| the leaves on my indoor palm tree are turning brown,just on the tips ,cut them off ? |
| It's really difficult to diagnose the problem without seeing the plant. Your palm may be suffering from overwatering, salt build up in the soil, or simply responding to overly dry growing conditions. Here are some general guidelines for growing palms indoors: Give average household to cool household temperatures, with a minimum of 50F in the winter. Most palms will thrive in moderate to low light conditions, and surprisingly, should be shaded from direct sunlight or they will sunburn. Palms require good drainage, meaning they do not like a soil that is sopping wet. However, do provide enough water to keep the soil moist during the spring and summer months, and allow the top of the soil to dry out slightly between waterings in the winter time. This would be the top half inch or so of the soil in a very large container. Your palm may be suffering from the dry indoor conditions we have during heating season. Misting may help, but it is more effective to run a humidifier nearby. Grouping plants together and setting them on a pebble tray (a tray full of pebbles with water added to just below the top of the pebbles, set the plant pot on the pebbles.) Palms are not heavy feeders, but appreciate one spring and one summer feeding with a half-strength solution of liquid fertilizer in place of regular watering. Palms are sensitive to mineral accumulation in the soil, so leach the salts out once or twice a year by watering slowly and deeply and let the water run out of the bottom of the pot for several minutes. Finally, keep the plant away from drafts, both hot and cold. You can certainly cut off the brown tips but expect more browning to occur as the leaves respond to the injury from your scissors. I just keep trimming away the brown areas when they become unattractive. |
