Hi, I have had this beaucarnea for years and he was doing fine back on the East Coast of Canada. We moved to Vancouver almost 2 years ago and we took it with us on the plane, not without some astonished comments from other passengers. Once here, we repotted it twice as he was rootbound quickly. He has never been its true self since then. He has new leaves that come out but after a while they end up with brown tips. I have tried both more and less water but it does not seem to like either one better. The condo air is a bit on the dry side but I have read that it shouldn't be a problem for those palmtrees. He is in front of a window that gets a lot of sun (West side). Any idea as to what is happening? Thank you!
Did it used to be right at the window? Does the window face the same direction as before you moved? (Wondering if that's a change from its previous environment) And what direction is it that it faces? Is it getting burned from touching the hot window? Is there an air duct near the plant now? (Maybe it's getting cold or hot air and doesn't like that) Do you make sure after you water it that there is no water at the bottom of the white pot? (I would remove it from the white jardiniere to water it, and make sure no more water is dripping through before replacing it in the jardiniere.) Mine is about 4 meters from a window in a bright room. Its previous owner used to let water sit in bottles before using it to water plants, and it had no brown tips when I got it. I don't do that and do have brown tips
It used to be right at the window but there were trees in the street that would give it somewhat filtered sun. It does not look like its leaves are burnt because it gets it even on the side that is facing the room, and not really where the leave would touch the window (which it does not really). I do not take the plastic pot out of the planter to water it because it is very heavy. That may explain it but I think you may be onto something with the water though. The water in Montreal is totally different. I like to think it's better quality here but maybe to the plants it's not. I will certainly try this. The funny thing is I have another one at work that I salvaged last year from a very uncaring office and it is absolutely thriving even though it is in a tiny pot with less than one inch of soil around it. They do like to be rootbound I heard and mine at home has been repotted twice so maybe that's a problem too, too much soil, too much water stays in it maybe. Thank you so much for your ideas, I will certainly try those !
I've been using tap water to water mine for years and the tips don't turn brown like yours. The tips do turn brown but it's only the very thin and narrow portion at the the end. The only time I've noticed tips like on yours is after I had repotted the plant but that only lasted a short period and it affected only the tips of the oldest leaves.
The brand new leaves on mine are not affected either. But all of the older ones are. It is still producing new leaves at a normal level and it was indeed repotted twice since we moved. I plan to leave it in that pot for a long time now. This is what he looked like back in Montreal and during our trans canadian journey.
Was that a clay pot in the Montreal photo? If so, it could have had trouble adjusting to the plastic pot. And the Montreal pot had drainage. Are they double windows, or a screen? It seems farther away from the outside window there, and if two windows, that would cut the amount of light. Is that a heater cover? I guess I wouldn't worry if the new leaves are fine. It will lose old leaves eventually anyway. You can cut off the ones that bother you. Just do something to make sure it's not sitting in water.
