Question
Hi, I live in MN and I bought a healthy parlour palm about 4 weeks ago from Home Depot.   Brought it home and transplanted it carefully into a larger pot with two teaspoons of potting plant fertilizing granules and potting soil along with its own soil.  Its living in my sun room, no direct light and good temps, but the fronds are now starting to brown quite badly! The center's are green but the ends of the fronds are all browning.  I try not to water too regularly and always check that the soil is dry on top (and damp below) before watering.  We do have a heavy iron deposit in our water here but the water goes through a softener, could this possibly be the problem? Help, this is the second one I appear to be murdering over the last 6 months!

Answer
Doreen, I'm going to try to prevent your becoming a serial murderess; but in all seriousness, it sounds like you may be overwatering, and not realizing it; did you put some kind of drainage medium in the bottom? ie. pea stones, broken up clay, something that would take up any excess water so the roots aren't sitting in it and rotting. Parlour palms are actually Majesty Palms and require misting each day (controls spider mites which can be a problem)  and like low light; they also are not to fond of wet feet and the fronds will brown out as a result. The next possibility is (as you alluded to), salinity or excess iron in the water but your other plants (if you have any) would show the same symptoms. Check out what I've said and see if that is the problem; follow up with the information and we will take it from there. The positive side here is that Home Depot guarantees their plants for a year (with receipt)...Nick