Question
I bought a palm tree a year or so ago and it has not done well at all. Most of the leaves are turning brown.  I have it in front of my patio window, but there are a lot of trees out back so it does not get intense sunlight. I water it when it seems dry. What am I doing wrong?

Answer
Mary,

Brown leaves on your palm tree can indicate that is not getting enough light in which case you may want to suspend a 2 bulb flourescent light fixture over it and have it on from dawn to dusk to supplement the natural light.

Brown leaves can also indicate too little or too much water. If you are only watering once a month that is not enough. If you only check the soil for dryness every 2 weeks you are probably underwatering.

If it is in a pot without drainage holes in the bottom and no drain tray under it then it is sitting in a swamp and it is drowning. While the surface of the soil may seem dry if you remove it from the pot you will find the soil in the lower half of the pot is very soggy and the roots of the palm are rotting.

If you pot has drain holes and a drain tray but you are leaving it sit with water in the drain tray when you water it and you are watering it again 3-4 days later then you are still keeping the soil constantly wet and probably have root rot causing the brown leaves.

You need to always empty the drain tray an hour after watering and then not water again until the surface of the soil has been dry for at least 4-5 days so the plant is very dry and the roots have had time to breath in carbon dioxide through it's roots. Then the roots will stay healthy and not get root rot. It is important to most plants that they dry out thoroughly between waterings so they do not get root rot. More plants are killed by too much water than by too little. Good luck.

Darlene