Howea Belmoreana, fronds yellowing

[raphcrn]

Hello all,

very happy to join the forum PalmTalk!

seeking some advice, i have this Howea Belmoreana in pot inside in Paris for now 6 years. Best indoor plant i've ever had with a steady growth every year ! Except i repotted it mid-november and it seemed all fine until this week when one of the frond turned yellow to brown very quickly...

The palm is growing in a mix of pouzzolane, bark chips and special cactus mix (regular soil with a bit of sand). Watered once a week in the winter and twice a week in the summer. (more during heatwaves in july/august)

Do you think the palm does not get enough water with the transplant? or just growing roots and nothing alarming with 1 or 2 frond dying.? It also had a bit of flies in the soil a month ago but i treated it, although i spotted one the other day.

i included a pics of the yellowing and a picture from november right after the pot change

let me know if you have any advice !!

thank you

x Raph

[5am]

It’s normal for palms to lose a frond or two when I pot them up because of my rough handling, but yours didn’t lose any until 3 months later. I’ve never grown a howea, but I might look elsewhere for the cause.

By the way, that tall skinny pot looks great for the palm at this height. A perfect match. Welcome to Palm Talk!

[happypalms]

@5am has it correct. But overpotted looks like the situation that is causing it be careful you’re palm does not go into decline 

[piping plovers]

Welcome! First, what a beautiful pot and presentation of the palm; very architectural.

I can’t tell if the plant is directly planted in that tall clay pot or if it’s potted in another smaller pot sitting within the tall clay pot.  
 

Despite that gorgeous pot, my concern is that if the plant is planted directly in it, then it may be too much soil remaining wet beneath the actual root ball. Lean towards less water in a pot that deep.

 I would check to see if the bottom of that deep pot is remaining wet.  I would also check where the actual root ball is and you may want to keep it in a pot that is approximately an inch wider around the sides and then maybe no more than 2” underneath the root ball. That is how I grow mine.
 

I’m not familiar with pouzzolane. If it adds airflow similar to large chunks of perlite or lava rock or clay nuggets then I think it adds to drainage and porous soil, which is what I use. A deep pot like that could work if you add a lot of porous ingredients to the mix and be very careful not to over water. 

Some photos below of belmoreanas I have been growing indoors for 10 years; summer outdoors in shade. I keep them in as small pots as possible and use large outer pots for stability. The pots are small relative to the leaf mass as i don’t want to overpot them.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes. It looks like you can still turn it around to good health.

 

 

 

 

[raphcrn]

thank you so much for your answers and the warm welcoming !

the Howea is directly planted in the clay pot yes ! just touched the bottom of it and it's still wet indeed even after a few days  i will be extremely careful with the watering, stay on the dry side and see what happens !

so definitely a overpotted situation.. 

@piping plovers your howeas are beautiful wowww !! the dark green leaves are incredible, do you use any fertlizer? 

will keep you posted !! thank you everyone !!

[piping plovers]

3 hours ago, raphcrn said:

the dark green leaves are incredible, do you use any fertlizer?

Thank you. I typically use a generic houseplant fertilizer 20:20:20. I dilute it and use on the Palms every other watering.