Beginner seeking help with parlor palm! Re: potting and watering

[Jillybeans00]

hello all! I am new to the world of plant, it’s something i have always wanted to do but after killing a cacuts a few years back i just assumed it wasnt for me and gave up— until now.

about 3 days ago i purchased a small Pothos plant as well as a parlor palm, thinking they would be a good place to start. I placed my palm on A north facing window sill. It looked beautiful, and seemed to be in great shape. the soil was wet when i purchased it so i have not watered it since (although it did rain fairly heavily and came in thru the window for a bit of time before i realized and closed the window!) that was 2 days ago. yesterday i noticed some brown tips, as well as a bit of browning on some stems/stalks (??) see pic- i apologize for my lack of knowledge on the vernacular!

I moved the plant away from the window as i live in NYC and it has been pretty cold. Also, the heat in my prewar building is EXTREMELY DRY and i have absolutely no control over it. Considering putting the palm in my bedroom where we keep a humidifier. Wondering if there’s anything else i can do to help this plant. its still in fine shape overall but i am worried because it was in perfect shape just 3 days ago and i fear I’m on my way to killing another plant :-(

my main concerns:
unsure if soil is draining well, it still feels moist.. is this normal? How moist is too moist? (in terms a beginner would understand please!)
and secondly, the roots seem to be growing thru the drainage holes!! Unless these are not roots?? (See pics) everything i read says palms enjoy being a bit crowded but this seems excessive, no?
any advice would be appreciated! thanks

 

[oneeye]

You don't have to transplant your palm at this time. If you do, you may have some problems with water management. If you increase the water volume by transplanting into a larger pot you will increase the water in the root zone causing excess wet soil. I would just leave the palm alone and not worry about the little roots coming out of the bottom yet.
Water freely during the growing season but reduce the amount of watering during the winter. Make sure that the soil remains moist but well drained and not wet. Your palm looks very healthy just the way it is at this time.

 

[Sheal]

I would say it needs repotting into a pot possibly twice the size of the one it's in now. I would also allow it to dry out in between watering. Parlour palms are best in a cool room and floor standing where the cooler air is, they also prefer not to be in direct sunlight. They were very common in times before central heating because they coped well with just background heat from open fires.

The lower leaves will die off as the plant matures as you see below. They can be snipped out.

 

[oneeye]

Parlor palms have weak root systems and grow relatively slowly, meaning that repotting should only be done with care. In general, the plants stay a manageable size, so you shouldn't have to repot it more than every other year. Information source.. wwwSpruce.com

 

[oneeye]

An adaptable, hardy plant, A parlor palm is easily repotted, but thrives when its roots are confined. As a general rule, repot parlor palms only every two to three years. Information source.. Google

 

[oneeye]

Parlor Palms are among the slowest growing houseplants. Maximum height for Parlor Palm plants is just above a meter but may take decades to reach. For this reason, Parlor Palms do not require potting on as often as many other plants. Information source… www.FlowerShopNetwork.com

 

[oneeye]

Parlor palms can thrive for years crowded in the same container without repotting; in fact, the older your parlor palm gets, the less frequently you should repot. You should only repot once your parlor palm’s roots have filled its container completely, and once your plant is in an eight-inch pot, it’s a better idea to simply top-dress (gently remove the top inch or two of soil and then add fresh soil), rather than repotting. Information source… www.Mydomaine.com

 

[oneeye]

Since Parlor palms are slow growing and unless the roots have completely filled its present container, you won’t have to worry about repotting for quite some time. Of course, those growing in the smallest containers will require repotting sooner than those grown in larger containers with more soil space. Information source….wwwSmartGardenguide.com

 

[oneeye]

The way I determine "transplanting time" is watering frequency. If I have a plant that needs watering once every 7 to 10 days there is no need to transplant, however If I have a plant that needs to be watered 2 times in 6 days I will transplant into a larger container.

Parlor palms on the other hand take much less nutrients than do reg house plants. If you increase the nutrient ppm or EC by adding excess new potting soil to a very small root system with excess water, you will have two problems.

The plant on Sheal's post is a very old palm I would say a few years old by looking at the trunk. The 1st photo of the palm on top of the thread, the stems are very young and in a tender vegetative state and is ultimately the main reason I would not increase the size of the container..... Sheal from one grower to another, your Parlor Palm doesn't look very good, it looks over watered and the leaves look pale and droopy. The Ficus benjamina in the other room doesn't look very good either. NO offence I hope.

 

[Sheal]

The parlour palm along with all my indoor plants at the time were never over watered. The palm was growing in a peat based soil which gives that impression. It was an old plant more than five years old and it's size in the picture was approximately 2 1/2 ft both in height and width.

The Ficus was a lot older, probably fifteen years or more and had moved house and rooms a number of times. As you know they don't like being disturbed.

I'd grown it and it's predecessors from cuttings for thirty years plus. Never fed - and watered when I remembered. So on the whole it did very well, it was almost 6ft tall.

Having had a few years of ongoing problems with fungal gnats due to uncleaned/screened soil by suppliers I decided to give up all my houseplants. I had managed to eradicate them but then with repotting into new soil the process started again. I'd had enough when it got to the point they were triggering my house smoke alarms.

 

[oneeye]

Fungal gnats thrive in wet soil and may be an indication that you are keeping the soil too wet. Your ficus in that photo looks pretty with that better photoshoot. I love my Ficus benjamina and have had it for over 11 years. I take cuttings every year and share them with my friends. Here's a photo of my mother plant that I take cuttings off of, and a couple of Ficus benjamina cuttings.

I'm doing an experiment with container size and different growth rates. Monitoring the ppm or TDS discharge between different volume of soil mixes, while using the same mix.. The results are interesting to say the least, and I have come to conclusions that transplanting into larger container is not the problem, but water management with the increased soil volume is what causes the over- water problems.

 

[Sheal]

Fungal gnats thrive in any soil wet or dry. Your Ficus looks as if it's thriving outside, unfortunately the British climate doesn't allow for that. You may find the following photo interesting.....

 

[oneeye]

Wow, I'm super amazed! I'm amazed by the trunk of the ficus being so thick like an old tree and the height being short like a young baby. How did you do that Sheal? I don't see any prune cuts anywhere on the tree? How old is that ficus? She is weeping so pretty! OH SO Beautiful!!!!!!

 

[Sheal]

It was a Ficus that I'd grown for my late mum many years ago. She accidentally snapped the main stem but just let it grow on. It then became a kind of Bonsai. I don't know what happened to it after she died.

 

[oneeye]

I'm going to try to turn a cutting into a plant like your mums. I'll keep you posted on the results. So pretty, thanks for sharing that photo!!!