Parlor palms, or Chamaedorea elegans, are green and feathery palms that look amazing indoors. If you have your parlor palm for some time, you might want it to grow bigger and produce more leaves. But why is it not growing? In this post, you will find the most common reasons why your parlor palm is not growing and what you can do to make your parlor palm grow faster.
The main reasons why a parlor palm is not growing include:
- Repotting your parlor palm too often or too rarely
- A planter that is too small or tight
- Lack of adequate lighting
- Your parlor palm has adapted to its environment, hence reduced growth
- Parlor palms are naturally slow growers
Parlor palms generally reach up to 40-66cm (16-26 inches) in height. However, sometimes, Parlor palms reach up to 100 cm (39 inches) tall in a pot, indoors. Younger Parlor palms often grow slower than older plants (over 3 years old).
Parlor palm’s lifespan often ranges between 5-15 years indoors, with good care. It can take years before you Parlor palms reaches its full size.
Reason 1. Repotting your parlor palm too often or too rarely
How often you repot your parlor palm plays a big role in its growth. For example, you need repot your bigger parlor palm (3 years old and over) every 3-5 years. Transplant younger parlor palms that are under 3 years old every year or two. However, this is a general guideline, and you need to repot when your parlor palm becomes root bound. That is when you can see the roots coming out of a pot’s holes.
However, if you repot it too often, it might cause a repotting shock every time you do it. Repotting shock might be a result of damage to roots during the translating process. The palm might start drooping, and it will take it time before growth continues. After repotting your parlor palm, water minimally for 14 days and don’t leave it in a very bright spot.
Having said that, not repotting your Parlor palm for too many years will result in a root-bound plant. That means that the palm won’t have space to expand its root system. This will stall its growth significantly. So, as mentioned above, make sure to check your Parlor palm’s roots to see whether the pot that it’s in has become too small.
Repotting allows the root system to rejuvenate and expand. It’s better to repot your newly bought Parlor palm after bringing it home. That’s because they usually come in small planters. However, only repot your parlor in spring, the best months being March-May.
When repotting, make sure to pick a planter that is around 2″ (5 cm) larger, and has extra space on top of the planter. That’s because your parlor palm will not only expand in width, but also grow upwards. Having extra space on top of the planter will allow you to add some fresh soil every year or so, in between each repotting.
Reason 2. A planter that is too small or tight
Similarly to the point above, repotting to rarely or leaving your parlor palm in a planter that’s too small for years and years will mean that it doesn’t have space to expand and grow. Tight planters are a common reason why a Parlor palm doesn’t grow much.
With every repotting, choose a pot that has extra 2″ (5 cm) of space, with extra space on top too. Generally, a pot that is as large as 8–12″ (20–30cm) will be optimal for a Parlor palm.
Reason 3. Lack of adequate lighting or wrong temperatures
While you might already know that Parlor palms do not like being in direct sunlight, lack of any light will make them unhappy too. While too much light can cause scorching and drooping, lack of any light can lead to slow growth.
In tropical or subtropical areas, where Parlor palms naturally grow, they get shaded with other trees’ foliage, and this creates constant, but diffused lighting for them. Inside of your home, possible lack of shades or blinds on windows might mean direct sunlight. This is not natural for Parlor palms.
Make sure not to leave your parlor palm in a complete shade at any time, especially indoors. Indoors, leave your parlor palm in a light shade, with constant diffused light for 7-10 hours a day in summer. North-west and north-east facing windows are great for parlor palms indoors. In winter, south facing windows will allow to gather more light.
Parlor palms also dislike temperature changes and an ideal temperature range for them is between 65-77 Fahrenheit (18-25 Celsius). However, Parlor palms can tolerate drops of temperature to 54 F (12 C) degrees in late autumn and winter.
Reason 4. Your parlor palm is not growing because it has adapted to its environment
Many palms, including parlor palms, grow at a faster rate when you just bring them home. After being in your home for a few years, your parlor palm might adapt to its environment and reduce its growth. In this case, parlor palms often need a ‘stimulus’, a kick, to make them ‘wake up’ and continue growing.
A stimulus might include a change in its environment, for example, if it’s been standing in one spot for months or even years. Check how much lighting it’s getting, how much space it has in its pot and so on. Another stimulus includes fertilization, especially if you haven’t done it before. Misting and cleaning its leaves once a week in summer might help boost your palm’s growth.
Reason 5. Parlor palms are slow growers
If all the conditions are optimal for your parlor palm, then it might just be that it is growing, but slowly. Parlor palms are in general slow growers, sometimes growing only a few cm/one to couple inches a year, even with good care. Make sure to review all the care conditions to make sure they are optimal.
You might take pictures of your parlor palms or measure it, because growth can be insignificant and hard to notice without actual measurements and numbers. If your parlor palm looks healthy and does grow slowly, then it’s all good.
To make your parlor palm grow faster, you can prune it from time to time. Pruning often helps to ‘wake’ the palms and give a boost for growth. Make sure to prune any brown fronds that develop, which is normal.
Pruning old leaves and wiping leaves with warm water will also help your parlor palm grow better. Parlor palms love misting, too, as they come from higher humidity areas. Misting daily and wiping fronds once or couple times a month will improve palm’s breathing by keeping its stomata clean.
Reason 6. Underwatering or watering with cold water
Parlor palms like high humidity levels, misting, and good watering. Without good watering, growth of the plant reduces. If your Parlor palm is drooping, then it might be that you are not watering it enough.
Please note that you should only use warm water for watering Parlor palms – it should be at around 86 Fahrenheit (30 Celsius). Watering with cold water can cause slower growth and other problems in your palm. In winter, also warm up the water before watering your palm. In summer, daily mistings and wiping of fronds once a month with a wet cloth will help with growth.
Parlor palms need good watering, but you must avoid soggy soil or leaving any water in a saucer. The soil can slightly dry out in winter, but not for too long, before you water your plant again. Mist the leaves too if you live in an area with low humidity levels. Don’t let the soil dry out in summer.
Yellowing fronds/leaves can indicate an underwatered Parlor palm. If you notice brown fronds, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything bad – and usually old leaves become brown. With brown leaves, make sure to prune them, and avoid ripping them from the plant directly. However, brown tips on Parlor palm can mean the palm is underwatered, is in a cold room or in a room with dry air. Misting daily in summer is great to combat that.
Reason 7: Pests or infections
Pests can become a big problem and a reason for no growth in Parlor palms. Spider mites (dots size of salt granules) and thrips (silver patches) are especially common in Parlor palms, so make sure to regularly check the fronds for any dark spots.
Infections, such as root rot, is when the roots become dark brown and start rotting. Check your plant’s roots from time to time remove any black roots & repot the palm if any rotten roots are present. Overwatering is a major issue with Parlor palms, even if they like being watered and sprayed well. Good air exchange in the room with the palm is also important.
Reason 8: Using wrong soil
If you’re using wrong type of soil for your Parlor palm, then it won’t grow very fast. Younger palms can do pretty well in general indoor plant potting mix, however you need to use a different, heavier mix with Parlor palms that are over 2-3 years old. One of the good soil mixes can include peat, castings or leaf litter (humus), sod/turf/compost and a little bit of sand and possibly perlite.
Apart from using suitable soil mix, you can fertilize your palm regularly during the growth season to boost your Parlor palm’s growth. During the growth season (April-September), you can fertilize your palm once in 10-14 days. You can use a special fertilizer for palms like this. Usually, you will need to use less of the fertilizer for indoor palms.
Thank you for reading this post on a parlor palm not growing! If you would like to learn more about Parlor palm problems, including drooping, please see this post.