Can I save a 33 yo palm from my grandfather’s wake?

[Krista]

Good evening. My uncle is moving and gave me a palm that was from my grandfather’s wake in 1991. I believe it to be a parlor palm but not 100% sure and from what I’ve researched, I’m unable to propagate it. Is it in fact a parlor palm? Is there anything I can do to save it? How long can they live? There’s about 3 good fronds left, the fourth is turning brown. Should I cut the browning one back? Thank you for any help! 

at my uncle’s house:

Day I brought it home in my horse trailer:

[Jim in Los Altos]

Yes, a Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea elegans). It’s VERY old! You need seperate male and female plants in order to propagate. Your palm is either a male or female. Without it flowering presently, it’s impossible to tell. 

[Palmarum]

  On 4/29/2024 at 4:02 AM, Krista said:

... I believe it to be a parlor palm but not 100% sure and from what I’ve researched, I’m unable to propagate it. Is it in fact a parlor palm? Is there anything I can do to save it? How long can they live? There’s about 3 good fronds left, the fourth is turning brown. Should I cut the browning one back?... 

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It is a Parlor Palm, Chamaedorea elegans, and it is the tallest one I have ever seen... incredible.

The fact that it has been saved and cared for all this time is a great achievement. Jim is correct, it is a male/female species so two plants are needed for seed production. Plants of this species have been known to live for a long time, but your specimen is exceptionally tall, and I don't know how that effects its lifespan. Some palms are affected by the height of their trunk/stem in regard to their lifespan; the taller the stem, the harder it gets to bring water and nutrients to the crown.

Leave the fronds as is. As long as there is any green, the leaf is working. Brown old leaves usually fall away off on their own. It seems the upper half of the stem is keeping the brown leafbases persistent. I do not know why, unless they are just held in place by themselves. Usually, they fall off along with the leaves as they are shed.

-- As is, the palm looks as it is supposed to be, an old, old plant. It could just be coming out of the winter and might look better with time. Is it definitely in a decline? It could look like that all the time and be healthy. Hard to say without a reference. I have seen very old specimens in containers look just like that (just not as tall). If you think the height is a health issue or an encumbrance to keeping the palm, there is a possible action:

 

There is an advanced propagation technique known as air-layering that has been used on certain palms like Parlor Palms to shorten their stems. There are books and videos out there that explain the procedure in detail, but basically you are creating a new ball of roots at a node along the stem. Certain nodes will send out little roots on their own sometimes, just out into the air. The roots emerge from the node and grow into a medium such as damp sphagnum moss held in place by tightly wrapped aluminum foil. After the roots fill the moss inside the foil, the stem is cut below the air-layer. Then the upper plant, with new roots, is planted in a new pot (minus the foil). 

Air-layering can take time, it can be tricky and does not always work. I also do not know how it would work indoors, with air conditioning i.e. a dry environment. But I have seen it done on old Parlor Palms. Unlike traditional air-layering, you do not need to cut into the stem or remove bark on a Parlor Palm. During the pandemic, I rescued a Parlor Palm (decades old, again not as tall) and when I went to pot it up, I noticed it originated as an air-layer. I still have him in a pot. 

Ryan

[peachy]

When the weather warms up, put it outside in the shade for a few weeks. Give it a feed too. Rain and some fresh air revive them quite well most of the time.

Peachy

[aztropic]

If bringing it outside for the summer, you need to locate it in an area with FULL SHADE. (little to no direct sunlight) Otherwise,the existing fronds WILL sunburn,and the plant will be in worse shape than if you had just left it inside.

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

[kylecawazafla]

I would like to emphasize what aztropic said about placing the palm in full shade if you take it outside. Palms accustomed to indoors can have all their fronds burnt off by direct sunlight in less than an hour, depending on the intensity of the sun. 

[Krista]

  On 4/29/2024 at 6:26 AM, Palmarum said:

It is a Parlor Palm, Chamaedorea elegans, and it is the tallest one I have ever seen... incredible.

The fact that it has been saved and cared for all this time is a great achievement. Jim is correct, it is a male/female species so two plants are needed for seed production. Plants of this species have been known to live for a long time, but your specimen is exceptionally tall, and I don't know how that effects its lifespan. Some palms are affected by the height of their trunk/stem in regard to their lifespan; the taller the stem, the harder it gets to bring water and nutrients to the crown.

Leave the fronds as is. As long as there is any green, the leaf is working. Brown old leaves usually fall away off on their own. It seems the upper half of the stem is keeping the brown leafbases persistent. I do not know why, unless they are just held in place by themselves. Usually, they fall off along with the leaves as they are shed.

-- As is, the palm looks as it is supposed to be, an old, old plant. It could just be coming out of the winter and might look better with time. Is it definitely in a decline? It could look like that all the time and be healthy. Hard to say without a reference. I have seen very old specimens in containers look just like that (just not as tall). If you think the height is a health issue or an encumbrance to keeping the palm, there is a possible action:

 

There is an advanced propagation technique known as air-layering that has been used on certain palms like Parlor Palms to shorten their stems. There are books and videos out there that explain the procedure in detail, but basically you are creating a new ball of roots at a node along the stem. Certain nodes will send out little roots on their own sometimes, just out into the air. The roots emerge from the node and grow into a medium such as damp sphagnum moss held in place by tightly wrapped aluminum foil. After the roots fill the moss inside the foil, the stem is cut below the air-layer. Then the upper plant, with new roots, is planted in a new pot (minus the foil). 

Air-layering can take time, it can be tricky and does not always work. I also do not know how it would work indoors, with air conditioning i.e. a dry environment. But I have seen it done on old Parlor Palms. Unlike traditional air-layering, you do not need to cut into the stem or remove bark on a Parlor Palm. During the pandemic, I rescued a Parlor Palm (decades old, again not as tall) and when I went to pot it up, I noticed it originated as an air-layer. I still have him in a pot. 

Ryan

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Thank you Ryan! I have never had a palm so I thought this guy looked sad with just a few fronds, so I’m very excited it’s healthy for its age!!! Will it harm it to try the air-layering since you don’t have to cut into the stem? Luckily I do have tall enough ceilings but only that little half circle window for it, no skylights. 🤣 

 

[Krista]

  On 4/29/2024 at 7:36 AM, peachy said:

When the weather warms up, put it outside in the shade for a few weeks. Give it a feed too. Rain and some fresh air revive them quite well most of the time.

Peachy

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It’s too tall for my only full shade spot. Will it do any good putting it out on cloudy days and bringing it in on sunny days? 

[Merlyn]

@Krista you can find some good photos at this Palmpedia page: https://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Chamaedorea_elegans

They do tend to be sparse on leaves, so holding 2 or 3 good ones at a time is common.  I'm sure that I've never seen one that tall, not even at botanical gardens.  I found a big discussion here on air layering and propogating them:

 

[Palmarum]

  On 4/29/2024 at 1:08 PM, Krista said:

Thank you Ryan! I have never had a palm so I thought this guy looked sad with just a few fronds, so I’m very excited it’s healthy for its age!!! Will it harm it to try the air-layering since you don’t have to cut into the stem? ...

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It is a wonderful specimen for a first palm. It has a great history. Trying the air-layering is possible without physical harm, it will work or not, but the palm will expend energy in the attempt. You might not get a strong enough root ball to support the palm and then you have a partial clump of roots hanging in the air. The partial clump might dry out, or cause loss of moisture through evaporation. Then again, it might work perfectly. 

Most often air-layering is done during the hot, humid time here in S. Florida. It works best when the plant is in full growth, the moss is kept moist with humidity and the tropical growing engine is in full effect. Many growers will not even attempt an air-layer on any plant during our relatively mild winters. How it would work in your situation, I do not know. Bringing it outside for a breather, regular watering and some growing time would be helpful, but definitely heed the warnings above about avoiding any direct full sun. Maneuvering him/her around has got to be a challenge.

I can only guess as to how your weather is during the spring and summer, but if it can be warm enough, trying the air-layering outdoors would be better. It will take months for the roots to grow. 

Another word of caution about bringing the palm outdoors. As a complete indoor plant, he/she will need protection from any severe wind or strong motion that could cause damage. The palm has probably not experienced any crazy weather. It will need support that prevents him/her from falling over and also avoid leaning the stem against anything that would create a fulcrum or breaking point. It will need a protective bubble like for a baby. A very, very tall baby. 

Ryan

[Patrick]

  On 4/29/2024 at 1:10 PM, Krista said:

It’s too tall for my only full shade spot. Will it do any good putting it out on cloudy days and bringing it in on sunny days? 

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Yeah, that thing is TALL lol! It will do fine in the new location that you move it too, regardless of the lower light levels. It will be more of a challenge to move it than to grow it! 

 

One thing I would do, its a pet peeve of mine and I'm always doing it on my mom's plants when I visit, is I would pull off all the dead leaf bases. They should separate and pull off from the trunk with little effort. They'll kind of peel or pop off. If one doesnt want to go, leave it and move up. A lot of times mealybugs and stuff set up shop under those and its detrimental to the palm; so you may find some under there. You can kill them with soapy water in a spray bottle same for spider mites if you find them up in the live leaves. If you do decide to pull the bases, don't do it when or before you put it outside if you do decide to do that, too. Pull them after when you bring it back inside. The trunk will be sensitive to the light, it will take a few days for the trunk to show some green color. Start at the lowest base and work your way up. 

[peachy]

  On 4/29/2024 at 1:10 PM, Krista said:

It’s too tall for my only full shade spot. Will it do any good putting it out on cloudy days and bringing it in on sunny days? 

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Sounds like too much work and risk of damaging it with all the moving about. Very early morning sun would be okay otherwise dappled shade under a big tree works for me too. I have even rigged up temporary shelters with light nylon rope and a shade cloth. Sometimes you just need to be creative.

Peachy.  

PS  I could build a house with a roll of bamboo fence screen and a large pack of zip ties :D

[Krista]

Just an update for everyone, I was able to prop roots with Kiki’s cloning paste and one of those prop balls with tree fern about 3.5’ from the base! I’ll try to remember to come back and update in a few months if it takes. 🤞🫶🏻

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Impressive, I didn’t know that was possible!

[Darold Petty]

Chamaedorea metallica can be air layered also.   

[DoomsDave]

  On 12/5/2024 at 1:51 AM, Krista said:

Just an update for everyone, I was able to prop roots with Kiki’s cloning paste and one of those prop balls with tree fern about 3.5’ from the base! I’ll try to remember to come back and update in a few months if it takes. 🤞🫶🏻

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Looks good!

I think you have an excellent chance of success!