Parlor palms are pretty and lush palms, and are rather easy to care for. However, sometimes a few care mistakes can turn into a big problem and make your Parlor palm start drying out and even dying. In this post, you will learn how to save a dying parlor palm and how to revive it, as well as identify the main care problems and fix them. Let’s go!
The main reasons for a Parlor palm dying include underwatering or overwatering, using cold water for watering, too much sunlight or cold/hot temperatures. Other reasons include over-fertilization.
1. Review the watering technique, schedules and water temperatures
Parlor palms naturally grow in tropical and subtropical areas, so they need higher humidity levels and good watering. Having said that, Parlor palms hate any stagnant water and waterlogged soil! In fact, water that stays in a saucer is one of the most common reasons of root rot and dying of Parlor palms (and other palms too). Overwatering, plus lack of light, especially in winter, often lead to death of a Parlor palm.
Make sure that your Parlor palm is in a planter that has drainage holes, as drainage is one of the most important things for palms. When watering your Parlor palm, never leave any excess water in a saucer, and throw it away. Yellowing leaves are a sign of an underwatered palm, while brown tips – dry air, too much sun or underwatering. Brown spots can also appear when you overwater your palm.
Water your Parlor palm regularly in spring and summer, making sure that the soil is always wet. But in winter, especially if it gets cold where you live (59-64 F/15-18 C), water carefully, and allow the soil to dry a bit between waterings.
If you believe you have previously overwatered your Parlor palm, check its roots and smell. Is there any smell or any black, soft roots? And if yes, you will need to prune these roots and repot your palm into a new pot with drainage holes.
Apart from frequency of watering, you need to make sure that the water is warm when watering your palm. You must avoid watering your palm with cold water at all costs. If needed, warm the water up before actual watering. It should be warm – approximately 86 F (30 C).
2. Review lighting and temperatures
Parlor palms are hardy, but they have their temperature and lighting requirements. If you place your Parlor palm anywhere that’s too cold or hot, it will start drying, drooping or dying. Parlor palms grow and do better with 7-10 hours of diffused sunlight a day in summer. In winter, it will be less than that, but bright light is still very important. You can even use some LED or fluorescent lighting if you don’t get any sun at all throughout the day in winter.
Having said that, never leave your Parlor palm in a spot with direct sunlight. Parlor palms do well on north-west or north-east facing windows, but some kind of shades or blinds are necessary. Part shade or light shade is ideal for Parlor palms. If you see any scorching, move your palm to a different spot.
What is more, Parlor palms like warm temperatures and are not very hardy against cold temperatures. 65-77 Fahrenheit (18-25 Celsius) is an ideal range for Parlor palms. In winter, you can allow temperatures to drop lower, and they do well with temperatures of 54-59 F/12-15 C.
Night time temperatures must not drop below 54 F (12 C) in winter and 65 F (18 C) in summer. Don’t leave your palm outdoors if it gets colder than that. To add, Parlor palms hate sudden temperature changes, so avoid moving it to different spots too often, or it will be unhappy.
3. Using too much fertilizer or using hard water
While fertilizing your Parlor palm is a great way to improve its health and increase growth, too much can do more harm. Overfertilization can cause burns in the root system and accumulation of salts in the soil. In this case, you might pot your Parlor palm into a fresh soil mix and wash its roots.
Burns on leaves might indicate too much calcium in the soil – this can be from hard water that you use. Try to use softened water instead.
4. Low humidity levels
Parlor palms love higher humidity levels and regular misting. Unfortunately, most Parlor palms that people have in their rooms, schools or offices suffer from low humidity levels. Low humidity levels with time cause brown tips on the palm, and affect general well-being of the plant.
Make sure mist your palm daily in summer, and wipe its fronds with a wet cloth a couple times a month to aid with humidity and breathing. That’s especially true if you live anywhere with dry air.
Humidity levels of around 55-60% are favored by Parlor palms. If you live in a dry climate, or generally use heating inside the house, you are unlikely to reach these humidity levels. There are a few ways to reach these humidity levels though, and they include:
Mist your Parlor palm’s fronds at least once a day, but up to 5 times a day on hot summer days. Make sure water temperature is around 86 F (30 C), so warm it up if needed. In general, make sure that the water temperature is a couple degrees (Fahrenheit) warmer than the room temperature.
If keeping humidity levels up is difficult, you can place a small humidifier like this one in a room with your palm.
In winter, if you use lots of heating, you can place a small wet towel on the heater near the plant, so that it makes the water evaporate and increases humidity. Or also, you can have a dish with warm water near the room. Evaporation of this warm water will help with humidity levels.
Another tip to avoid your Parlor palm from drying out is placing expanded clay pebbles like these on the saucer. Don’t put them on top of the soil, but saucer. Wet clay pebbles will help with humidity levels. However, don’t leave any water in the saucer, as it can only lead to root rot.
Another thing you can do to help your Parlor palm with humidity levels is to place it near other plants that have large foliage. This way, any water that evaporates from their leaves will help with humidity for your Parlor palm. If you have these plants, they will be good to place near your palm as they can naturally mimic other trees providing shade for your palm as well.
5. Damage to the roots when repotting and repotting aftercare mistakes
Have your repotted your Parlor palm recently? If yes, then there is a chance that you have damaged your palm’s root system when you were repotting. When repotting a Parlor palm, it is highly advised not to mess with its rootball, and just move its rootball to a new pot and add soil around it.
If you have recently repotted your Parlor palm and believe you could cause some damage, then leave your plant alone for some time. Don’t water it for some time after repotting (a couple of weeks maximum) and keep out of bright light.
What is more, when repotting your Parlor palm, you need to make sure not to repot it into a planter too big or small. The problem is, Parlor palms do not like being in a very big pot or tight pots either. When repotting your Parlor palm, choose a pot that is 2″ (5 cm) bigger than the previous one. It should also have some free space on top, so you can add extra soil between repottings in the future.
6. Check your Parlor palm for any pests
If your Parlor palm is unhappy with its care requirements, it might become weak and susceptible to various pests. Pests that affect Parlor palms are very small, but can inflict lots of damage, eating your palm’s vital juices and weakening it. It can then lead to a dying Parlor palm.
Spider mites are the most prevalent pests that affect Parlor palms. If you look at your palm’s fronds closely, you will see small dots that are the size of pepper granules. White spots on Parlor palms often indicate that it’s affected by spider mites, and it causes leaves to lose color.
If you notice any dots or silvery patches, then you can use horticultural oil or insecticidal soap like this to get rid of the problem naturally. They have the ability to paralyze pets’ bodies and kill them off.
Common problems affecting Parlor palms and solutions
| Problem | Potential Cause | Solution |
| Fronds becoming dark, losing color and wilting | Low room temperatures | Check room temperatures, increase if needed. 59-77 Fahrenheit (15-25 Celsius) range is optimal. |
| Roots black and rotting, bad smell and yellow leaves | Overwatering | Reduce how much you water your Parlor palm, let the soil dry slightly to the half of the pot, make sure pot has drainage and discard any water in a saucer. Prune rotting roots and repot with a new soil mix. |
| Fronds drying up and losing shine, dullness | Dry air, low humidity | Increase room humidity, mist the palm 1-2 times a day in summer, less in winter, and wipe its fronds once a month. Give showers in summer. Allow air exchange in the room and prune any old leaves. Don’t keep near heating devices. |
| Yellowing leaves (a few vs many) | Too much fertilizer in the soil or underwatering | Slow down with fertilization if you see a few yellowing leaves. If you have many yellow leaves, it could be due to underwatering. |
| Yellow spots | Too much light | Review the lighting. Parlor palms don’t like direct sunlight, keep in bright, but shaded spot. |
| Black dots or silvery patches, white spots | Spider mites, thrips and other pests | Insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, manual scraping with a cotton bud |
| Brown fronds at the base | Naturally aging leaves or wrong watering | Browning fronds are natural – these are aging fronds that you need to prune. Brown tips however, might mean wrong watering techniques. If browning leaves are not at the base, could be due to overwatering. |
| Brow tips | Dry air, low temperatures, underwatering | 59-77 Fahrenheit (15-25 Celsius) range is optimal. 53.5 F/12 C for nighttime is optimal as well. Keep indoors in winter, but away from radiators. |
Thank you for reading this post on a dying Parlor palm and how to save it! If you would like to learn more about Parlor palms drooping, please see this post.