it's realy necessary. The tighter the roots, the better they perform indoors. It's strange, a large palm, in a small pot, but it works. Besides that I changed the top layer of the medium (until the first roots apper). Used a well draining porous mix. It is important to keep the base of the stem as dry as possible, doing so you prevent both fungus and mites, and also provide good root aeration. Be careful with watering. I let it almost dry out before watering. Easy with the fertilizer, 1/2 or 1/3 is enough. Each time it started to lean towards the light I gave it a little spin. Dust it once in a while, need to keep the leafs cleaned. This worked for me. But if you want an almost careless indoor palm, stick to @Ben in Norcaladvice and go for Chamaedoreas.

Thanks for lots of great advice. Doesn’t make me feel as bad for not having much luck with Kentias that I’ve tried.

They are dirt cheap to buy in California so will have to give it another try and just keep it in even Less lit part of a room and take your advice about amending the soil.

yes, Chamaedorea Palms in general do  make good indoor palm trees and much cheaper to buy especially if you’re experimenting around. Again thanks for the great advice.

[cisco]

I live in Finland. I have 2 Kentias called Ken & Tia. 
I bought them in 2013. Very easy to care for. Pot size is 11l and full of roots. They have Seramis, pine bark and crushed leca gravel and they love it.  Works very well. We have here a long, dark and cold winter. Soil must dry out fast enough. It must also remain airy. Kentias are under LED growth light. When it’s time to water, I'll take them to the shower. They are not heavy at all. I use a lot of water for irrigation. I also spray the leaves. After that, I let them drain a bit. In the meantime, I go to make a fertilizer for the watering can. I use water-soluble palm fertilizer and seaweed once a month. I also use chicken manure spikes about every 3 months.  I never fertilize dry soil.  I'll leave them on the heated floor for a moment or over nigth. In the summertimes  I take them outdoors into the shade. They also like natural rain a lot.  Both palms are making a new leaf spike now. So everything is fine.

[sashaeffer]

Thanks for the reply! VERY well draining soil must be key for indoors and growth rate indoors living means.

most potted Kentias I’ve bought are in heavy soil, probably fine if kept outdoors.

I've been trying to find a seller that will sell them bare root so I can try a ultra fast draining media.

 

[JohnAndSancho]

I'm batting .500 on Kentias. I bought a 1gal pot with 4 plants in it, one was heavily pest infested and died. I split up the remaining 3 -

1 is in a co-workers house and doing well, one is in my house and not growing, but not dying. The other one went into my office and got chucked into the dumpster. I'm not concerned with my "not growing" palm in my apartment because these are notoriously slow growers - but I'm also not gonna move it. 

[sashaeffer]

5 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I'm batting .500 on Kentias. I bought a 1gal pot with 4 plants in it, one was heavily pest infested and died. I split up the remaining 3 -

1 is in a co-workers house and doing well, one is in my house and not growing, but not dying. The other one went into my office and got chucked into the dumpster. I'm not concerned with my "not growing" palm in my apartment because these are notoriously slow growers - but I'm also not gonna move it. 

What did you do for "soil" when you split them up?  How often do you water yours?

[lzorrito]

11 hours ago, cisco said:

Very easy to care for. Pot size is 11l and full of roots. They have Seramis, pine bark and crushed leca gravel and they love it.  Works very well. We have here a long, dark and cold winter. Soil must dry out fast enough. It must also remain airy. Kentias are under LED growth light. When it’s time to water, I'll take them to the shower. They are not heavy at all. I use a lot of water for irrigation. I also spray the leaves. After that, I let them drain a bit. In the meantime, I go to make a fertilizer for the watering can. I use water-soluble palm fertilizer and seaweed once a month. I also use chicken manure spikes about every 3 months.  I never fertilize dry soil.  I'll leave them on the heated floor for a moment or over nigth. In the summertimes  I take them outdoors into the shade. They also like natural rain a lot.  Both palms are making a new leaf spike now. So everything is fine.

That's the way to go on  climate like your. Congrats, they look great!

Here's one of mine. This one was on inside until some months ago. Notice how stretched it is due to former low light conditions. Normally it is placed on a sheltered and semi shaded position, but as we're getting heavy showers today, I've placed it on open range so it may enjoy the rain.

[JohnAndSancho]

4 hours ago, sashaeffer said:

What did you do for "soil" when you split them up?  How often do you water yours?

The survivors are in a 1:1:1 mix of Fox Farm Ocean Forest, Repti Bark, and Turface. I gave one away and kept one, and mine doesn't get watered very often but I do mist it a couple times a week. 

[oasis371]

I have not experienced these palms as temperamental in the least. Having said that, I lost a beloved I had for years last winter as I decided to "improve" the soil by adding more humus to the mix (soil seemed to be getting too dry, too fast). Well, the plant into a rapid decline. I since replaced the lost one with three smaller ones as I love the look and history of these terrific palms.  I would agree with a well-draining soil and being careful with watering during the winter, cool season.  Mine go outside in the summer in a mostly shaded but very warm location (on a deck) where they get hosed down on nearly a daily basis and growth is good.

[sashaeffer]

6 minutes ago, oasis371 said:

I have not experienced these palms as temperamental in the least. Having said that, I lost a beloved I had for years last winter as I decided to "improve" the soil by adding more humus to the mix (soil seemed to be getting too dry, too fast). Well, the plant into a rapid decline. I since replaced the lost one with three smaller ones as I love the look and history of these terrific palms.  I would agree with a well-draining soil and being careful with watering during the winter, cool season.  Mine go outside in the summer in a mostly shaded but very warm location (on a deck) where they get hosed down on nearly a daily basis and growth is good.

Soil sure seems to be key, as well as matching growing season with watering habits.   Most...if not all the Kentia palms I've bought have been in almost clay like soil so not well draining at all and combined with being indoors let to the palms demise hence, why looking for some that I can get bare root and put into fast draining "soil" for indoors.  Like you, love the classic beauty and history of them.

[rowdynorfolk]

I owned a Kentia Palm seedling export business on Norfolk Island. Sold large quantities of seedlings to European and North American growers. Spent many years working with Kentias.

Produced a book about the history of the Kentia Palm in 2006. Book is called Seed to Elegance and can be purchased through my blog site Kentia Palm Chronicles. Book has a lot of good information on how to care for a Kentia Palm indoors. You can also view lots more information about Kentias at my blog site.

[sashaeffer]

24 minutes ago, rowdynorfolk said:

I owned a Kentia Palm seedling export business on Norfolk Island. Sold large quantities of seedlings to European and North American growers. Spent many years working with Kentias.

Produced a book about the history of the Kentia Palm in 2006. Book is called Seed to Elegance and can be purchased through my blog site Kentia Palm Chronicles. Book has a lot of good information on how to care for a Kentia Palm indoors. You can also view lots more information about Kentias at my blog site.

Yes, I've read excerpt/article from the book Learned a lot. Will keep trying..

 

[PsyPalm]

I've had my big Kentia Diego in my Seattle apartment for just over a year and he seems to be pretty happy.  He's actually a cluster of four individual palms in one pot, and I have him in a well draining mix that is roughly 1/3 miraclegro moisture control potting mix, 1/3 half inch black lava rock, and 1/3 white pumice.  He doesn't get any natural light, but seems to be doing fine with the two grow lights I have installed in his little corner.  He's put out 2 large fronds over the past year and has a third ready to open up any day.  

I also have a smaller single howea in a small square pot.  I unfortunately lost a number of it's fronds to root rot before I could turn it around so he's a little lopsided but I think he's going to make it, he's pushing out a new spear currently