Question
I have 2 pygmy palms inside, by an open blinded window. The palm on the right is doing....pretty good, green, new sprouts are alright. The one on the left is the exact opposite. The new growth stems are white, and the leaves are droopy, like those of a weeping willow. The dying one does get more sun because of the way it rises, and the dirt in the pot is higher, and was purchased from a different home improvement store, but besides those details, they are identical, and only purchased within one week from each other. They were fertilized with Jobe Fertilizer sticks, about 2 weeks ago. Please give me any suggestions you may have, as their demise would ultimately lead to mine. I spray them with different tempetured water per other websites and all. Hopefully these long specifics will help. Oh, and the dying one also has brownish yellow tips, 2 seconds from unsightly. Thanks for your expertise.

Answer
Hi Jerel, first of all, not the best choice for indoor growing, there are many Palms out there that would do fine in an indoor environment, Pygmy Dates are not on that list; that said, I believe you primary problem is lack of humidity, they should be misted frequently to simulate this, or have a humidifier near them. The fertilizer sticks are not going to give them the required nutrients needed, they need a "palm fertilizer' in granular form, this ensures that the entire root system gets benefit, not just the area where the sticks were; also, you never alluded to the container or type of soil, or method of planting, this is all crucial information needed to determine problems. The container should be large enough so that it will adequately supply the root system with enough room to expand, there should be several inches of drainage material lining the bottom of the container, and a good grade potting mixture should have been used. Bottom line Jerel, I believe it is really suffering from an indoor location. Nick