Parlor palm, or Chamaedorea elegans, Neanthe Bella Palm, or mountain palm, is a common and beautiful indoor palm that many choose to grow in their homes. While parlor palms are not generally hard to care for, you must take caution with some of its care requirements. In this post, you will discover reasons why your Parlor palm is drooping or leaning, getting weak or even dying.
If your parlor palm is leaning or dying, it might be caused due to lack of watering, low humidity, or even overwatering. Other reasons for a drooping or leaning parlor palm include lack of lighting, pests and diseases, using cold water for watering, wrong temperatures, wrong replanting times or transplanting mistakes.
Read on to learn more on why a parlor palm is drooping. Sometimes, it can be a combination of factors causing a parlor palm to droop, lean or even die.
#1: Repotting, or transplanting mistakes
Many growers face issues with transplanting, or repotting their Parlor palm. When repotting, you need to take care of which soil mix you use, and when you repot your Parlor palm. If you are just planning to buying a new Parlor palm, it’s best to do so in spring or summer. That’s because it will be easier for your new palm to adapt to its new environment – your home.
Another important, and even crucial requirement – is the soil mix you use to repot your Parlor palm into. While you might find a potting mix for your indoor palms, some mixes are mostly made of peat only. Only peat-based potting mix is fine for young palms that are up to 1-1.5 years old.
Older palms require heavier soil – the best mix would consist of peat, perlite, castings or leaf litter (humus), sod/turf/compost and some sand. As your Parlor palm gets older, it needs heavier and richer soil. This will allow your Parlor palm to stay healthy, as you will replant it once in 3-5 years.
When you repot your Parlor palm is also very important. Make sure not to repot your Parlor palm in summer, when it’s growing new roots and preparing for winter. If you need to repot your Parlor palm, do that in early to late spring, in March-May. You can replant young Parlor palms annually, while older ones – once in 3-5 years.
Also, if your Parlor palm is healthy, you will need to transplant it into a pot that’s around 2″ (5 cm) bigger, with more free space on top of the pot. This way, you will be able to add some fresh soil to avoid replanting your palm too often. Make sure to keep your Parlor palm in the shade for a few weeks after repotting. Move to a lighter spot gradually, so it doesn’t develop post-repotting shock and start drooping or dropping leaves.
#2: Lighting issues
Parlor palm does not like direct sunlight – too much sun will actually harm your palm and can make it droop. Believe it or not, Parlor palm doesn’t have special lighting requirements, and can even grow in the shade. Indoors, make sure to keep your Parlor palm in part shade. A maximum of couple of hours of direct sunlight can be tolerated by them as well though.
Best windows for Parlor palms would be ones facing north-west and north-east, especially in summer. Also, make sure to protect your Parlor palm from direct light in summer. Drooping due to excess sunlight is one of the possible answers to your problem.
#3: Under or overwatering and dry air
Underwatering is one of the common causes of drooping in Parlor palms. Parlor palm requires constantly well-watered soil and high humidity, specifically in summer. In summer, make sure to water your plant frequently, plus spray the leaves once a day. This will help increase humidity, which they need. If the air in your area is dry, you especially need to spray your Parlor palm’s leaves.
However, don’t forget, that frequent watering and misting can lead to bacterial overgrowth and fungus. That’s why you must allow proper air exchange in the room where your Parlor palm is. Open windows regularly to let the fresh air in.
Use pots that have drainage holes, and always throw away any leftover water in the saucer. While Parlor palm requires the soil to be wet all the time (can dry out slightly between waterings in winter), you must not overwater the plant or leave any water in the saucer. Avoid soggy soil. What is more, make sure to wipe your Parlor palm’s leaves once in 2-3 weeks, which can be once a month in winter.
In winter, reduce how often you water your Parlor palm, as it won’t need that much water. As it won’t be actively growing and temperatures will be lower, water less often.
Please note, that frequency of watering will depend on which pot your Parlor palm is planted in, soil mix, and air humidity. Porous unglazed terracotta pots, for example, tend to have a faster water evaporation rate. Glazed terracotta or plastic pots will slow down water evaporation through the sides of the pot. Soil that is sandy will dry out too quickly, as opposed to heavier peat/clay soil.
In drier air, you will also need to water your Parlor palm more often, plus take care to spray its leaves daily. Once-twice a month, give it a soak in the shower or wipe its leaves thoroughly with a sponge.
So, to conclude, make sure to properly water your Parlor palm and mist/+wipe its leaves, but never overwater or leave any water in the saucer. Wiping your Parlor palm’s leaves (from both sides) will help clear its thrichomes and stomata (breathing). As a result, it will improve your palm’s breathing processes and prolong its life.
#4: Using cold water for watering
Another mistake that might cause your Parlor palm to start drooping or dying is using cold water to water your plant. Palms come from tropical or subtropical areas of the world, which means they need warm air and water temperatures. Using warm water for your Parlor palm will allow its roots to ‘stay active and pump water to the plant’; the use of cold water can increase the likelihood of rotting roots and underwatered Parlor palm.
When watering your Parlor palm, make sure that the water is at around 86 Fahrenheit (30 C). You must not use cold or room water temperature to water your Parlor palm. If you are not sure of the water temperature, you can use a simple water/liquid thermometer like this. This way, you can make sure that water is not too cold or hot when watering the Parlor palm.
Watering your Parlor palm with warm water will help improve its growth and general well-being. However, in winter, avoid using very warm water so that you don’t cause early growth. In winter, it’s better to use room temperature water that’s around 72-75 Fahrenheit (22-24 Celsius) to avoid overwhelming the root system.
#5: Pests and diseases
Unfortunately, Parlor palms can become affected by pests and diseases. If left untreated, the Parlor palm will start drooping and can even die. Two of the most common pests that can affect Parlor palms are spider mites and thrips.
Spider mites are very small – reaching the size of a pepper grain. However, they can inflict lots of damage to the Parlor palm, sucking out important nutrients, and leaving webbing and white spots. Spider mites can be of different colors, and because they are so small – make sure to examine the leaves regularly. If you notice any spider mites, you can use insecticidal soap like this to get rid of the problem naturally. Horticultural oils and even finger rubbing in very mild cases might help too.
Thrips cause leaf stippling and silvery patches due to them feeding on leaves. They look like small black dots and often attack young and tender parts of the plants. If you notice any thrips, you can use insecticidal soap to get rid of them.
Another possible cause of a drooping Parlor palm is root rot. If you constantly overwater your Parlor palm, leave water in the saucer, use the soil with poor drainage and don’t provide good air exchange, it can develop root rot. In this case, roots will start rotting, and the palm won’t be able to absorb the water and nutrients through the roots.
You will notice black roots and an unpleasant smell. In case of root rot, the palm can also start getting yellow leaves and even brown tips. In this case, you would need to remove rotting roots and transplant the palm into a fresh soil mix and a clean pot.
#6: High temperatures or sudden temperature changes
Parlor palms don’t like high temperatures or direct sunlight. Too much sunlight, dry air and high temperatures can make your Parlor palm very droopy and even kill it eventually. Make sure not to keep the Parlor palm behind the window with direct sunlight, as it can fry your plant alive. As Parlor palms require daily mistings, sunlight touching the water droplets on leaves can cause burns.
Optimal temperatures for Parlor palms are between 65-77 Fahrenheit (18-25 Celsius). Through the winter (October to late February), temperatures of 54-75 Fahrenheit (12-24 Celsius) will be tolerated by Parlor palms. In summer, Parlor palms will do great both indoors and outdoors (in part shade). However, if temperatures at night drop lower than 65 F (18 C) in summer, avoid taking it out/bring it indoors.
Make sure not to cause sudden temperatures changes in your Parlor palm’s environment. The same applies to the amount of sunlight.
#7: Lack or over-fertilization
Lack or over-fertilization can cause droopy, leaning and even damaged Parlor palms. Parlor palms benefit from regular fertilization throughout the growth season. However, make sure not to overdo it either – balance is key.
Through the growth season (mid March-August), you can fertilize your Parlor palm approximately every 2 weeks. And through October to February, you would need to decrease it once in 1.5-2 months. However, you can avoid fertilizing in winter altogether; or, use lower nitrogen or slow release feeds that will last for longer.
Liquid fertilizer for palms like this is optimal, but there are also slow-release feeds that you need to use less often. Make sure to read instructions before using. Apart from fertilizers made for palms, you can use balanced, general houseplant fertilizer for your Parlor palms.
#8: Transplant shock
Parlor palms can suffer from transplant shock, especially if the root system was damaged during repotting. Parlor palms don’t need frequent transplanting, especially older plants. Transplant young Parlor palms (up to 3 years old) every year, and older palms – every 3-5 years.
To be able to transplant your Parlor palm less often, make sure to leave some space on top of the container, and add some fresh soil every year. Plus, the use of fertilizers during the growth season will help reduce the need for frequent repotting.
After repotting your Parlor palm, make sure to leave it in the shade, and water less for around 2 weeks. Otherwise, you will notice the effects of a transplant shock followed by drooping and even weakening of the whole plant.
Conclusion and extra tips
To conclude, drooping or leaning Parlor palms can be due to under or overwatering, pests and diseases, the temperature of lighting issues, sudden environmental changes and more. However, if you follow the tips below, your Parlor palm should be fine, as they are quite hardy and easy to care for.
- Avoid soggy soil or leaving water in the saucer. However, make sure soil is always wet.
- Don’t place the Parlor palm in direct sunlight. Part shade or even full shade will be tolerated.
- Avoid draughts, air conditioning and anything else that causes dry air.
- Water and mist the plant regularly, daily in summer.
- Never cut the palm’s top stem, as it’s the palm’s growth point. Otherwise, the plant will droop and eventually die.
- Be careful when transplanting the palm and don’t damage roots. Place the palm in part to full shade and water less extensively for two weeks.
Thank you for reading this post on a drooping Parlor palm! If you would like to learn more about Parlor palm (Chamaedorea elegans/ Neanthe Bella Palm) care, see this page.