Cat Palm Stressing me Out...

[mr_p2r]

Hi yall

This is my first post and I was really excited to see there's a whole forum for this- I'm mostly on Swedespeed- a Volvo forum.

Im based here in NE Ohio where for about 5 months it's lovely and green outside, yellow/red for a month in the fall, then 6 months of grey dark winter where it looks like a nuke went off. I honestly get really depressed in the winters here not being able to see any green so I wanted to make a change and get in a big ol palm.

I got this big Cat Palm from Lowes (not the best place I know) and I mounted a LED grow flood light to the wall. The bulb also lights up the livingroom once it's dark (it's on a timer for 13 hours a day). I also repotted her in a big planter with cactus soil. I water her every 5 days (soil dries between) with distilled water. I also mist her once a day with distilled water for humidity.

I really want her to thrive and make it through the winter, she has new shoots coming up and they're starting to open which is awesome.

Below are my concerns if anyone can help me:

—Some of the fronds closer to the light are starting to turn a lighter green than the rest of the plant, I put a diffuser over the bulb to calm the light a little, how long should I set the light timer for? Is 13 hours on/11 hours off okay or should I do more? What about during the winter season?

—Should her soil dry out well in between or be slightly moist? I've read slightly moist- the ends of the fronds are starting to curl in a little I don't know why.

—She has mites, I got this from Amazon it will be here soon, should that be okay? I wiped away a TON of them but they're back and webby.

—The last few mm's of all of her fronds are brown and dry, you can't tell from a few feet away but up close you can see. Why is that happening?

—Are there any other tips for this specific species that anyone can recommend?

In addition to her I got a small majesty palm, a dieffenbachia (that has been growing like crazy), a 6 foot tall Yucca Cane and a 4 foot tall Mass Cane. They're all residing on the patio to grow then when it's cooler they'll be in the office.

Thanks for any/all the help!

[Steve Mac]

Mate, I reckon that it looks good. A bit better than the ones that have been in my garden down here for over 10 yrs.

Welcome to the forum.  I can't help you, as much as I would like, but I know that there is a Palmtalker over there closer to you who can.  While you wait for a 'local' to chime in, search on here and look back for a few pages at previous threads, looking for 'majesty palm' and short version, good luck with that.  By that I mean, Majesty is a hard one to to have success with indoors. 

And feel free to sign off with a first name, it is a really friendly mob here, not like some of those other motor forums that I am also on. I regret selling my 244 some years ago.

Cheers steve.

 

[mr_p2r]

7 hours ago, gtsteve said:

Mate, I reckon that it looks good. A bit better than the ones that have been in my garden down here for over 10 yrs.

I really appreciate it Steve. I wish I was local to you— if there's one place I ever want to visit is Australia; it's a goal of mine.

I agree she does look good, I think I didn't feel confident yet  in making sure it's healthy because I don't know where to get another one.

Yeah I had a '88 244 which I had and sold, biggest regret in life— but right now I have a S60R and a V90

Thanks for your post and welcome

-Martin

[oasis371]

Cat palms are WATER LOVERS, forget what you have heard about the vast majority of palms and the need to let them go somewhat dry between waterings (mostly good advise). I would suggest that you sit it on a saucer in which there is always a bit of water in order to avoid any water stress, this palm is not in the least drought tolerant.

Edited August 18, 2020 by oasis371
grammar

[Frond-friend42]

VERY NICE LOOKING PALM

[Merlyn]

Outdoors in Floriduh a Cat Palm is a shade plant, so medium indoor light is probably okay.  I had one in a pot for about 6 months and the mites were a continous fight.  Then my cats got into my cat palm and started playing with it.  Pretty soon the dumb one (to be honest neither of my two cats are very bright) had hooked her claws into almost every new stem.  Then she'd panic because her claws were stuck, and try and run away...still attached to the palm.  So I gave up and planted it outside in a full shade spot.  It's happy being in continuously wet soil, it is under a gutter overhang that spills over with our daily torrential storms.  So I don't have a lot of long-term experience with a potted Cat, but I had similar problems to yours.

[piping plovers]

That is  a beautiful specimen.  The Cats remind me a lot of the Kentias with their glossy dark green fronds, and they are so much more readily available.  That spotlight will make a big difference in the winter for the palm's health (and likely helpful to your mood) during the dark cold months.  I have used spotlighting for my palms, orchids for years.  I have always reasoned that 12 hours light is sufficient for tropical houseplants as most of them receive 12 hours at/around the equator in their native environments; although, I don't think they would ever complain about extra light hours.

[sashaeffer]

I have a potted one that I've had for years.  This is my experience....

Winter: I keep it in my garage where it never drops to even freezing. I NEVER water it all winter long. When I would give it even a little water once a month it would suffer and I would loose entire stems along with their fronds.

Summer: I have it outside in a dappled light area. We seem to get quite a bit of rain here where I live (Omaha, NE) so never worry about adding water and it does just fine.  Mine is in a 3 gallon pot I bought at ACE hardware 4? years ago for $10 just to see what would happen if I neglect it since I've had issues with other Chamadorea species indoors where I've killed many by watering too much. For ME, indoor Chamadoreas prefer to be on the dry side.

[NOT A TA]

I grow them in growers pots in full shade here in S FL and literally flood them every day it's above 70F. People up North can offer better winter and indoor light info.