identifying an indoor palm tree

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by lcmonroe, Nov 13, 2004.

  1. lcmonroe

    lcmonroe Member

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    undefinedDear Sirs,

    I purchased a palm tree back in the summer at Walmart. It is an indoor tree. Some of the leaves are turning brown as well as the whole branch. I need to what kind it is. there was no tag on it when i bought it. It appears to have the new shoots from the center of the tree. They fan out as they grow. The leaves are long and in triangular shape. THe new leaves start as as straight shoot and slowly open up. What kind of sunlight does it require? how much water? Do i need to cut off the brown leaves or will they just fall off.
    thank you
    lcmonroe
     
  2. Wes North Van

    Wes North Van Active Member 10 Years

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    Palm tree

    Can you post a pic of it? I assume you are referring to a fan palm and not a feather palm. I am going to guess it is probably a livistonia chinese or by it's common name Chinese fan palm. This is one of if not the most common palm that is sold by walmart.
    They need a lot of direct sun if kept indoors. Fertilize it twice a year and keep the soil damp but not drenched.
    Good Luck
     
    Vijay Kohli likes this.
  3. I have the same plant and the same problem. I have just identified the plant as a Majesty Palm. I'm now in the process of finding out how it needs to be cared for.
     
  4. seahawks2884

    seahawks2884 Member

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    Majesty Palm needs lots of tlc. I really don`t know why they sell these palms. The first impression is very tropical and beautiful. They need an exact growing situation as the river banks of the Madagascar rivers that they are from or you will be back at Wall Mart buying another. Very finnicky Palm!
     
  5. Here is my plant question. I was given a 14' tall beautiful and unusual palm tree 4 years ago. 4 fronds grow at a time. 4 new ones come up once a year out of the center as the old 4 droop and die. This worked fine for 4 years. This last Nov no new shoots ever came up but the 4 old fronds have drooped and have brown tips. Help! I was told by the markings on the trunk, which by the way is a rather chunky wide trunk, that the plant was 25 yrs old when I got it. I would like to see to it that it lives at least that long in my care!
     
  6. Re: Care for Walmart Majesty Palms

    My wife and I bought about 6 (one after the other) of these Majesty Palms from Walmart Canada and and experienced their leaves turning brown before the plant withered and die. During this period (1yr) we tried lots of watering (every day) and fertilizer, little watering (once per week), placing it outdoors in the summer (leaves bleached)..........and so on.


    One year ago we bought another two and are having our best success so far.
    We stumbled on these conditions:
    1) These plants remained healthy when we provided them 3 hours of fluorescent light per night.
    2) The roots also like to be well aereated. Therefore after watering and allowing complete drainage we do not water again until the top three inches of soil dries out.
    3) Also when transplanting we have always been careful not to submerge the topmost roots with soil. I.e., the crown is allowed to easily breathe.
    4) Finally, we have found it necessary to wipe the leaves (top and bottom every 2-3 months) with wet sponges to allow them to breathe and engage in photosynthesis. In the same manner that dust particles settle on furniture, they do so on the surfaces of leaves and prevent them from making food.

    Good luck with your plant.
    Ontario, Canada
     
  7. Matrix

    Matrix Member

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    Re: Care for Walmart Majesty Palms


    Can you PLEASE tell us how much water you put in the pot! I have bought so many from Walmart and just fed up them dying on me just weeks after I bought them. They came with no instructions. Do I water so the top soil is wet, do I drench it and allow to dry what do i do!!!!!!!! As you can tell I am not one with green fingers but I like these plants and want to keep them healthy!

    Thanks
     
  8. PastorMark

    PastorMark Member

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    Hello! I am new here, and have had several of the Majesty palms Ravena Rivularis is their more official name. I have scoured the internet for info on these. I lost some now to scale, (another grand learning experience) but other than that they did fairly well for 3 yrs.

    I am by NO MEANS any expert on these, but in one source I read that these are almost like a cattail (at least to relate it to my North Dakota expression.) Which is to say that in their habitat, they are so water-loving that (like our cattails) you find them near water. One grower once wrote (I wish I could remember these sources) that the only way to water them was to literally immerce them completely in water and let them sit for 20 or 30 minutes. I did that dutifully and it about killed me carrying these 10 ft things in and out to water outside. I do not know if one has to go to these extremes, but I would love NOTHING MORE than to live where I could have all Palms for trees (growing) on my lawn. Also, use epsom salts for cheap sources of Magnesium sulfate. I wish you the best and would love to hear from anyone, on about anything. Thanks for your time!
     
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  9. jessyoscotland

    jessyoscotland Member

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    hello,

    I have two of those walmart palms and was looking for info when I came across this website. I have the same problem with the outer leaves turning brown. However, I do have new growth and I feel that where there's life there's hope. I water them once a week or twice in the winter as we have a very dry heat. What I water them with however is eggshell water. I learned this from my mother-in-law who has always had beautiful healthy plants. She always put her empty egg shells in water to soak for a couple of days and then used the water to water the plants. Now this was a woman who came up through the depression and then lived on a farm and had to grow a garden to supplement their food supply so I figure she knows what she's doing. So far my plants are doing alright with the exception of the brown outer leaves. I'm thinking they are not getting enough sun light as they are in the darkest part of my living room so they may not survive.
     
  10. PastorMark

    PastorMark Member

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    Jessy, Fascinating! I have heard of "egg water" being used at times, (not specifically for Palms or anything though, and I have never used enough eggs for this. I will add one thing, since having posted the comment I made on here, I have remembered another thing that is quite crucial.
    If you live in a town or city where they "treat" your water, flouride sensitivity can damage many palms on the tips. It has not in my experience ever worked to trim the damaged tips, (as I have read) as you merely form new tips by virtue of having cut the old off, and the "new tips" will, in turn, soon get brown also.

    One thing, that I did find helpful, was to ALWAYS AGE MY TAP WATER! Usually for several days at a time in five gallon pails. Be sure to leave the covers off to expose maximum area to the open air. Some of the destructive elements of the water will be minimized thusly. I do not know where you live in Penn, but having been through your beautiful state years ago, I believe I remember having seen quite a few little sloughs (or swampy) areas. These or snow water this time of year, Since at least here we are all iced up for any open water) or rain water in non-snowy times would all be superior. On slough water, there are only certain times of year (if the water is standing) that I would take any, as mosquitoes could be easily initiated into your home if the water is standing water, or if it has warmed up sufficiently. I do not know if you even have mosquitoes, we do and they are heck on wheels. Just a couple of thoughts I hope are found helpful.
     
  11. Bluewing

    Bluewing Well-Known Member

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    Living less then 10 minutes from the Pennsylvania border and also born there, yes, we have mosquitoes in these parts, so much so, they are considered the state bird:)
     
  12. jessyoscotland

    jessyoscotland Member

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    Yes, we have mosquitos here in PA but having air conditioning they don't bother me much. We will be treating our two acres this spring for mosquitos and grubs, quite an expensive proposition since we want to use milky spore for grubs.

    As for the Palms and egg water. We have well water and I just put the egg shells in the water and let it set until I need to use it; usually once a week. If it sits and longer it really smell awful. I'm sure the plants don't mind the smell but I sure do.

    We don't get the harsh winters that you get in the Dakotas but we do get a substantial amount of snow and welcome it for our wells. I am in the mountains so our snow fall is twice what they get in the lowlands of PA.
     
  13. JenRi

    JenRi Active Member

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    Just wondering, what is it, that the egg shells do to the water to make it good for plants?

    Just curious!

    Cheers
     
  14. PastorMark

    PastorMark Member

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    Greetings to each who have posted after me. Glad to hear we are not the only ones who suffer with hoards of mosquitos. Tempo as a spray is excellent, but not a bargain for price. It is however, quite mild. The eggs give off a residual amount of calcium, mainly, but the minimal amount of yolk remnant would also likely produce a bit of protein. Some plants, esp BOPS (Bird(s) of Paradise) are esp keen on being supplemented with some calcium. While I in NO WAY DOUBT the efficacy of the "egg-soak" method, unless you have the desire to eat enough eggs, or keep chickens that are oversupplying you on eggs, it would likely be more cost effective to utilize bone meal for calcium, which is available in a bag, and is powdered very fine. I know you could add to the water then, or one could simply sprinkle it lightly over the top. I have not had it stink on me. I would also NEVER be without a bag of epsom salt. You can buy that in different forms, but just buy the cheapest, (as in a walmart) rather than a plant place, where it will often cost 2-3 times. Yes, it is the same product. Having come from a farm and ranch originally, I do know that the chickens we had would quit laying eggs if they did not have crushed oyster shells for the calcium needed to form a proper shell, and to even help with grit they need for their gizzards, tho that is not a replacement for sand. They need that to digest their food properly. NOT A CHICKEN EXPERT BY ANY MEANS SO....just saying what I recall. I love to hear from anyone about most subjects, so feel free to write back. If I do not know something you can make me "DIG" and that is nothing but good. Good TO HEAR FROM EACH OF YOU in your responses!!! Have a GREAT DAY!
     
  15. JenRi

    JenRi Active Member

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    Ah I see! I don't eat eggs that often but I think I probably have and average of two a week - I guess I may as well give it a go if I have some lying around, which I do....and my Cordyline IS due a water.

    I haven't though of buying bonemeal or epsom salts....maybe I should!
     
  16. Canadianplant

    Canadianplant Active Member

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    I use aquarium water. Works wonders on my musa acuminata and my ficus religiosa. Well, it works wonders on em all lol. They get greener, lusher and have stronger faster new growth. And this is in calgary ( usually around 30-50% humidity). Also, misting 3x daily will help. Use HOT tap water in a spray bottle. It will cool off before it hits the plant, and it takes a while t totaly evaporate.
     
  17. Jason33

    Jason33 Member

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    you can always visit a palm tree website of some sort and just look through there gallery or look through there merchandise. There is this place i saw that had many different pictures. Im trying to think of it. its something like real palm tree or real palm trees ofcoarse all together like realpalmtrees.com kind of thing. let me check, yeah it is that one i just typed... I'll hyper link it for you, they have a forum with a headline of identifying palms

    good luck
     

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