AboutDarlene K. Kittle Expertise I have been a Master Gardener for 19 years and I raise around 300 houseplants a year including tropicals, succulents, and cacti.
Experience She is also studying the Japanese art of bonsai with tropical plants and is President of the Fort Wayne, IN Bonsai Club.
Question QUESTION: I have a potted Palm in direct sun on a deck. the end of the leaves are turning yellow - what do I need to do? Thank you
Troy Howard
ANSWER: Troy,
Without knowing exactly what kind of palm it is I suspect you are keeping it too wet or too dry but I suspect too dry. It needs to be moist but not wet. If it is hot water it daily but empty the drain tray after you water it then it will be moist but not wet. Also that you are not fertilizing it, give it a 1/ 2 cup of Epsom salts sprinkled on top of the soil and give it a weekly feeding with Miracid according to the instructions on the box. You might also pick up a box of iron for plants and give it a feeding of iron according to the instructions on the box. Palms need lots of moisture and lots of water, especially in a very sunny area. Good luck.
Darlene
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: As I said, the leaves are turning brown - some an inch or two from the tip up to the whole leaf - do I remove the leaves? Do I leave them alone? Can I cut the brown off the tips? Thank you, Troy Howard
Answer Troy,
Sorry, I thought you wanted to know how to stop them from turning brown and get it to grow better and what was causing them to turn brown. Yes, you can remove the leaves but it will take awhile for them to grow new fronds so you are better off just cutting the brown tips off. You can cut off anything that is brown and looks bad. It will not turn green again. If you want to stop it from getting the brown fronds and grow healthy new fronds sooner follow the instructions I gave you above. Good luck.
