[Ebook Việt Hoá] What’s wrong with my houseplant?: Kentia palm (Howea forsteriana, Howea belmor)


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ENGLISH

Both species, Howea forsteriana and H. belmor- eana, are large, single-trunked, slow-growing palms cultivated everywhere as large house- plants. Kentias were especially fashionable in the Victorian era and remain among the most popular indoor palms in the world. Today they are often a prominent feature of large open lob- bies and atriums of public buildings, shopping malls, and private homes. Indoors in containers, they’ll be 8 to 10 feet tall and 5 to 6 feet wide— pretty impressively big by normal houseplant standards. The slender trunk of these trees is smooth, green, and ringed with whitish leaf scars. The large, dark green leaves are pinnately compound (feather-like), 3 feet long and 1 foot wide. New leaves at the top of the crown are upright but the lowermost leaves are held hori- zontally, making the crown of the tree very wide. The 60 or more individual leaflets of each leaf are long, pointed, and droop gracefully, point- ing down toward the ground on both sides of the midrib.

Kentia palm (aka sentry palm, thatch palm, paradise palm, curly palm, Belmore sentry palm).
Kentia palm (aka sentry palm, thatch palm, paradise palm, curly palm, Belmore sentry palm).

Usually, when you purchase a kentia palm, it looks like the plant has multiple trunks, but it does not. Nurserymen put two to five single-trunked plants in each pot because it gives the product a lusher, full appearance and makes it more attractive to customers. Should you decide to separate these plants, do it carefully because the roots are brittle and easily damaged.

OPTIMUM HOUSEHOLD ENVIRONMENT

Read the Introduction for the specifics of each recommendation.

MEDIUM LIGHT.

Kentia palms do not like full sun—the leaves burn and develop black patches where the sun has killed the tissue. Sheer, gauzy curtains to diffuse the light on a south, east, or west window work well. These palms tolerate shade but don’t thrive in it.

LOW TEMPERATURE.

Daytime 65 to 75°F, night- time 55 to 65°F. Kentia palms like cool nights but don’t let the nighttime temperature drop below 50°F.

MODERATE WATER.

Water whenever the top of the potting medium becomes dry to a depth of 1 inch. Water less often in winter but never let the plant go completely dry.

HUMIDITY.

Mist your plant several times a week with a spray bottle of water on a mist setting, or use a handheld mister. Put the pot in a saucer or tray of water, making sure the bottom of the pot never sits directly in the water by raising the pot up on pot feet or pebbles. Consider putting a humidifier in the room.

POTTING MEDIUM.

Use any good organic, well-drained potting soil that incorporates organic fertilizer, mycorrhizal fungi, and other beneficial microbes.

FERTILIZER.

Use any organic fertilizer, in either a powder or liquid formulation, where the first number (nitrogen) is higher than the other two. Apply dry fertilizer once a month. Apply liquid fertilizer at half-strength every two weeks in spring and summer. Stop feeding your plant in fall and winter.

POTTING.

Even large kentia palms do very well
in small pots. After two or more years, when your plant has grown enough to need up-potting, shift it to a container with a diameter 4 inches larger than the current pot. Up-pot again every three years until the plant is as big as you want it to get. Its roots are fragile so handle with care.

PROPAGATION.

Kentia palms are only propagated from seeds, which are hard to get. It is impos- sible to grow new plants from cuttings and, as with many palms, if you cut off the growing tip you’ll kill the tree.

COMMON PROBLEMS

Watch for brown leaf tips (page 246), scale insects (page 262), and root rot (page 272).

TIẾNG VIỆT

Both species, Howea forsteriana and H. belmor- eana, are large, single-trunked, slow-growing palms cultivated everywhere as large house- plants. Kentias were especially fashionable in the Victorian era and remain among the most popular indoor palms in the world. Today they are often a prominent feature of large open lob- bies and atriums of public buildings, shopping malls, and private homes. Indoors in containers, they’ll be 8 to 10 feet tall and 5 to 6 feet wide— pretty impressively big by normal houseplant standards. The slender trunk of these trees is smooth, green, and ringed with whitish leaf scars. The large, dark green leaves are pinnately compound (feather-like), 3 feet long and 1 foot wide. New leaves at the top of the crown are upright but the lowermost leaves are held hori- zontally, making the crown of the tree very wide. The 60 or more individual leaflets of each leaf are long, pointed, and droop gracefully, point- ing down toward the ground on both sides of the midrib.

Kentia palm (aka sentry palm, thatch palm, paradise palm, curly palm, Belmore sentry palm).
Kentia palm (aka sentry palm, thatch palm, paradise palm, curly palm, Belmore sentry palm).

Usually, when you purchase a kentia palm, it looks like the plant has multiple trunks, but it does not. Nurserymen put two to five single-trunked plants in each pot because it gives the product a lusher, full appearance and makes it more attractive to customers. Should you decide to separate these plants, do it carefully because the roots are brittle and easily damaged.

OPTIMUM HOUSEHOLD ENVIRONMENT

Read the Introduction for the specifics of each recommendation.

MEDIUM LIGHT.

Kentia palms do not like full sun—the leaves burn and develop black patches where the sun has killed the tissue. Sheer, gauzy curtains to diffuse the light on a south, east, or west window work well. These palms tolerate shade but don’t thrive in it.

LOW TEMPERATURE.

Daytime 65 to 75°F, night- time 55 to 65°F. Kentia palms like cool nights but don’t let the nighttime temperature drop below 50°F.

MODERATE WATER.

Water whenever the top of the potting medium becomes dry to a depth of 1 inch. Water less often in winter but never let the plant go completely dry.

HUMIDITY.

Mist your plant several times a week with a spray bottle of water on a mist setting, or use a handheld mister. Put the pot in a saucer or tray of water, making sure the bottom of the pot never sits directly in the water by raising the pot up on pot feet or pebbles. Consider putting a humidifier in the room.

POTTING MEDIUM.

Use any good organic, well-drained potting soil that incorporates organic fertilizer, mycorrhizal fungi, and other beneficial microbes.

FERTILIZER.

Use any organic fertilizer, in either a powder or liquid formulation, where the first number (nitrogen) is higher than the other two. Apply dry fertilizer once a month. Apply liquid fertilizer at half-strength every two weeks in spring and summer. Stop feeding your plant in fall and winter.

POTTING.

Even large kentia palms do very well
in small pots. After two or more years, when your plant has grown enough to need up-potting, shift it to a container with a diameter 4 inches larger than the current pot. Up-pot again every three years until the plant is as big as you want it to get. Its roots are fragile so handle with care.

PROPAGATION.

Kentia palms are only propagated from seeds, which are hard to get. It is impos- sible to grow new plants from cuttings and, as with many palms, if you cut off the growing tip you’ll kill the tree.

COMMON PROBLEMS

Watch for brown leaf tips (page 246), scale insects (page 262), and root rot (page 272).


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