Just A Pretty Picture to Start the Day Dew on Dandelion Flower Seed
Help! My Rhapis Palm Plants Hated Moving to Florida
I recently received this comment/question from a PlantAndFlowerInfo.com reader. I have an email form for questions and comments. I post some of those in this houseplant care blog. I suppose other people might have similar problems and this may be helpful to them. Also, others may have additional information to add. Thanks Florida reader, I hope this helps!
Four months ago, I relocated within Central Florida. I uprooted some of my 10′-12′ tall Rhapis excelsa palms to take with me & potted them in 24″ wide pots, using Miracle Gro’s Moisture Control Potting Soil. I planted 12 plants, at a rate of 4 per pot. Unfortunately, they didn’t do well during the move & only 4(in 1 pot) seem to have survived. The others wilted & seem to be rotting from the top down, though 5′-7′ of each trunk from the ground up are still green. I cut off the dead fronds and there’s been no new growth from the tips, which are now rotted. What can I do to try to save them? Please, advise? Thanks!
Many plant questions don’t have a simple answer. Finding out what is wrong with your plant often takes detective work. You have to ask yourself questions. Did I forget to water my plant last week? Did that move out onto the porch for a day cause this problem? Or the recent power outage that dropped temperatures into the 40s. Did something, anything out of the ordinary happen that my be the cause of my houseplant problem? Did my crazy cat use the plant as a litter box? Haha but you never know. I have some wild stories about plants on interior landscape accounts, but will save for a later date!
It sounds like the person who wrote this email pulled plants out of her/his yard, planted them into pots, and then moved to a new home. May have root damage, transplant shock, could have been exposed to excess heat or cold during the move, or all of these. I don’t know any of these things, so this is a hard question to answer.
A photo of a Rhapis Palm is posted next, in case you may be wondering what a Rhapis excelsa palm is or looks like. Sometimes people use the common name of Lady Palm for Rhapis palm. Just so you know, you cannot just cut back the stalk of a palm plant like you would many other houseplants. That will stop all growth from that stem or stalk. It may or may not put out new shoots from the base of the plant. Anyway, Rhapis excelsa palm picture…
I have had Rhapis palms that were in similar condition that I was able to regrow into healthy, vigorous plants but since I don’t know much about how you plan to use the palms, what kind of light they are in, etc. I can only give a general answer to this. If the roots of your palms are still somewhat healthy, you should cut any stalks that have started to die back off just above soil level. This will help the plant direct energy to growing new healthy stalks. Given some time, the plant should put out new shoots and, if you give it proper light and watering, it should be a nice full plant, if somewhat shorter than you started with, given some time to regrow.
This was all I could really tell her about her plants. Care of Rhapis excelsa palm plants…
Indoor House Plants Care
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How to Prune Your Wild & Crazy Schefflera Arboricola Plant
Do you have houseplants that seem to get out of control? I know some people like their plants to take over the room. They may feel that the bigger, the better. But, to be honest, I am not one of those people. I have learned over the many years working in the interior landscape industry that one of the best ways to keep most houseplants looking full and healthy, other than providing great lighting, is to keep them pruned and shaped.
Some houseplants do not really fit into this category. Palms and cactus need to be looked at in a different way, so do not apply anything in this post to them. I received an email from a person who has a Schefflera arboricola bush, what she referred to as an Umbrella Plant. Some people also call the Schefflera arboricola a Parasol Plant or Dwarf Umbrella Plant. Anyway, the email I received was this:
Hello, I’m just wondering how to prune an umbrella plant. My plant is getting out of control, growing upwards and I can’t seem to get it to grow like a bush. I’m afraid to cut it to shape cause I might kill it. I’ve had this plant for over 10 years and from the picture I sent you can see it’s still growing good. I just want to trim it down but I want to do it properly. Thanks!
My answer to her follows…
When pruning an Arboricola (umbrella plant), cut just the stem, just above a leaf node. I usually cut the tallest stem back into the center of the plant, leaving some leaf nodes below the cut for new growth to start. Doing this every once in awhile keeps the plant fuller and shorter.
You can cut the really tall stem that you have growing past the top of the door to maybe 12 inches or so in height. Cut just above a leaf node.
Cutting it should not kill it, it will just promote some new growth from the stem that you cut. It also keeps it from getting so tall that the stems start to fall over.
I usually cut anything that has gotten tall enough or leggy enough that it no longer can stay upright without some type of support.
Also, turning the entire plant/pot once a month will help to keep it growing evenly on all sides, resulting in full, even growth all over the plant. Hope this helps, send along any other questions.
Pretty easy to do. I have added a picture of the Arboricola plant that she sent with the email. The pink Xs are the two stems that I would cut back right now. It is hard to tell if the tallest stem is growing directly from the soil or is a side shoot from another stem. If it is a side shoot it can be removed from the stem it grows out of. The smaller green lines are where I would cut, approximately.
You should always use sharp, clean, if not sterile, pruners when you cut your plants. Just like people, plants can get bacterial diseases, viruses, and fungal disease and they can be spread through infected tools.
Keeping your houseplants pruned, trimmed, and shaped helps keep them fuller looking. When you remove part of a stem, it releases growth hormones below the cut and helps to promote new, healthy grow on your plant. An over grown plant can also be a big problem if it ever needs to be repotted.
Keep your houseplants in shape and you also help keep them healthy and growing!