Kentia palm, also called Howea fosteriana, is an elegant beginner-friendly palm, that originates from Lord Howe Island, and can beautifully decorate an indoor space. Another type of Howea palm is Howea belmoreana, or the curly palm. Kentia palm is generally easy to care for, and doesn’t have many care requirements. However, with some care mistakes, Kentia palm can start drooping and leaning. In this post, you will find various possible reasons for a Kentia palm drooping, leaning or even dying and what to do to revive your Kentia palm.
The main reasons for Kentia drooping
The main reasons for a Kentia palm drooping include:
- Too much direct light
- Underwatering
- Overwatering
- Lack of air humidity or misting
- Very high or low temperatures
- Pests and diseases
- Repotting shock
- Salt accumulation
Reason 1: Too much direct light
Kentia palms like bright light, but they hate direct sunlight. If you have your Kentia palm in a spot with too much direct light throughout the day, then that could be the reason for it drooping. Make sure to place your Kentia palm in a spot where it gets bright, but dissipated light. Part shade is the best option – a couple of hours of direct light will be fine.
Sunny east, west and south facing windows are all suitable for Kentia palms. If your place your Kentia near a southern window, it’s a good idea to move it back by a few feet to avoid strong light.
Also, be careful with direct light hitting the window, as it can create burns on your plant. That is especially true if you have just watered or sprayed your Kentia palm. Water and direct sun rays hitting through the glass can cause burn spots.
Reason 2: Underwatering or overwatering
Another reason for a drooping Kentia palm is underwatering or overwatering. Kentia palms need the soil to be moderately wet at all times. Kentia palms also hate soggy soil, but also cannot survive if the soil is dry.
What is more, try to use soft water for watering your Kentia palms. Water must not be cold, either. It’s best to use water that is at around 80 Fahrenheit (27 Celsius), because using cold water can be detrimental to them. Use warm water when misting them as well.
Reason 3: Lack of air humidity or misting
Another reason why your Kentia palm could be drooping is lack of air humidity or misting. Howea palms love some misting, so if you live in a place with very dry air, it could be causing drooping. Make sure you spray your Kentia palm once or twice a day during the summer. In winter, limit watering to only have the slightly wet soil between waterings. Also, stop any misting in winter.
For spraying your Kentia palm, use warm water. However having said that, most Kentia palms can get used to dry air in the room. It is often the combination of underwatering and extremely dry air that can take a toll of these palms.
Reason 4: Very high or low temperatures
Kentia palms require quite warm temperatures to stay healthy and to thrive. Often room temperatures are sufficient for them to thrive, so keeping them outside in cold weather might not be suitable and will cause drooping or rotting.
Throughout the growth season, make sure your Kentia palm is in a room with temperatures of 68-75 Fahrenheit (20-24 Celsius). These temperatures are ideal for Kentia palms all year round. At night and throughout the winter, temperatures can drop as low as 64-68 Fahrenheit (18-20 Celsius).
However, Kentia palms can survive drops as low as 54-61 Fahrenheit (12-16 Celsius), but this is not recommended and must be only temporary if needed. Please note, that young Kentia palms with less leaves are much more unlikely to survive extreme low temperatures. Older plants (5+ years old) with more leaves are hardier.
Very high temperatures will also make Kentia palms dry out and droop, so make sure to protect them from high heat and direct sunlight by moving indoors or to a different room when needed.
Reason 5: Pests and diseases
Pests or diseases can become a major problem in caring for your Kentia palm and cause drooping, as well as many other symptoms. A few of the most common pests affecting Kentia palms are thrips, spider mites and scale.
Thrips will lead to leaf stippling, silvery patches and appear as black dots on your Kentia’s leaves. These pests will suck out nutritious juices from your palms’ leaves, especially from new growth. That can easily lead to the plant’s drooping, dry leaves and even death of the plant. If you notice thrips on your Kentia, you can use insecticidal soap like this to get rid of them. Insecticidal soap is a natural solution to get rid of pests with soft bodies, by paralyzing them.
Spider mites are very small and will appear as tiny dark (but often red) grains on your Kentia palm’s leaves. Small dots, but also webbing, stippling and dry droopy leaves are signs of spider mites. Similar to thrips, spider mites will be paralyzed by insecticidal soap and it will help to get rid of them.
Scale will look brown and bumpy, and you might also see sticky residue from them. Unfortunately, scale can cause serious weakening and even death of the Kentia palm if left untreated. If you see only some bugs, you can scrape them off manually or use a cotton swab soaked in alcohol. Horticultural oil is also a good option to get rid of a scale infection.
Overwatering and extremely high humidity can cause soggy soil and rotting roots. With rotting roots, your palm’s oxygen supply will be restricted as well. Make sure to decrease watering in winter, only allowing the soil to be slightly wet between waterings. To improve drainage of the pot, lift the pot above the saucer by using pieces of tile, bricks or else under the pot. Remove draining water as soon as possible.
Reason 6: Repotting shock
Palms don’t need to be repotted often, and even less with age. If your Kentia palm is young (under 5 years old), you can repot it once a year. For more mature Kentia palms (5-6+ years old), repot once in 2-3 years. If you need to repot your Kentia palm, make sure to do it in spring, as repotting during other times of the year will make it droopy and weak.
Make sure to use a container that’s around 2″ (5 cm) bigger than the previous one. That’s especially true if you are repotting a larger/older Kentia palm. You will be able to add some extra layer of soil mix each year to make sure it gets all the nutrients from the soil (apart from fertilizing). After repotting, make sure to limit sun exposure and watering for 10-14 days.
Kentia palms are rather slow growers, and only grow one to two leaves a year. That’s why it’s possible to grow a couple to a few Kentia palms in one pot. Avoid repotting your newly purchased Kentia, as its root system might not be strong enough to handle this. To check if your Kentia is well-rooted and established in a pot, shake the stems close to the soil. If any are moving/loose, it would mean that the palm is not well-rooted yet.
When repotting the Kentia palm, if you see any long roots that are coming out of the drainage holes, you can prune them with clean shears/scissors. Same goes for black, soft, rotting roots.
Reason 7: Lack of fertilization or over-fertilization
Kentia palms need to be moderately fertilized to prevent drooping and weak foliage and roots. Throughout the growth season, you can generally fertilize your Kentia palm once in 1-4 weeks, depending on the fertilizer. You can use a fertilizer that’s been designed specifically for palms like this one, or another liquid/slow-release fertilizer for houseplants.
In winter, you should stop any fertilization, however you can fertilize once in 1.5-2 months if desired. At the same time, always follow the labels and don’t over-fertilize, as this can burn the palm and its roots. Damaged roots will manifest in browning/yellowing leaves due to lack of oxygen. That’s when many palm growers make a mistake and keep fertilizing further, believing that their palm lacks nutrients. Root rotting can also happen if you keep watering the damaged root system.
Reason 8: Salt accumulation
Watering your Kentia with water high in salts will overtime cause their buildup in the soil. Unfortunately, many areas have tap water with high salt contents, which can cause damage and drooping of Kentia palms over time. Once in a while, take your Kentia palm in the shower, and let it have warm water on it for around 5-10 minutes. Lift the plant to allow water to drain easily.
Deep showers from time to time (once in 3-4 months) will help clear the Kentia leaves’ surface for better air exchange. It will also help remove excess salts (including if there’s a buildup of fertilizers) from the soil.