Chamaerops humilis indoor practices

[kbob11]

Hi everyone,

    This is my first time attempting to grow a Chamaerops humilis indoors.  I am battling a scale problem but aside from that I have noticed the fronds getting darker and darker green.  I keep this indoors for roughly 5 months of the year.  I am posting wondering how others treat this species indoors.  Any tips; watering, lighting, fert would be greatly appreciated! 

[Dartolution]

Sorry to hear about the scale issue. Have you tried imidacloprid granules ? I typically use Bayer BioAdvanced Tree and Shrub Protect and Feed for something that severe. 

But please use it cautiously, it is a systemic, and ONLY on non-flowering plants, or indoors on houseplants is also fine.

It has a smell at first, but it goes away. 

That in conjunction with physical removal using soapy water and rubbing alcohol is the most common practice to treat scale on a potted plant. 

 

I have kept Cham's indoors during the winter months for years when potted.

My tips on watering, is do it lightly, and allow the soil to come to a complete state of dryness before watering thoroughly again. If they sit in moist soil for too long they can rot. 

Fertilizing during the winter is not really recommended. You'll get weird wonky stretchy growth and since the palm is basically in a state of stress due to the scale, plus a sort of dormancy, I wouldn't advise it at all. 

These palms are sun lovers, and I cant stretch that enough. They REQUIRE full direct hot sun in order to flourish. So if indoors, place it as close to a south facing unobstructed window as possible. 

If you have fancy grow lights you can stick one over it, but as long as its getting as much sun as possible it'll likely be fine for a few months.

I hope this helps.

[PalmatierMeg]

Agree with @Dartolution. As for the scale and/or mealy bugs, place the pot in the bathtub and give it a tepid shower. If you have a spray attachment use it to target the critters and rinse some of them off. After the palm dries, you can use the Bayer insecticide with imidacloprid as a soil drench. Also, spread used coffee grounds in the pot. Caffeine is toxic to many insect pests. You can dilute black coffee to spritz the varmints. A Q-tip and alcohol will also kill/remove them as will a gentle sponging of soapy water - Ivory or castille soap, never detergent or dish soap.

[Bismarckiafan]

I agree with all the tips given above.  In addition, I would like to point out the fact that this mediterranean/subtropical palm when a bit bigger than a seedling is not happy kept indoors at the room temperature of 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit.  It needs cooler temperatures to allow it to rest in winter. The ideal temperature would probably be 50- 54 degrees Fahrenheit with very little watering. This palm  shouldn´t  grow any fronds in the house in winter at all because new stems get weak and fronds flop down sooner or later.  If you have a garage or a garden shed with a window or a cool unheated room in the house and can keep the temperature in there above 32 degrees Fahrenheit, your palm will be much happier there provided the whole of the rootball is kept almost dry.

I have 2 twenty-year old Chammies still sitting outside sheltered from the rain by the overhanging balcony. They have seen the night lows of 23 degress Fahrenheit several times in December and are fine. You may not believe it but a few years back I kept these palms in a garden shed at 23 Fahrenheit for at least two weeks while we were having one of those freezing winters with the outside temperature dropping to 5 degrees or lower at night. 

Your palm already has a a bit of a trunk  and it could do with some cold temperatures/weather. If it doesn´t freeze in your area at night or only slightly, it is fine to put it outside until a worse weather comes. The key thing is to keep the roots very dry and only soak the top of the soil in the pot now and then, usually after a couple of weeks.

Last but not least, I am convinced that if you overwinter your Chammy palm at cooler temperatures, you won´t have any problems with the scale insect. As far as I can remember, I have never had this bug on this type of palm. By way of prevention, I try not to contaminate the substrate in pots with the soil from the garden.  In my experience, other types of plants such as oleanders or citrus trees are usually healthy when overwintered in a cool place. On the other hand, if they are placed indoors, they get the scale insect all over them.

Edited January 2, 2021 by Bismarckiafan

[Laaz]

Set it outside for a few hours every day when the temps wont below 20F. Chamaerops humilis is very hardy, the cold will probably kill most of the scale.

[PalmatierMeg]

50 minutes ago, Laaz said:

Set it outside for a few hours every day when the temps wont below 20F. Chamaerops humilis is very hardy, the cold will probably kill most of the scale.

@Laaz has a good idea. Chamaerops strikes me as a palm that would prefer to be outdoors instead of in a dark, dry house.

[Palm D]

On 1/2/2021 at 8:54 AM, PalmatierMeg said:

@Laaz has a good idea. Chamaerops strikes me as a palm that would prefer to be outdoors instead of in a dark, dry house.

Most palms

[Allen]

I put a bunch of palms in the garage every winter and the troublesome palms I just pre treat with systemic before putting them in the garage to mitigate any bugs and mites.