Centipedes in my Majesty palm's pot... AGAIN!

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by Majestypalm999, Mar 22, 2009.

  1. Majestypalm999

    Majestypalm999 Active Member

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    Over the last week or so, I've noticed that my palm looked like it was being overwatered, so I watered it less. Then, after a little while, it looked like it was being underwatered...so I watered it. I was looking at the tree last night, and noticed a bunch of little tube-like things in the soil...I put my face closer to them, and they appeared to be centipedes.
    As soon as I saw the centipedes, I dug the palm tree out of the pot and rinsed the roots off in the bath tub. After rinsing the roots off, I put the palm tree in a small pot I found that was just big enough to accomodate the tree, with some new potting soil.
    Now, the palm's leaves are beginning to turn brown...even the new frond sprouts are looking like they haven't had water in a long time.
    So what should I do with the majesty palm once I can get it back into a bigger pot? Would it do better if I used sand instead of potting soil?
     
  2. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Centipedes are OK, they're carnivores, eating various insect pests. I deliberately let one loose in one of my pots to try and get rid of the fungus gnats.
     
  3. Majestypalm999

    Majestypalm999 Active Member

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    So, you're saying that there's something else in my plant pot harming the plant? Since centipedes are carnivorus, they're obviously eating some other thing down in the soil...
     
  4. Bluewing

    Bluewing Well-Known Member

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    Are you sure what you seen were centipedes and not millipedes? Millipedes can eat at the roots,and cause problems. They did that to my ficus benjamina and killed off one of five separate trees braided together which had to be cut off. It was not just a few of them, but hundreds of them that were hiding in the pot when it was bought. I did change the soil and got rid of them all.
     
  5. Majestypalm999

    Majestypalm999 Active Member

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  6. Bluewing

    Bluewing Well-Known Member

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    discovering millipedes in the pot was bad enough, centipedes would have been even worse! I think they bite....Poeple!
    Well, the mills were really easy to get rid, even after mama and possibly her friends (didn't know they were there) had hundreds of babies. Talk about creepy!
     
  7. Majestypalm999

    Majestypalm999 Active Member

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    Lol, yeah. I couldn't sleep knowing that there were thousands of little millipedes in my bedroom, less than 10 feet away.
     
  8. cookie_mccool

    cookie_mccool Active Member

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    Freaking me OUT. All my plants are in my bedroom, except for some little baby seedlings, and I'm going to be sleeping with the lights on now, man!
     
  9. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Some of the larger tropical centipedes can give a nasty bite, but the temperate ones are harmless.
     
  10. Majestypalm999

    Majestypalm999 Active Member

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    So now, all the millipedes are gone, and the palm's in a tiny pot with some new potting soil. The fronds aren't doing well, as they are slowly turning brown. I'm going to go get more potting soil tonight so the palm can be in the bigger pot again. What if it continues to die, even after it's put in the bigger pot? Will putting it in the bigger pot stop the die-off?

    Thanks
     
  11. cookie_mccool

    cookie_mccool Active Member

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    I'd probably leave it in the littler pot for a little bit, to minimize the shock of getting repotted so much.
     
  12. Majestypalm999

    Majestypalm999 Active Member

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    Oh, ok. Thanks.
     
  13. Majestypalm999

    Majestypalm999 Active Member

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    Okay, do palm trees ever reach a stage in their life when they just decide it's time to die for no apparent reason? Ever since I got rid of the millipedes, the palm just wont stop dying. I've tried watering it ALOT, and I've tried not watering it for several days, but it just won't stop dying. There's no reason for this, seriously. There's nothing on the plant, it's not over-watering, and it's not under-watering, and it's getting a sufficient amount of light...wtf is happening?

    If you're wondering what the dying looks like, the two fronds are slowly just turning brown. The other one is turning a lighter brown. It really looks like the plant's too dry, but water doesn't help at all.

    Thank you
     
  14. Bluewing

    Bluewing Well-Known Member

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    Unfortunately, Majesty palms don't make good houseplants for many people and should not be sold to the general public as such, so it might not be anything your doing.

    You could ck the roots to see if there are any problems as far as rot or dried out. Pest, soil, and pot size size can also be a problem if the medium is not fast airy and draining, or the pots too big causing suffocation/root-rot.

    If you really like palms, there are other species that aren't demanding and make excellent houseplants.
     
  15. Laticauda

    Laticauda Active Member

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    I have a bunch of Parlor Palms in a pot together with some Ivy and a wandering jew cutting. I'm not sure how these plants will do with each other, but I'm going for a taller plant with the Ivy and jew filling in the base of the pot.
     
  16. Majestypalm999

    Majestypalm999 Active Member

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    Lol, okay, lesson learned...no more majesty palms. I'll try something different the next time I get a palm tree.
    The palm was doing good outside, until winter hit. It started to turn brown as soon as the temperature got lower, so I took it inside for the winter, and it did well until now. I would try putting it outside again, as winter is supposed to have ended, here, but I'm not sure if it's warm enough yet. The temperature outside is at about 45 degrees F right now. What do you think?
     

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