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My plant was growing well in summer but suddenly it started losing leaves and now as you can see in the picture has no leaves anymore. I changed the soil, changed the watering pattern but none helped

Now I don’t know if it’s dead or can I somehow revive it?

Patricia Kh
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2 Answers2

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Unfortunately your picture never showed up. If the palm has lost all of its leaves and there is no sign of new frond coming out soon, you are right it is probably dead. I'm not sure the age of your palm or your watering conditions or the amount of light you were providing it, so I can not tell you what went wrong. So I will go over some basic palm care.

Young palms are understory plants. In nature they live below other plants that shade them. This means young palms should not be exposed to too much hot direct sunlight. It will burn the frond, the fronds will eventually turn yellow then die off.

The amount of water needed depends on the size of the palm and the type of palm;

  • Young palms should always be moist, even to the point of being wet, as long as the soil is very high in drainage matter.
  • Adult indoor Palms from moist areas of the world, areas with high humidity, like rain forest, need constant moisture. The soil should never dry out, but it also should not be wet. The soil should remain moist all times.
  • Adult Palms from more arid regions, like Canary Palms, don't mind the soil being more on the dry side. The soil should almost dry out between watering. Unless it is a young palm.

No matter they type of palm tree, they all want lots of aeration in the soil. The soil should be high in drainage matter, like perlite or pumice. These and other drainage matter will create pockets of air in the soil. These pockets of air provide the roots with oxygen they need to grow. Without these pockets the tree will die. When a plant is over-watered it is deprived of oxygen and starts to decay. The more drainage matter you have the more often you can water your palm. A young palm should have 50% drainage matter and 50% brown matter (water holding matter). Older palms do not need as much drainage, but it is never a bad idea. If the tree is very large, you actually need to increase the drainage to keep the soil from becoming compacted by the weight of the plant.

Sunlight; most palms like very bright locations, but be careful with direct sunlight. If a palm is in shade all day, but then gets 2 hours of intense sunlight, the palm will burn, even adult palms will burn. They need consistent bright light. or direct sunlight in the morning, but bright indirect in the afternoon. Some will like direct light all day, but you can never go wrong with bright indirect light all day.

Palm trees can not be pruned back. There size can not be limited by cutting the top off. They do not branch, so cutting the top of the palm kills the palms. To harvest hearts of palms, they palm has to be killed. A palm is grown to an adult to get a one time crop. Growing a palm in a pot will slow down its growth. Keeping it in the smallest pot possible will also slow down its growth. Other than that and poor care can a palms size be controlled.

Fertiliser; Palms need speciality fertiliser made for palm trees. This palm food is usually higher in magnesium, boron and iron than all purpose fertiliser. Even Miracle Gro is not enough. There leaves will be yellow if they are not getting the proper amount of nutrients.

GardenGems
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If no new fronds are sprouting out the top of the stem, its days are probably numbered. But if there is any action up top, don't give up yet.

Palms tend to react more slowly to their environment than many other plants. It takes a while for them to die, too.

Greg Hadaller
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