Question
Yes thank you this is very helpful.  The plant is about 1 foot from a window that receives afternoon indirect light (wooden shutters that are partially closed).  However my home is mostly windows there are 7 large windows in this particular room so the house if very bright but the shades are normally partially closed during the day. The palm sits by a winder on the west side of the house. It's in a 2-3 gallon pot, has one stalk with three thronds. The other two stalks are brown and appear dead. We use a water meter and if it is still wet in the center we do not water again until its registers dryer (we bought this after a few of our plants developed root rot from over watering a year ago) and it's worked very well on all of my other plants.  We currently use a fertilizer however not every month.  Thanks.

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Followup To

Question -
I have what I believe is a Howea palm, the standard one you purchase from Home Depot, tall.  After I originally purchased it two years ago I discovered it had mealy bugs and spider mites.  I treated it with alcohol, waited a few weeks then with soapy water for the mites. The bugs went away and I trimmed off the brown section sof the leaves but since that time it has not grown at all.  No new shoots in fact the areas on the leaves that were brown (tips that I did not trim) are still there, never changes.  It's as if the plant is frozen but the remaining leaves are green as well as the shutes.  Any suggestions?

Answer -
Dear J.B.,

Howea palms are very slow growers. You didn't say how much light it receives, or how often you water it or if you have ever fertized it.

Here is a "light indicator" in low light the plant may only hold 4 6 fronds, in medium light levels you may see twice as many fronds. So, generally the more indirect light the better.

These palms grow pretty tall in rather small pots. When watering make sure the entire root ball is watered, and allow a least one half of the potting media to dry. DO NOT keep the root ball moist or wet all the time or rotting will occur.

How Will You Know If You Over Watered Your Kentia?
Look for the fronds with yellowing tips, then yellow speckling and followed by browning. During the winter time be especially careful not to over water your kentia.

What Happens With Underwatering?
An under watered Howea will develop tips that are brown, and the fronds will not be as erect and possibly leaning.

Kentias (Howea) are slow growers. If you must prune do so selectively to the leaves and don't remove the entire frond.

Fertilize it once a month and that should encourage new growth. If you have more questions give me more specific info such as how close is it to a window and what direction the window faces, what size pot it is in, how often you water it? Good luck.

Darlene

Answer
JB,

My only other suggestion would be to get some play sand at Lowes or Home Depot and put an inch or two on top of the soil. It will slowly wash down in. Where palms do well in Florida and Hawaii the soil is very sandy.

Also, never allow it to sit with a drain tray full of water.An hour after watering empty the tray.

The bright light should be perfect. Otherwise, be patient, they are slow growers. Good luck.

Darlene