How to treat Golden Cane palm with brown leaves?

Christina2024

Hi - need help with my golden palm please. I re-potted it to a bigger pot and it's located indoors as pictured. I water it once a week and mist the leaves. Now the leaves have started to turn brown at the tips. Too little water and sun perhaps?

Thanks.

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Christina2024. It's fantastic to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about caring for palms.

Given the dying leaves are on the least sunny side of the plant that could be an indication that lack of light is causing them to die back. You could perhaps try spinning the pots every few days to make sure they get some light. 

The best way to determine if you are watering adequately is to check the moisture content of the soil with your finger. The soil needs time to dry out between waterings but should never be bone dry. If when you stick your finger in the soil fully, it's dry 10cm below the surface, it's time to water. If the soil is still damp, hold off for a couple of days. I suspect that since you have it in a saucer inside, you are trying to avoid water spilling out on the floor. This leads to an underwatering scenario, as you really want to be giving the plant at least one really good soak each week, and you can't do that indoors in a saucer. Is there any chance you could take it outside once a week, give it a good soak to saturate the soil and then bring it back inside once the pot has drained and stopped dripping?

Here are a couple of helpful guides: How to grow and care for palms and How to diagnose a sick plant.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell