Windmill Palm

Question

I have a windmill palm that is fairly young. I purchased it last April. It did very well all spring and summer. I brought it home with me from the Jersey Shore to a suburb of Philadelphia. I have kept in my house for the winter. The problem is the fronds are turning brown and dying. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

Give your Windmill Palm as much sun as possible. If you don’t have a good window location, you may need to use a grow light.

Brown leaf tips can be caused by sporadic watering, low humidity, build up of chemicals from tap water, and fertilizers.
It is a good idea to water palms with distilled water or even rain water. If necessary, let the tap water set out at least 48 hours before using.
You can flush the soil by running distilled water through the soil until it runs through the soil. Repeat this process several times and remove excess water from the drainage tray.

The soil should be moist from spring through summer, but barely moist in fall and winter.
Mist regularly while indoors for the winter.
A good average room temperature is 65 to 75 degrees F. Windmill Palm actually can tolerate a cooler indoor temp.

Fertilizer only in spring in summer. An application of a slow-release fertilizer, a rose fertilizer works well for this palm as it has the micro-nutrients needed.