Areca Palm stems dropping, trying to save it!

[ArecaPalmKiller]

I received a small Areca Palm in a wonderful vibrant condition about 5 months ago. Today I'm facing a real issue of leaves crispin' and stems dropping.

Around 60% of the leaf tips are brown, some leaves have turned a greyish color and are hard and crusty, and a handful of stems have completely lost support and fallen over.

I'm not sure what is the cause, no pests I can see. The stems (even the fallen ones) are green at the base. I water about once a week and very thoroughly, the pot has some holes in the bottom for drainage, and the plant sits in front of a window so gets indirect (and sometimes direct) sun all day. I fertilized it for the first time about two months ago, and though I followed the the dosage directions, I'm worried some of the fertilizer balls may have gotten to concentrated around certain stems.

I'm thinking root rot may also be a possibility so I plan to repot it soon and flush out most of the existing soil.

But let me know your thoughts.

[PalmatierMeg]

OK, you need to tell us what country/continent you live on. If you are too paranoid to tell us a few facts about where you are don't expect people to rush to your aid. Trust me, I have no intention of dropping by your house with tea and coffee cake. I'm in FL and we got troubles everywhere.

I'll venture a few comments.

1.  assume your bogus "Areca Palm" is not in the Areca genus from the South Pacific. Rather it is probably one of the Chrisalidocarpus spp from Madagascar. C. lutescens, aka the cutely named Golden Cane Palm, is a likely candidate for misnamed palm of the year.

2. However, I don't see many signs of gold coloring on its stems and it is quite short. The quality of the photos doesn't help but I wonder if you have yet another genus/spp of palm, i.e., Chamaedorea cataractum. It also clusters and is dark green. Maybe some who is not 3/4 blind can chime in.

3. Your "palm" is likely an artificial cluster of small seedlings competing with one another for survival - winner take all.

4. More info

     a. Your house is likely too cold, too dark and too dry for it/them

     b. Your soil looks like black muck dollar store houseplant mix. You need to use a light, free-draining, loose mix. I make mine with Kellogg garden soil, coco coir & perlite. Avoid MiracleGro like plague.

    c. You are probably overwatering, which promotes root rot.

 

[PalmsInBaltimore]

seems like root rot is likely. Looks like the stems that fell over have already lost all support and are going to die off, whether the rot continues spreading upwards or not. The potting medium also looks too mucky for an indoor palm. 

Like @PalmatierMeg said, the first step is definitely to pin down what actual palm species you have to get a better sense of its light/heat/water requirements. But it's not unusual at all in these crowded mass plantings (every stem is an individual palm in this case, unlike the relative minority of palms that do form branched stems) for the smaller and more central specimens to get crowded out and languish. Overwatering may not harm the strongest individuals but it will be death for the weaker ones.

If you're going to repot, definitely examine the roots; however, I would not "flush out most of the existing soil" for this one. Instead, rinse off soil from around the tangled root ball but leave a good amount rather than washing it all off. Plant that in the new soil and definitely avoid anything with peat or high organic content that will hold on to water for too long between waterings. 

I would thin out the weaker, smaller individuals, too. Just snip the stems slightly above the soil line. Small palms like this are planted so densely only to make them visually appealing so they can be sold, not because they like it.

If it's some sort of Chamaedorea, window light may be adequate. Keep an eye on the new leaf spears. If they're not growing, you probably should get supplemental light. 

[RFun]

I am thinking you're over watering.  Also, could use a slightly larger pot for good measure.  Making the adjustments can pay off for you.