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!
