Why is My Majesty Palm Dying?
Question: any advice on keeping a Majesty Palm tree alive in an office space? Our owner bought 3 of them, and two already have dried, dead looking branches on the bottom of the trunk. One is very large, probably 7ft from ball bottom to top branches, and has some white, wax-like material on it’s leaves near the branch?
Hi Terry,
Ravenea rivularis
I have to admit that Majesty Palms are not my favorite indoor plants. Indoors Majesty Palms often struggle to survive and rarely do as well as a Bamboo Palms, Neanthebella Palms, Kentia Palms, or Rhaphis Palms. Majesty Palms, or Ravenea Rivularis, are large inexpensive plants that look good when first purchased but often quickly decline. Here are some care tips that I hope will help.
A Majesty Palm needs very bright indirect light at all times. One of the reasons the fronds of a Majesty Palm turn yellow is that there is not enough light. Bottom leaves die if they are not getting light.
The soil of a Majesty Palm should be consistently moist but not soggy. Never let a Majesty Palm dry out or sit in water. Brown tips on a Majesty Palm means the plant needs more water and yellow tips mean the plant has been over-watered.
A Majesty Palm requires a great deal of fertilizer. Not enough plant food is another reason why a Majesty palm gets yellow leaves. Feed a Majesty Palm every two weeks when the plant is actively growing with a balanced houseplant food at 1/2 the recommended strength.
Majesty Palms do well in temperatures between 45-85 degrees. Try to keep this Palm away from cold drafts or heating vents.
You can read all my care tips for a Majesty palm in the Popular Houseplant section of the website.
https://www.houseplant411.com/houseplant/majesty-palm-how-to-grow-care