Question
I HAVE A 3 YEAR OLD PALM TREE, SIMILAR TO BANANA PALM, THAT I MOVE INSIDE DURING THE MONTHS OF NOV - APRIL.  DUE TO LOW LIGHT INSIDE OF HOUSE THE PALM HAS GROWN STRAIGHT UP TO A HEIGHT OF NOW OVER 5 FEET TALL.  THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE TRUNK OF THE PALM IS WEAK AND IS BENDING OUTWARD APPRX. AT THE 3 FOOT MARK.  I NEED TO REPOT IT BUT AM AFRAID THAT IT WILL SNAP IN TWO WITHOUT BRACING IT LIKE A BROKEN APPENDAGE FIRST!  IF THE PALM DOES BREAK INTO TWO PIECES, CAN I EITHER REPLANT THE PART WITH THE ROOTS AND EXPECT FUTURE LEAVES, AND/OR CAN I RE-ROOT THE TOP PART AND RESTART THE PALM AND HOPE FOR GROWTH?  I DON'T WANT TO LOSE MY PALM, BUT I AM ALMOST AFRAID TO MOVE OR TOUCH IT AT THIS POINT.  THANKS SO MUCH FOR HELP WITH THIS MATTER.


Answer
Hi Kathryn,

I cannot help you without a proper plant identification. There are hundreds of different Palms that have very different cultural requirements. In addition, there are many plants that people call Palms that are not Palm species at all. So I have no idea what you have.

If indeed you have a true Plant species, then you cannot cannot cut off the trunk without killing the plant and the top cutting will not re-root. But I suspect you do not actually have a Palm.

Please either post a photo of your plant here or email a photo to me at [email protected] so I can ID it for you and then tell you what to do.

In the meantime, do NOT repot it. Plants that are growing in reduced light should never be repotted.

I look forward to your reply so I can better help you.

Regards,
Will Creed

PS Please do not use all capital letters. It is very hard to read.