Decorative palm trees have long been successfully used in the design and landscaping of houses, offices, premises of spa facilities, etc. Palm trees came to us from warm countries, therefore, when growing them, some rules must be observed.
The plant loves light, so the higher and more spacious the room, the more comfortable the southern beauty feels. Often, palm owners are faced with an unpleasant problem - succulent and green leaves "suddenly" begin to turn yellow and even fall off. As you know, suddenly nothing happens, so you need to find out why the leaves turn yellow at the palm. To understand what is happening with your plant, you need to learn more about it. Perhaps then the cause of the disease or unusual behavior of the flower will become apparent to you.
Why do palm leaves fall and dry?
This question worries many gardeners. You can often hear that the palm tree normally grew and developed over the course of three to five years, and suddenly the leaves began to turn yellow and dry, and sometimes fall off. How to help the plant? What he lacks. Let's get it right.
Plant specialists are sure that when your home flower starts to turn yellow, this does not always indicate the presence of a disease. Often this happens as a result of the natural process of getting rid of the foliage of a false palm. This is vital for the plant for further growth and development. Nevertheless, this always worries the palm owner. "The leaves have fallen, what should I do?" - Ask beginner growers. When the plant gets rid of the lower foliage, this indicates excessive or insufficient moisture.
Why do palm leaves turn yellow?
Professional flower growers explain this flower behavior for a variety of reasons. First of all, they call too dry air and insufficient watering. Much depends on what temperature and light conditions the plants are in, whether you care for them properly.
Perhaps not everyone knows that some types of fan palm trees in winter need coolness.
Palm trees for warm rooms:
- coconut;
- areca;
- chamedorrhea;
- cariota;
- Acanthophenix
- Phoenix Robelini - these plants need high temperature and high humidity.
Varieties for moderately warm rooms:
- Bonneti Coconut;
- Hovei (Forster, Belmore);
- clinostigma;
- geonom;
- rape;
- rapalostilis;
- Sabal.
Palm trees for growing in cool rooms:
- Brachea
- chamerops;
- Washington;
- trachicarpus and others
The most common causes of yellowing foliage
One of the possible causes of yellowing of palm leaves is high air temperature. Since these plants come from the tropics or subtropics, many gardeners mistakenly believe that in winter they need equatorial heat. The flower gives an instant reaction - the leaves of a palm tree dry.
Most palm trees feel comfortable at an air temperature of + 16-20 ° C. At the same time, the plant (especially in winter) does not need frequent watering, it is enough to moisten the soil moderately as the top layer dries.
Dry air
Almost all palm trees experience discomfort during the heating season, because the air in our apartments during this period becomes very dry. The owners notice that the palm leaves are drying - their tips begin to turn yellow and die off quite quickly. Partial cropping does not give the desired result. It turns out that the plant just needs to create more humid conditions. How to humidify the air in the apartment, we will tell a little lower. The plant should be sprayed from the spray gun and monitor the condition of the soil, to prevent its drying out.
Draft
This southern beauty is sensitive to drafts. Most often palm leaves suffer from this. So that they do not turn yellow, it is enough to rearrange the flower in a safe place. When choosing a suitable corner, one should take into account the possibility of airing the room - without the influx of fresh air, flower development will slow down.
Frequent transplantation
Palm trees belong to plants that do not like frequent, and sometimes unjustified anxiety. In this case, we are talking about a transplant. Sometimes the owner of the plant saw a beautiful pot in the store and decided to transplant a palm into it, without thinking about whether the plant needed it at the moment. Transplantation should be carried out only when necessary. But you can’t even allow the roots to be cramped in the old pot. This often leads to the fact that palm leaves turn yellow.
Diseases and pests. Shields
If spots appear on the leaves of the palm tree in the form of brown plaques, which gradually spread to the stems, this suggests that the plant is affected by shields that suck out healthy juices. Leaves quickly turn pale, dry and soon fall off.
In this case, it is necessary to wipe the palm leaves with a soapy sponge, and then spray the plant with a 0.15% actellic solution (according to the instructions).
Spider mite
This pest appears in dry air. Cobwebs appear on the stems, the leaves fade, turn yellow and fall. Wipe damaged areas with a soapy sponge and rinse under a warm shower. Spray (moisten) the plant more often. With a severe defeat, spraying by an actress is allowed.
Mealybugs
These pests affect not only palm leaves, but also shoots, and even flowers. Leaves are deformed, dry and fall off. With untimely treatment, the plant may die.
If you find signs of the disease, treat the problem areas with a soapy sponge and wash in a warm shower.
Blacken leaves
Often, the owners complain that the leaves turn black at the palm. This phenomenon is associated with improper care of the plant. There are two types of darkening of leaves:
Dry
If the room temperature is too high, watering is carried out irregularly and in insufficient volume, and hard water is used, then the plant responds to such “care” with the darkened edges of the leaves. If you do not start the fight in a timely manner, then your plant will die.
Wet
Such a darkening usually occurs with excessive watering, low air temperature, drafts, caked in a pot of earth. It is necessary to stop watering for at least two weeks. Loosen the earth in the pot more often to improve oxygen access to the roots. If no improvement is observed, then transplant the palm into a new land.
Maintenance and care
At home, palm trees require regular spraying, proper watering, in which the earthen lump is moistened evenly. This can be determined by tapping the pot with clicks from the bottom up. If you hear a dull sound - the soil is moist, sharp, watering is required.
After watering, a small amount of water should be poured into the pan, which will be absorbed into the ground for one hour. It must be drained or cleaned with a clean cloth. For irrigation it is necessary to use only the settled water, and only after the topsoil has dried up.
Twice a month, plants need to be fed with special liquid fertilizers for palm trees, which are sold in all flower shops. Regularly inspect the bottom of the flowerpots: do the roots go out, do they push the soil out of the pot from above? In this case, transplantation into more spacious containers with fresh soil for palm trees is required.
The yellowed ends of the leaves should be trimmed, but in such a way as not to affect the green, living tissue of the leaf, leaving a thin strip of dry tissue. Otherwise, drying may accelerate and the sheet may be lost completely. Only leaves that have dried completely are removed.
How to humidify the air?
Since we have already said that palm trees need air humidification, we will discuss how to do this in a city apartment.
Ventilation
On a frosty day, do not try to open the windows wide open in the room where the palm tree grows. Remember that frosty air, in most cases, is dry, so it will not affect the humidity in the room. At a temperature of about 0 degrees, it is enough to open the windows every three hours for 10 minutes.
Natural evaporation of moisture
Hang wet towels on the batteries or place open containers of water next to them. Various tropical water plants in beautiful vases additionally moisturize the air.
Another assistant in increasing humidity is a room fountain. Slowly evaporating moving water has an excellent effect on air condition.
Popular views
Today, there are many varieties of palm trees suitable for home cultivation. They have some features with which we will introduce you to the example of the most popular plants.
Date palm
Perhaps this is the most popular plant from the palm family. This is a very beautiful tree-like tropical flower. The date palm has a luxurious crown made up of cirrus green leaves. Palm leaf venation parallel. The trunk of this plant is covered with the remains of leaf petioles.
The date palm has unisexual, wind-pollinated three-membered flowers that gather in panicled inflorescences. This tree also has fruits - berries with a hard seed. In some species, they are edible. Today, many lovers of indoor flowers are growing a date palm. Are the leaves of this plant dry? Yes, with improper care.
In order for your plant to develop correctly, place it in a well-lit area, do not forget to spray the crown with water, in the summer provide abundant watering, and reduce it to a minimum in winter. Date palm tree loves clay-turf soil. When transplanting a plant into a larger container, the old earth must be completely replaced.
Butia
This is a beautiful large plant with a magnificent fan-shaped crown. It is able to decorate a spacious room or office space. Butia loves bright light and sunshine, as well as warm and fresh moist air. That is why in the summer it feels comfortable at + 20-25 ° C, and in winter at + 12-15 ° C.
It does not need to be watered often and plentifully: in summer, watering is done once a week, and in winter even less often. In recent years, dwarf individuals of this species are often grown at home. Their height does not exceed forty centimeters. A characteristic feature of this palm is a capitate at the base of the head. This is a palm tree with long leaves (up to four meters). They are quite rigid, arched, divided into sheet plates. In young plants, they are covered with fluff, and in adults, by thorns.
From the axils of the leaves (upper), panicle inflorescences with beautiful red flowers grow. Then they are replaced by pleasantly smelling oval-shaped fruits that look a bit like apricots.
Liviston
Spectacular fan-shaped plant. The leaves of the palm tree (photo you can see below) are painted in a juicy light green color. They are located on a smooth thin trunk of gray-green color. This type of palm tree is widely used in the interior of houses and apartments. But it should be remembered that for active growth and development for Livistona, certain conditions must be created: good illumination, plentiful watering, high humidity and air temperature not lower than +20 ° C, wiping and spraying the leaves.
Chamerops
Slowly growing and unpretentious palm tree. Narrow leaves with spikes distinguish it from many relatives. With proper care, grows up to five meters in height. He prefers loose soil, regular, but not very plentiful watering, likes periodic transplantation and sunlight.
Howea
The magnificent cirrus leaves of this room palm are the main, but not the only advantage of the plant, which is native to the islands off the coast of Australia. Varieties of this plant perfectly take root in the room, well tolerate the lack of light. It is important that at the same time the foliage does not dry and do not turn pale. It remains green and dense even in very dry air.
The plant is resistant to spider mites and other pests. This endurance predetermined the popularity of this palm for landscaping apartments and offices. Howe grows much slower than other species. Emerging young leaves are located almost vertically inside the crown.
Washingtonia
There are two types of this palm - Washingtonia filifera and Washingtonia robustra. The first is a massive fan-shaped plant native to the arid regions of the United States. Palm tree with large leaves of gray-green color. The plant has a strong gray trunk. This variety easily tolerates a decrease in air temperature to +8 ° C. The height of such a palm tree can reach 15 meters, and the circumference of the trunk - one meter.
The second variety is more miniature. This palm grows mainly in Mexico. Belongs to fan-shaped plants, white veins and orange spikes are clearly visible on the leaves. Leaves have a purple hue. At home, it grows well if the room is warm. It does not require too much watering. In winter, watering is reduced to a minimum. It is necessary to plant the plant in a rather high pot and put in a bright place, but so that direct sunlight does not fall on the crown. Regularly remove dried leaves.
Yucca
This palm tree has a highly branched tree-like stem, which is crowned by a bunch of large leaves of gray or green color. They can have different edges: jagged and smooth, with sharp spikes at the ends or threads. Flowering is plentiful. Flowers in the form of a bell or a bowl appear on a tree. It is usually painted white. Sometimes they have a creamy or sandy tint. Flowers are gathered in a large panicle. Unfortunately, at home, the plant blooms extremely rarely.
The brightest place in the house should be reserved for yucca, it feels quite comfortable even in the brightest sun. That is why, with the onset of summer, it often moves to fresh air. In the period from April to October, this palm should be watered moderately. So that the leaves do not turn yellow, once a month add special liquid fertilizer for palm trees to the water for irrigation. During intense heat, put the plant in the shade and spray it with water in the morning. In autumn and winter, it is quite happy with a temperature of + 10 ° C, reduce watering at this time.
Sabal
This is a low palm with fan-shaped bluish-green leaves, extended at the base. The trunk is covered with the remains of the petioles. The plant grows in vivo in the subtropics of the United States, and at home for its successful development should follow the general recommendations for palm trees.
Now you know why the leaves of a palm tree dry, why they turn yellow or black, so you can avoid unwanted problems. Proper plant care will turn it into a luxurious decoration for your home. We hope that the description of popular palm varieties and their photos presented in the article will help you choose your favorite plant.