Ornamental palm trees have long been successfully used in the design and landscaping of houses, offices, spa facilities, etc. Palm trees came to us from warm countries, so some rules must be observed when growing them.
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 - juicy and green leaves "suddenly" begin to turn yellow and even fall off. As you understand, suddenly nothing happens, so you need to find out why the palm leaves turn yellow. 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 obvious to you.
Why do palm leaves fall and dry?
This question worries many flower growers. You can often hear that the palm tree grew and developed normally for 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 figure it out.
Crop specialistssure that when your home flower begins to turn yellow, this does not always indicate the presence of some kind of disease. Often this happens as a result of the natural process of getting rid of the foliage of the false palm. The plant is vital for further growth and development. Nevertheless, this always worries the palm owner. “The leaves have fallen, what should I do?” - ask beginner flower growers. When a plant sheds its lower foliage, it indicates too much or too little moisture.
Why do palm leaves turn yellow?
Professional flower growers explain this behavior of the flower for a number 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 correctly.
Perhaps not everyone knows that some types of fan palms need coolness in winter.
Palms for warm spaces:
- coconut;
- areca;
- chamedorea;
- karyota;
- acanthophoenix;
- Phoenix Robelini - these plants need high temperature and high humidity.
Varieties for moderately warm rooms:
- bonneti coconut;
- howei (Forster, Belmore);
- clinostigma;
- geonoma;
- rapis;
- rapalostyles;
- sabal.
Palms for growing in cool rooms:
- brachea;
- chamerops;
- Washingtonia;
- trachycarpus and others
The most common causes of yellowing foliage
One of the possible reasons for the yellowing of palm leaves is high air temperature. Since these plants come from the tropics or subtropics, many flower growers mistakenly believe that they need equatorial heat in winter. The flower gives an instant reaction - the leaves of the 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 moderately moisten the soil as the top layer dries.
Dry air
Almost all palm trees experience discomfort during the heating season, as the air in our apartments becomes very dry during this period. The owners notice that the palm leaves are drying - their tips begin to turn yellow and die off rather 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 with a spray gun and monitor the condition of the soil, do not allow it to dry out.
Draft
This southern beauty is sensitive to drafts. Palm leaves are most often affected by 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 an influx of fresh air, flower development will slow down.
Frequent replanting
Palm trees are plants that do not like frequent, and sometimes unjustified anxiety. In this case, we are talking about transplantation. Sometimes the owner of the plant saw a beautiful pot in the store and decided to transplant a palm tree into it, without thinking about whether the plant needs it at the moment. Transplantation should be carried out only when necessary. But we must not allow the roots to be cramped in the old pot. This often causes palm leaves to turn yellow.
Diseases and pests. Shields
If spots appear on the leaves of a palm tree in the form of brown plaques, which gradually spread to the stems, this indicates that the plant is affected by scale insects that suck out useful juices. The 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 0.15% Actellic solution (according to the instructions).
Spider mite
This pest appears when the air is dry. Cobwebs appear on the stems, the leaves wither, turn yellow and fall off. Wipe the damaged areas with a soapy sponge and wash under a warm shower. Spray (moisturize) the plant more often. In case of severe damage, spraying with Actellik is allowed.
Mealybugs
These pests affect not only palm leaves, but also shoots, and even flowers. The leaves are deformed, dry and fall off. With untimely treatment, the plant may die.
Having found signs of the disease, treat problem areas with a soapy sponge andwash under a warm shower.
The leaves are turning black
Often, owners complain that palm leaves are turning black. This phenomenon is associated with improper care of the plant. There are two types of leaf browning:
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, compacted earth in a pot. It is necessary to stop watering for at least two weeks. Loosen the soil in the pot more often to improve oxygen access to the roots. If there is no improvement, then transplant the palm tree to a new land.
Maintenance and Care
At home, palm trees require regular spraying, proper watering, in which the earthen ball 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 wet, harsh, watering is required.
After watering, a small amount of water should be poured into the pan, which will soak into the ground within one hour. It must be drained or removed with a clean cloth. For irrigation, use only settled water, and only after the topsoil dries.
Twice a month, plants need to be fed with special liquid palm fertilizers,which are sold in all flower shops. Regularly inspect the bottom of the flowerpots: do the roots come out, do they push the soil out of the pot from above? In this case, transplanting into larger containers with fresh palm soil is required.
Yellowed tips of the leaves should be cut off, 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 out may be accelerated, and the sheet may be lost completely. Remove only leaves that have dried completely.
How to humidify the air?
Since we have already talked about the fact 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 a room where a 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 damp terry towels on the radiators or place open containers of water next to them. Various tropical aquatic plants in beautiful vases add moisture to the air.
Another assistant in increasing humidity is an indoor fountain. Slowly evaporating moving water has a great effect on the condition of the air.
Popular species
Today there are many varieties of palms suitable for home cultivation. They have some features, which we will introduce you with an example.most popular plants.
Date palm
Perhaps this is the most popular plant of the palm family. This is a very beautiful tree-like tropical flower. The date palm has a luxurious crown, which is made up of feathery green leaves. Palm leaf venation is 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 paniculate inflorescences. This tree also has fruits - berries with hard seeds. In some species they are edible. Today, many lovers of indoor flowers grow a date palm. Are the leaves of this plant dry? Yes, with the wrong care.
In order for your plant to develop properly, put it in a well-lit area, do not forget to spray the crown with water, provide abundant watering in summer, reduce it to a minimum in winter. The date palm 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 can decorate a spacious hall or office space. Butia loves bright light and sun, as well as warmth and fresh, moist air. That is why in summer it feels comfortable at +20-25 °C, and in winter at +12-15 °C.
It does not need to be watered often and abundantly: in summer, watering is done once a week, and even less often in winter. In recent years, dwarf individuals are often grown at home.of this type. Their height does not exceed forty centimeters. A characteristic feature of this palm is a capitate thickening at the base. This is a palm tree with long leaves (up to four meters). They are rather rigid, arched, divided into leaf plates. In young plants, they are covered with fluff, and in adults - with thorns.
From the axils of the leaves (upper) grow panicles-inflorescences with beautiful red flowers. Then their place is taken by pleasantly smelling oval-shaped fruits that are a bit like apricots.
Liviston
Showy fan-shaped plant. Palm leaves (photo you can see below) are painted in a juicy light green color. They are located on a smooth thin trunk of a gray-green color. This type of palm is widely used in the interior of houses and apartments. But it should be remembered that for active growth and development, certain conditions must be created for livistons: good lighting, abundant watering, high humidity and air temperature not lower than +20 ° C, wiping and spraying the leaves.
Hamerops
Slow growing and easy care palm tree. Narrow leaves with thorns distinguish it from many relatives. With proper care, it grows up to five meters in height. Prefers loose soil, regular but moderate watering, occasional repotting and full sun.
Hovea
Magnificent feathery leaves of this room palm are the main, but not the only advantage of the plant, which comes from the islands off the coast of Australia. Varieties of this plant take root well indoors, toleratelack of light. It is important that at the same time their foliage does not dry and does not turn pale. It stays green and dense even in very dry air.
The plant is resistant to spider mites and other pests. This hardiness predetermined the popularity of this palm tree for landscaping apartments and offices. Howea grows much slower than other species. The emerging young leaves are arranged 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 gray-green leaves. The plant has a strong gray trunk. This variety easily tolerates a decrease in air temperature up 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. It belongs to fan-shaped plants, white veins and orange spikes are clearly visible on the leaves. The leaves are purple in color. At home, it grows well if the room is warm. Does not require too much watering. In winter, watering is reduced to a minimum. It is necessary to plant a plant in a rather high pot and put it in a bright place, but so that direct sunlight does not fall on the crown. Dry leaves should be removed regularly.
Yukka
This palm tree has a highly branched tree-like stem crowned with a bunch of large bluish or green leaves. They aremay have different edges: jagged and smooth, with sharp spikes at the ends or threads. Flowering is plentiful. Flowers appear on the tree in the shape of a bell or bowl. Usually painted white. Sometimes they have a cream or sandy tint. The flowers are collected in a large panicle. Unfortunately, at home, the plant blooms extremely rarely.
The yucca should be given the brightest place in the house, it feels quite comfortable even in the brightest sun. That is why, with the onset of summer, she often moves to fresh air. Between April and October, this palm tree should be watered sparingly. To prevent the leaves from turning yellow, once a month add a special liquid palm fertilizer to the water for irrigation. During extreme heat, place the plant in the shade and spray it with water in the morning. In autumn and winter, it is quite satisfied with a temperature of + 10 ° C, reduce watering at this time.
Sabal
This is a low palm tree with fan-shaped bluish-green leaves, widened at the base. The trunk is covered with remnants of petioles. The plant grows naturally in the subtropics of the United States, and at home for its successful development, you should follow the general recommendations for palm trees.
Now you know why palm leaves dry, why they turn yellow or black, so you can avoid unwanted problems. Proper care of the plant will turn it into a luxurious decoration for your home. We hope that the description of popular varieties of palm trees presented in the article and their photos will help you choose the one you like.plant.
