Question
Hello,
I bought a palm tree plant and was advised to water it every 3 days and feed it once a week. I did so, but my plant began to die a week later. I took the plant back to the place that I bought it (thinking something was wrong), and they said it was "sun burned", although I have the plant indoors. I live in Jamaica, and although my windows remain open during the day - it's really HOT indoors. I don't know how to keep my plant alive; I even started watering it every other day, and it continues to shed and turn purple. I was also advised that shedding is normal and that I should should keep it pruned. What is your advice??  Thanks.

Answer
Hi Delorey, first of all, you are watering it way too much; being in a container, you are asking for root rot, this may be a big part of your problem; is it still in the container you bought it in? if so, change it out to a larger container, and put about 2 inches of gravel, or some type of base stone, so that excess water will sit in it, and not on the roots. Most indoor palms require frequent misting of the fronds, because the indoors tends to be somewhat dry (not humid); Feeding it once a week is going to cause a build up of salt in the soil also, so I would fertilize it once a month with a soluble fertilizer (like miracle grow) and once every 3 months with a palm granular fertilizer; if you succeed in bringing it back, then you will need to change the soil out each year, because of the eventual salt build up...Nick