The majestic palm, sometimes known as the Majesty palm (Ravenea rivularis), is a graceful tropical palm tree that can add beauty to any environment. The Ravenea rivularis (majestic palm) cannot grow larger than a container when cultivated indoors. Majesty palms may be grown as houseplants in most sunny spots. If you live in a warm environment, you may also cultivate a potted majesty palm outdoors.
How to care for majesty palms: In fertile, well-draining soil, plant your ravenea plant. In bright, indirect sunlight, position the majestic palm tree. Water the palm plant sufficiently to keep the soil moist, provide plenty of humidity, fertilize every two to three months, and maintain indoor temperatures of 65°F to 80°F (18°C – 26°C).
The Majesty Palm (Ravenea rivularis) belongs to the Acaceae family of palms and is a big kind of palm tree. The palm tree thrives in hot environments near riverbanks, where there is plenty of moisture, and it is endemic to Madagascar. The palms thrive in bright sun and partial shade when being grown outside, thriving in warm, moist air.
Growing potted majesty palms indoors may be difficult due to these conditions. Brown tips on the leaves are a common problem that afflicts indoor majestic palm trees. Browning of the long, slender leaf tips may occur, eventually turning yellow.
Why do the leaves of majesty palm turn brown and yellow? Lack of water or over-fertilizing is the most common cause for palm leaves to begin to brown. Excessively bright light may also cause brown tips to appear on palm tree leaves. Improving the growing conditions is the only way to prevent palm leaves from browning. To remove the brown tips, you may need to carefully trim them off.
The Majesty Palm may be more difficult to care for than other palm trees when it comes to indoor palm plant care. Plants that can tolerate lower light conditions than majestic palms include the parlor palm, areca palm, or bamboo palm. Only the true low-light tropical plant, the parlor palm (neanthe bella palm), is found there.
Majesty palms, on the other hand, can tolerate some sun. The finest method to care for a majesty palm indoors will be discussed in this article. You’ll find answers to some frequent queries about growing ravenea plants indoors at the conclusion of the article.
How to Care for Majesty Palm (Ravenea) Indoors
Despite the fact that they are robust plants and simple to care for, Majesty Palms have some particular requirements. Your potted majesty palm will grace your home for ten years or more if you get the conditions right.
Light Requirements for Majesty Palms
If Majesty palms get between four and six hours of bright light every day, they will flourish indoors. A room with windows that face east, west, or south would be the ideal location. The shade, on the other hand, isn’t a problem for these indoor palm trees. The most important factor is to keep them out of the sun.
Palms, for example, need bright light but not necessarily burning sun rays to grow. No plants can survive in the absence of light. The fact that majesty palms adapt well to shade is one of the reasons they are popular houseplants.
As a result, your magnificent palm plant should continue to thrive even if you don’t have an ideal bright spot. Majesty palms don’t like to be moved around a lot, so keep that in mind when giving them care advice.
The Best Soil to Grow Majesty Palms in Pots
Airy, well-draining, and rich in nutrients are the requirements for your Majesty Palm’s potting mix. A combination of commercial soil, peat moss, and perlite or bark shavings would be the ideal potting soil for palms. Soil that retains moisture but isn’t waterlogged is the goal.
The key to thriving indoors with royal palm care is keeping the soil at an ideal pH. The palm leaves will get brown tips and maybe spider mites if the soil dries out. Never let it dry out!
Yet, for example, placing the pot in a saucer of water is never a good idea. When you water your majesty palm’s soil, you can use this to determine if it is appropriate. Water should flow quickly from the surface, without collecting. Root rot and other issues with your palm plant can be avoided by keeping the soil moist.
How to Water a Majesty (Majestic) Palm
Proper watering of your ravenea plant is important for its proper care. Majesty palm trees thrive in damp environments, but not in wet ones. Only water your magnificent palm when the top one inch (2.5 cm) of soil is dry, according to the best watering advice. How to water your majesty palm:
- Wait until the earth is somewhat dry before doing anything. As a result, the bottom layer of the potting mix is damp, while the top layer is dry.
- Make sure the palm gets plenty of water until the bottom is drained.
- Place the water back on the drip tray when it has finished dripping from the drainage holes.
Before watering, remember to always check the soil. Numerous palm owners mistakenly believe that they should water their palms twice a week. Remember, however, that the frequency with which you should water your ravenea plant is influenced by a number of factors. If you aren’t watering your palm correctly, here are some symptoms:
- Brown tips on the leaves—The soil is too dry because there isn’t enough water.
- Yellow leaves—Waterlogging the roots is excessive.
Humidity Requirements for Growing a Majesty Palm Indoors
Provide your palm with adequate humidity, preferably between 40 and 60%, to help it flourish and thrive. Even though your plant does well with average room humidity, additional air moisture is beneficial. The majesty palm is a tough, long-lived plant that can handle a variety of conditions.
How can you ensure that your flourishing majestic palm has optimal humidity levels? For tropical houseplants, there are three ways to INCREASE humidity:
- Misting—Daily mist the palm fronds with a spray bottle containing distilled water to ensure that they receive adequate moisture.
- Humidifying tray—Half-fill a tray with water and place a layer of tiny pebbles in it. Make sure the palm pot isn’t in the water before sitting it on small stones. The palm tree becomes humidified as the water evaporates naturally.
- Room humidifier—Keeping the conditions just right for your ravenea palm plant to thrive is easy with room humidifiers.
The Best Indoor Temperature for Majesty Palms
Indoor Majesty Palm Trees prefer room temperatures of around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Majesty palms prefer a temperature range of 65°F to 80°F (18°C to 26°C). Nevertheless, up to 85°F (29°C) is acceptable for a tropical plant from hot countries. Make certain to cover your palm container from the cold if you want to relocate it outdoors during the summer.
When growing a majesty palm indoors, it’s important to keep it cool and protect it from temperature fluctuations. This might be the air conditioning system’s cold drafts in the summer. It might be a hot radiator in the winter. It’s also important to remember that the sun can scorch the leaves if it shines directly on them through a window.
Majestic Palm Care: Pruning
Regularly trimming your Majesty Palm Plant’s leaves will keep it looking neat. Old or dead palm leaves that have turned brown or yellow are the only ones you need to prune. When trimming your palm, it’s vital to keep in mind that removing leaves does not promote new development. Cut the whole frond if some fronds seem to be aged.
What can you do to prevent brown leaf tips on your majestic palm? Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do when the tips have browned and crisped. Trimming the leaf tips so they retain their pointed leaf form is a good idea. Make sure you water the palm properly and don’t over-feed it to avoid brown tips reappearing.
Fertilizer for Majesty Palms
When it comes to nutrition, Ravenea palm plants are modest. Throughout the growing season, feed a palm only two or three times with a slow-release fertilizer. Majestic palms develop slowly indoors and need relatively little nutrients. A developing majesty palm may even be harmed by overfeeding.
More magnesium than the other nutrients should be present in the best sort of palm fertilizer. For an NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) slow-release fertilizer, the ratio of minerals should ideally be 8:2:12. Special palm fertilizer, especially ideal for magnificent palms, may also be purchased.
Minerals and salts build up in the container of potted majesty palms when they’re indoors. Over-fertilizing can scorch the roots, which is one of the reasons for brown tips. How can you avoid your palm leaves turning brown after too much fertilizer? Flushing the soil on a regular basis is the solution. Salts from tap water may harm plant development even if you just watered your plant with it.
Excess minerals and salts can be flushed from the palm potting medium using the following steps:
- Bring your plant to the bath or outside in its pot.
- Make sure to flush all portions of the soil before lightly pouring water through.
- Continue to pour water for two to three minutes.
- Wait until all of the water has drained from the pot after that.
- Place your palm in a well-protected place with plenty of indirect light.
- Check the drip tray for water accumulation and empty it as needed.
Repotting Majesty Palms
Ravenea plants have a sluggish growth rate and seldom require repotting. In the wild, they may grow to be 98 feet (30 meters) tall. It will never grow to this height if it’s grown in a pot indoors. A gorgeous plant may be rootbound and need repotting over time. Select a big, sturdy pot that is just slightly bigger than the current one to repot a majesty palm. With the root ball out of the existing pot, gently ease the stems out.
Make sure the top of the root ball is around 2″ (5 cm) below the container’s rim before filling the new pot with enough potting mix. Fill in the empty space with fresh potting soil. After repotting your magnificent palm, water it well and put it in bright indirect sunlight after repotting.
Propagating Majestic Palms
The propagation of majesty palms is done by seed, as with other palm tree species. Since they don’t bloom indoors, it’s uncommon to get seeds from majestic palm houseplant. To establish a new palm tree, you’ll need to purchase seeds. This is what you should do if you want to grow a majesty palm from seed:
- In a small pot, put a few high-quality seeds in a thin layer of soil. To moisten the earth, mist it.
- To keep moisture in, cover the pot with plastic film. Place the pot in a warm, humid environment.
- To help the seeds germinate, lightly mist the soil every other day.
- Move the pot to a bright area with a temperature of 75°F to 80°F (23°C – 26°C) when palm seedlings emerge.
- Repot the palm in a bigger container when just a few tiny palm leaves emerge.
Inside, your Majesty Palm should thrive for ten years or more if you take care of it.
Are Majesty Palms (Ravenea rivularis) Toxic?
Ravenea rivularis plants do not cause toxicity problems. If you have pets dogs, cats, or other domestic animals, however, you don’t have to be concerned about developing majesty palms indoors.
Majesty Palm Plant Indoor Care: Common Pests and Diseases
Majestic palms are tough indoor plants that rarely get infestations or illnesses. Because they are due to moisture issues, most illnesses can be avoided. Over-watering, soggy soil, and sitting in water are all examples of avoidable illnesses. Mealybugs, spider mites, and scale are all pests that can damage palms.
What can you do to preserve your Majesty Palm and eliminate pest problems? Here are a few tips for taking care of your pet:
- Mealybugs—Among the fronds or on the stems, look for little cotton-like fluff. A neem oil organic treatment for houseplants is a good way to get rid of the pests.
- Spider mites—Thin webs on the plant and tiny speckles are tell-tale signs of these mites. The spider mites must be removed from the plant every day. Also, to keep spider mites at bay, increase humidity.
Is a Majesty Palm (Ravenea rivularis) Easy to Grow Indoors?
Growing majesty (ravenea) palms indoors might be a difficult task. You’ll need to balance a few factors in order to successfully grow the majestic palm tree indoors: humidity, heat, light, and fertilizerization. Your palm tree will suffer from problems such as scorching, yellow, or brown leaves and even leaf loss if the balance is not correct.
How Tall do Majesty Palms Grow?
Magnificent palms may reach a height of 5 feet (1.5 meters) indoors. These enormous palm trees grow to 98 feet (30 meters) in height in their natural environment.
Why Do Majesty Palm Leaf Tips Turn Brown?
Under-watering, excess fertilizer, and direct sunlight are the three primary reasons why majesty palm tips turn brown.
Why are Palm Leaves Turning Yellow?
Over-watering, soggy soil, too much light, pest or mold, or if the soil lacks essential nutrients like nitrogen, magnesium, and manganese may all cause majestic palms to turn yellow. The palm growth may also create yellow leaves in the process. The fronds at the bottom of the palm tree turn yellow and fall off as it grows. If they turn yellow, look for aphids or spider mites on the upper new fronds.