Parlour Palm Issues?

[markprobin]

Hi

I hope some can help.

I am far from an expert, but have had this Parlour Palm (I believe it is) for 30 years.

It has lived in the same spot in my living room for the last six + years.

Over the years it's had a bit of TLC removing old leaves and repotting.

Of late I noticed some of the leaves on one stem/stalk (not technical on this!) had started to die.

These were removed, and this weekend more were removed so much so that one of these stems/stalks have no leaves remaining.

You can see by the attached images that the two other stems/stalks are displaying plenty of leaves and even has the annuals seeds being produced.

The stem/stalk with nothing left on it is yellow in colour nearer the top.

Is this saying it's unwell?

Is there a chance of live in that stem/stalk again?

Do I cut it away completly, or even cut half of it away?

Advice will be appreciated!

Thanks

Mark

[Kostas]

The yellow is from removing the leaf bases,newly exposed to light trunk is yellow and slowly gets green.

The "leafless "stem seems like it has necrotic new leafs,which could be from salt build up in the soil(like the necrotic leaf tips on the rest of the plants most probably are) or from something else. I would rinse its soil we'll from salts and let the soil dry out well before watering again. I would wait out the leafless stem for some months to a year as it may eventually grow new leafs again and stressed Chamaedorea can take to full year or more to grow new leafs from near death situations...Or it may eventually die. You could tie a small bromeliad a little lower on the trunk to have something interesting to view in the meantime.

[PalmatierMeg]

I'm no expert but looks like the one stem is hurting. Chamaedorea elegans aka parlor palm, is a solitary palm that is usually sold artificially clumped. So, you really have 3 solitary palms in one pot, not a clustering palm. Assuming that what one plant contracts isn't highly contagious, cutting off that stem should not bother the others. Question: have these palms lived in the same pot with same potting mix for many years? Or do you repot them in fresh mix and pot every 2-3 years? If you don't regularly repot the mix will break down and no longer drain freely. Do you fertilize the palms? If so, do you periodically run plain water through the mix to flush out salts?

Finally, a palm seller recently told me he'd given up on Chams because, he claimed, they were short-lived and he didn't want to waste time on them. C. elegans starts flowering as early as 2-3 years, so stands to reason they might reach end-of-life at 30 years.

[markprobin]

Hi

Thanks for both replies.

I thought the yellow stems were from being the leaf bases.

In the last repotted approx 18 months ago. Before that probably twice in ten years tops.

In 30 years I have never replaced soil, just added when moving to bigger pots.

As for watering and fertailzers, probably been fed less than a handful of times over the years.

Salt is mentioned. Where would this come from? Water is the neck of the woods is 'hard to very hard' tap water - and this is all this palm has ever lived on.

Honestly, it's been a very maintenance free over the years!

If it's not going to harm the other stems, I will leave as is. Hopefully, as mentioned, it will grow new leafs in time.

As for cutting back half the stem. Is that a no no if you hope that stem to come back to life?

[Kostas]

The accumulation of salts I mentioned results from watering lightly and not flushing the soil with plenty of water coming out the drainage holes and to the drain,so the salts present in the tap water,which are left behind in the soil as the water evaporates,are not removed but are left in the soil and more and more accumulate with each watering. Accumulated salts in the soil present toxic conditions to the roots and this appears as black tip damage on the leaflets of the older leafs first. With hard water,it's very easy and common to get salt accumulation in the soil and the palms can eventually die from it. So,flush away a few times now to be sure and don't forget to flush it every now and then,say once a month if more often is not convenient.

Chamaedorea elegans doesn't branch so if you cut the trunk in the middle,you remove the sole growing point of the plant and is thus unable to ever continue growth again. So not an option if you want it to continue living.

[markprobin]

Can you explain a bit more of flushing as I am not familar with the technical terms!

The pot it lives in has no holes, so water does not drain away. Just every now again I pour in water - enough to keep the palm ticking over.

[Kostas]

Well,that is exactly the source of the problem,no drain holes to start. So,first you would need to drill(or carve/cut with a packaging knife) some holes at the lowest level of the pot,either under the pot or to the side of it,at the very bottom. 4-5 holes for each pot of 1,5cm diameter should be fine. Then you take the pots somewhere with a drain(outside or in a sink for example) and water with plenty of water. A few fills of the pot to the brim with water and let it drain and then maybe a slow trickle of water from the tap for a few minutes and a good deal of the salts will have been flushed. Then you don't water again till the soil dries out very well and you only feel the slightest feel of moisture checking the bottom soil from a drainage hole. That is to safeguard somewhat against root rot that could develop if soil remains constantly moist,since flushing wets the soil real well and it takes a fair bit to dry enough to need watering again. Chamaedorea elegans are very drought hardy and you can see when they need watering as the leaflets hang just a little bit lower than usual and perk up right away once watered,within a few hours.

Then continue to water as usual,just remembering to flush the pot from salts again every now and then. That could be every month or 3(not ideal but may be necessary in winter if the soil refuses to dry for extended periods of time,which wouldn't be good).

Having holes at the bottom of the pot now,you will either need a cover pot with no hole and something to hold the pot higher,so that it doesn't sit in any extra water that drains,or simply a pot saucer,which will need emptying a few hours after watering as water slowly drains from the soil to it.

[PalmatierMeg]

I agree with everything Kostas says. You must use a pot with drainage holes. Don't let the palms sit in water in a tray. Salts in the soil come from the water and from breakdown of fertilizer. You must fertilize these palms. Use a time release pelletized fertilizer like Nutricote, Nitrogen-Phosphorous-Potassium (those are necessary major minerals) of 13-13-13 if you can find it. Your fertilizer should also contain the minor nutrients: iron, boron, copper, zinc, sulfur, magnesium, manganese etc. Don't make them wait years for their nutrients. When the weather warms - this palm is not coldhardy - you can let rain flush out salts.

You should repot and discard as much old soil as you can carefully remove from the palms. Avoid using cheap houseplant potting soil if you can. Look for cactus/palm mix that drains better. If you must use houseplant soil, add perlite or coarse sand for drainage.

[markprobin]

I shall get a pot saucer and bore some holes and flush

The palm though does not sit in water though. Every couple of weeks, sometimes more it has a couple of pints of water.

The rule book may say one thing, but this is the way it has been looked after for 30 years without fertilizers and chnage of soils etc!

There is obviously a reason why the leaves on the stem have all died? It may be a combination of things, or just old age.

On another note, I have been for years a lover of palm trees. Being in the cold wet UK the country does lack palms, but when overseas in countries like Spain I love walking along esplanades of palms.

So much so over recent years I have collected their seeds/fruit and experimented growing from seed.

Trial and error with propergators etc, at the begininging started to get somewhere but come the winter months with little natural light my efforts failed.

The last couple of years though have started to become more sucessful, making more use of the greenhouse than trying to grow under false conditions inside.

One is coming along very well. Don't ask me what species, as when the seeds/fruit have been collected they go in a bag mixed so who knows what type of Palm Tree Mummy & Daddy was!

I shall post a pic a bit later of that one.

[Kostas]

I totally believe you and understand the way you cared for your C. elegant all those years. Watering with a very small amount of water,helped lessen the salt build up but eventually,it always reaches damaging amounts. For my first years of palm growing,I used to do the same with indoor palms,kept them in pots with holes but watered with a very small amount of water so nothing would run out and fill the saucer. With most of my potted ones indoors,it wouldn't matter too much as I was just starting them there and ground planting them fast and any problems were solved,others,I tried to keep longer,always developed serious problems(and usually died with the typical salt build up symptoms). What really brought this to my attention though was the fast dieback of my flowering,seed grown C. elegans which I was proud of for looking perfect all the years. Well,it took me months to find out what the problem was and it stalled for a year with no growth,then I finally found out,changed the potting soil and started flushing in frequent intervals. Growth went back to normal within a month but it's now 3 years since that event and it still has 1,5 years worth of damaged leafs to replace. That's what I got to look at for my mistake! When work gets in the way and I delay flushing,the necrotic areas of the older leafs wake up and eat away a tad bit more...So you do can get away for some time but eventually fate catches with them if soil is not frequently flushed...

The usual problems with keeping indoor palms are 2,rot and salt build up. The first you take care with proper,very very well draining soil as Meg also said,and proper watering for each species(others like to dry out a lot,others less),the second,you take care with frequent flushing but always keeping proper watering "intervals"(no set intervals really,each palm and each growing area and current weather,influences that greatly)in mind,so that it doesn't rot from too much moisture.

Meg really knows how to grow potted palms to perfection,so her advise is invaluable!

[markprobin]

I guess as it's my baby, no one likes someone else that you have to look after it this way and that way!

Saying that, I except I came here for advice!

I was adviced at the local garden centre to use John Innes No2 soil.

I have 'flushed' and repotted with a handful of holes for drainage.

To be fair, the soil at the base of the pot was wetter that I thought it would be.

Only thing is now with all the water going through the soil since flushing it's now to damn heavy to move and bring back inside!

[markprobin]

Off topic and on to the palms growing from seed, see attached pics.

The biggest one is a seed (Feb 2012) from a place in Spain called Elche and is one of the largest palm plantations in the world!

The others from the Spanish Island, Ibiza and I have another 20 or so of these growing!

Edited February 4, 2014 by markprobin

[markprobin]

Four months on, my Parlour Palm has shown no signs of growth after a 'flush' and re-pot.

A month back it did produce some new seed.

Each year it always produced a dozen new 'fronds' but this year no signs at all.

After 30 years, could it be calling it a day?

[Kostas]

Are you talking about the leafless trunk or all of them? Chamaedorea are relatively short lived so it's not totally out of the question that it may be calling it a day. Also the salt build up could have caused it more damage than it can recover from. But as long as they have shown no more leaf dieback,be happy. It takes time for the palm to recooperate and start growing again. It may be more than a year before normal growth rate resumes...

[markprobin]

Hi

The leafless trunk is history.

It's the other two that are left that are standing still.

One thing I forget to mention, they did produce seed of late which may be a good sign.

I love the plant, and after 30 years I am attached to it - but....

It really does take up valuable space so I wish it would make up its mind what it's doing!

[Kostas]

Seed production is a good sign that they are healthy enough to do it,however plants do it as a survival mechanism as well,to produce a next generation. It takes a lot of energy from the plant,so now that they are done with it,they may start growing faster. It really is a waiting game at this phase though.

You can start some seeds from it in the meantime,they are very fast and within 3years you will have flowering specimen again,albeit trunkless for a few more years.

[AmandaVioletHoff]

Hello,

I've been having similar issues but my palm is yellow/white on the stalk and one has completely snapped off. I thought it was just the one stem getting to big to support itself but when I checked the others and pruned away some of the dry bark I saw the weird colouring.

I usually water once a week and run a humidifier a few times a week for it. In north facing so it gets lots of bright indirect light.

Please help I love this plant and don't want to lose it! Thanks!