Grow and Care for a Kentia Palm

Grow kentia palm in bright indirect light, and water when the top of the mix is dry. Kentia palm is Howea forsteriana, also sold as Forster sentry palm. It is not a parlor palm.

Give it bright indirect light, and water when the top of the mix is dry

kentia palm is Howea forsteriana, a slow, solitary feather palm with long, arching fronds and drooping leaflets. It is sold for rooms more than beds, because it takes indoor light, dust, and a missed watering better than most palms, but the roots still rot if the pot stays dim and wet. [1] Put it in the brightest spot that does not scorch the leaflets. An east window, or a few feet back from a south or west window, is the usual home. It will live in lower light, but new fronds come slowly and the mix stays wet longer, so you have to wait more days between waterings. [2] Soak the pot when the top inch of mix feels dry, let the extra run out, then dump the saucer. In winter the plant uses less water, so wait longer. Brown leaflet tips are often dry heat or hard tap water, not a cue to soak it again. A pebble tray or a bathroom is enough humidity if the heating is on. [3] Feed lightly once a month in spring and summer with a balanced liquid fertilizer, then stop in fall. Wipe dust off the fronds with a damp cloth so they can use the light they get. If you have frost-free shade outdoors, the plant-out is on Planting Kentia Palm. [4]

Plant it in a pot with a hole, and repot only when it is root-bound

Most people start with a nursery plant. Move it into a pot with a drainage hole so the mix can dry a little on top between waterings. The roots are fragile, and this palm likes a snug pot, so do not size up until you have to.

1. Choose a pot with a hole, only about two inches wider than the nursery pot.
2. Fill it with a palm mix that drains. Do not use a cachepot with no hole as the only pot.
3. Set the root ball at the same depth it sat in the nursery pot, and handle the roots as little as you can.
4. Water once to settle the mix, wait about half an hour, then empty the saucer.
5. Wait until roots show at the hole, or the plant is unstable, before you size up again. That is often every two or three years.

Cut only fully brown fronds, and never the growing point

The crown grows from one point at the top of the trunk. If you cut that point, the palm will not put out a new top. Pruning is only cleanup of dead fronds.

1. Wait until a frond is fully brown and dry. A yellowing lower frond is still feeding the plant.
2. Cut the stem close to the trunk with clean, sharp shears. Do not yank the base off, because that can tear the trunk.
3. If only the leaflet tips are brown, trim the brown tissue and leave a thin brown edge. Do not cut into green tissue.
4. Do not cut a green, healthy frond to shorten the plant, and do not cut the top of the trunk.

Not a parlor palm — and not the curly sentry palm

Parlor palm is Chamaedorea, a smaller indoor palm with many thin stems and softer, once-pinnate fronds. Kentia is a slower, solitary palm with broader, drooping leaflets and a thicker trunk. If the tag says parlor palm or neanthe bella, read How to Grow Parlor Palm.

The curly sentry palm, Howea belmoreana, is a sister species with stiff leaflets held in a V-shape and more strongly curved fronds. It is not this shop card. Areca palm is a clustering palm with many narrow, yellowish leaflets. Majesty palm is Ravenea, a thirstier indoor palm that often declines in a dry room. Pygmy date is Phoenix; if that is the tag, read How to Grow Date Palm. Fishtail palm is Caryota; see How to Grow Fishtail Palm. Christmas palm is Adonidia; see How to Grow Christmas Palm.

If the fronds yellow or the mix stays wet, give it brighter indirect light and water only when the top inch is dry, then empty the saucer.