Kentia palm unhealthy! PLS HELP :)

[Mira_plants]

Hi all Palm lovers,

after doing a lot of research and study online, I still don’t have the complete answers to why my Kentia palm is dying on me. It’s been about 1 year and 8 months the palm is in the same pot as it came from its nursery, I was too scared to repot it, as I’ve heard they don’t like being disturbed. I’ve had spider mites issue for which I used neem oil and it did help, but the palm is getting brown patches now, new fonds look weak and I can’t see any new growth coming?

is it time to repot? I recently moved houses and the position of this palm has changed a lot, it gets indirect light whole day. South facing window in Australia and hence not too harsh light. 
I really want to save my palm and need your help. Posting pictures with close up.

 

[PalmCode]

Hi there welcome to the forums. Looks like theres 4 kentias in that one pot. I'd separate them all into individual pots. Or put them all in a bigger pot. Theyre hardy palms and don't mind being repotted. Good luck.

 

[spike]

I don't grow kentias myself, but low humidity might be an issue

Edited January 29, 2022 by spike

[Mira_plants]

9 hours ago, PalmCode said:

Hi there welcome to the forums. Looks like theres 4 kentias in that one pot. I'd separate them all into individual pots. Or put them all in a bigger pot. Theyre hardy palms and don't mind being repotted. Good luck.

 

Thank you @PalmCode for your insights, I will definitely try repotting in a bigger pot and fingers crossed it works out well! 

[Mira_plants]

8 hours ago, spike said:

I don't grow kentias myself, but low humidity might be an issue

Thank you @Spike, yes I will try the humidifier! 

[Rickybobby]

Almost looks like a root issue. Being indoors with moist wet soil will cause rot. I keep my palm room at 40 percent humidity and every palm looks perfect. What’s your water schedule ? Do you check the soil before watering.also by the very dark green colour of of the older fronds it looks like it could use more light 

[oasis371]

I do grow these, they are probably one of top 5 favorite palms..., especially for indoors.  

Some questions:

1.) What are your watering practices? When do you decide to water?

2.) How did you treat it for the spider mites?

I lost a large one of these a few years ago, which I attribute to messing about with "improving" the soil in mid Winter, while indoors. It started browning like yours suddenly, never any issues previously any time of year.  I season mine outside for months during the warm season, and it's hard to overwater in the summer heat outside, with some direct sun.  (I now have 3 Howea forsteriana and 1 H. belmoreana).   Indoors, these can be temperamental about extra moisture, especially in the cool season.  As you know, these are essentially solitary palms frequently grown in clusters, and while I have never separated a clump (buying all mine as singles), you can get useful info online if you decide to separate them, but I don't think that is the cause of the browning

 

Edited January 29, 2022 by oasis371

[Mira_plants]

10 hours ago, Rickybobby said:

Almost looks like a root issue. Being indoors with moist wet soil will cause rot. I keep my palm room at 40 percent humidity and every palm looks perfect. What’s your water schedule ? Do you check the soil before watering.also by the very dark green colour of of the older fronds it looks like it could use more light 

Hi @Rickybobby, thanks much for reply. I have 40 to 50% humidity in the room, watering is usually once a week, I do check with my moisture meter if the soil is dry before watering. I”ll probably try to give it more light.

[Mira_plants]

8 hours ago, oasis371 said:

I do grow these, they are probably one of top 5 favorite palms..., especially for indoors.  

Some questions:

1.) What are your watering practices? When do you decide to water?

2.) How did you treat it for the spider mites?

I lost a large one of these a few years ago, which I attribute to messing about with "improving" the soil in mid Winter, while indoors. It started browning like yours suddenly, never any issues previously any time of year.  I season mine outside for months during the warm season, and it's hard to overwater in the summer heat outside, with some direct sun.  (I now have 3 Howea forsteriana and 1 H. belmoreana).   Indoors, these can be temperamental about extra moisture, especially in the cool season.  As you know, these are essentially solitary palms frequently grown in clusters, and while I have never separated a clump (buying all mine as singles), you can get useful info online if you decide to separate them, but I don't think that is the cause of the browning

 

Hi @Oasis371 thank you so much for your detailed reply!

watering is usually once a week and I do check with moisture meter if the soil is dry, it usually dries out too fast I think.

for the spider mites I use neem oil spray but they keep on coming back

i did check the bottom of the pot and some roots are browned and coming out, so may be I will try repotting and hope I can save it,  really love the Kentia palm, one of my favourite indoor plants

[oasis371]

Does anyone think that the soil level is a bit high?  It may be picture, but if too much of the trunk is being covered by moist soil, that would be an issue.

[Mira_plants]

On 1/31/2022 at 1:13 AM, oasis371 said:

Does anyone think that the soil level is a bit high?  It may be picture, but if too much of the trunk is being covered by moist soil, that would be an issue.

Hi @Oasis371, I noticed another weird thing, I still have to repot it. But I watered the palm on Sunday morning and by tuesday morning it was completely dry again,! I checked it with the moisture meter, the soil is drying up too fast. Temperature is around 30 degrees these days in summer.

[Xerarch]

6 hours ago, Mira_plants said:

Hi @Oasis371, I noticed another weird thing, I still have to repot it. But I watered the palm on Sunday morning and by tuesday morning it was completely dry again,! I checked it with the moisture meter, the soil is drying up too fast. Temperature is around 30 degrees these days in summer.

I assume you mean 30 degrees C, and you must be in the southern hemisphere if it's summer right now.  Different types of soil media can dry out faster than others, and if you are that warm, yes your soil can be drying fast.  I experienced this during our summer here, I have a guava in a pot outside, and I couldn't believe how fast the soil would dry up and start to wilt the leaves.  I just had to make sure to water more frequently and the problem went away, save for the damage that was already done to the leaves. 

[PalmsandLiszt]

On 2/1/2022 at 7:55 AM, Mira_plants said:

Hi @Oasis371, I noticed another weird thing, I still have to repot it. But I watered the palm on Sunday morning and by tuesday morning it was completely dry again,! I checked it with the moisture meter, the soil is drying up too fast. Temperature is around 30 degrees these days in summer.

Your soil looks like coir chips and coir peat (or something analogous). Both lose water incredibly quickly and are terrible at making essential nutrients bioavailable to the the plant. Repot to something peat-based with a good amount of seramis and/or pumice or similar to ensure both good drainage and water retention. I'd put in a decent amount of pine bark chips, too. The idea that kentias are terribly sensitive to root disturbance is a myth; they are not, compared with many other palms. Gently scrape away the coir around the outer roots and back-fill with a better medium, and maybe the palm will do better.

Edited February 2, 2022 by PalmsandLiszt