On my latest IKEA shopping binge, I picked up 2 majesty palms to make my apartment look all beachy. I haven’t owned a plant since it was a 4th grade science project, but now seems like a good time to jump back into it.
I’ve done my research on taking care of the majesty palm, and I’ll share my learnings here. It appears that there is some some differing of opinion as to whether or not the majesty palm is a good indoor plant. Some articles I’ve read say that majesty palms don’t like direct sunlight, and it’s best to keep them about 5 feet away from the window. Other articles I’ve read say that people have had majesty palms that have tripled in size after being left on the patio. Mine are currently outdoors and I’m monitoring their health.
At first I didn’t even bother to re-pot the palms, I just threw them outside and put some water in the plastic vase they came in. After about a month, one of the fronds on each palm had turned completely brown. I learned that it’s best to cut these fronds about 3 inches from the trunk. Apparently if you cut just the tips off, a lot of the plant’s energy will go toward restoring those fronds, while if you cut the whole frond about three inches from the trunk, it will concentrate on growing the healthy fronds and new fronds. I’ve done this for the first time today after owning the plants for about a month and a half.
When re-potting the majesty palms, they key is drainage. Make sure that there’s no way the roots will be sitting in a pool of water. It helps to add some rocks to the bottom rather than broken clay pots to assist in the drainage. As far as soil, I just picked up whatever was cheapest and said “includes fertilizer.”
Finally, majesty palms prefer humid weather, so it’s worth it to mist the fronds daily to keep them happy and green. Please comment below with updates on your palms, we’ll all learn together!
9 responses so far ↓
1 Miz // Aug 10, 2008
I think I’m watering mine too much because the tips are yellow, but at the same time the soil seems really dry, what’s up?
2 Carol // Aug 10, 2008
I’ve read that over-watering rots the roots. Instead of watering too much, keep a misting bottle handy and mist the fronds as much as you’d like.
3 Bill // Aug 10, 2008
I can’t tell if i’m overwatering or underwatering, the tips are yellow one minute and then brown the next!
4 Carol // Aug 10, 2008
Hi Bill, I agree it can be a thin line between yellow and brown, as I mentioned about, I would suggest watering less and misting more. This helps the majesty palm’s roots stay healthy while the fronds stay moist.
5 yolanda // Aug 21, 2008
I’ve had mine for about a month and so far so good i just mist and water once a week snip the fronds when discolored. but my only problem is i want to change the pot but i’m not sure if that’s safe to do.
6 kevin // Sep 7, 2008
i have read majesty palms cant go dry they have to be watered as soon as the soil seems dry.. yellowing is lack of nutrients. palms need about three main things iron, maganesium,maganese.. for proper grow i have had my palms for about 16 years and they are now about 35ft tall and they love full sun… so try some things. transplanting is easy to just get some root sitmulation so it dont go into shock and make sure you loosen the root ball of the old plant
7 margaret // Sep 11, 2008
I bought two majesty palms in June. I repotted them and put them around my pool. I love the look. They are doing well. Not hard to take care of. I live in New Jersey. My question is this. Can I keep them outside during the winter months?
8 Juan // Sep 22, 2008
I have had my majesty palms since like february and they are doing great,,,,i had one of them outside in the hot georgia sun since i bought it and it had grown from miniscule to like 3ft….i had the others in the shade and one inside in the sunroom window,,,,they all seem to thrive wherever in georgia..during the warm months anyways,,,,i want to try growing outside year-round but im nervous however i see them around my town growing outside and they look great,,,needing a prune but great none-the-less….
9 Suzanne // Sep 30, 2008
I just purchased two majesty palms and set them on my deck. I also love the look and want to keep them healthy. I just moved back to Napa. The weather is great for the grape vines not sure about the palms. Thanks for all the great input.
p.s. I want my palms to get as tall as Kevin’s.
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