Post
by lucky1 » Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:55 am
Craig, while I'm no expert, my palms/cycads look pretty good.
I go by temp.
Those in the cold, barely-heated building (40-45 F) get watered sparingly...once a month or even less.
I don't mist them at all. Phoenix canariensis, jade tree, citrus, succulents, trachy (they like a cool winter temp).
The palms in the house, where it's really warm, get watered a tiny bit each week...just to keep the top layer of soil from drying out. I also mist frequently, sometimes 3x a day.
The new bamboo palm, and cat palm like really moist soil so I mist them a foot above the soil line until water drips. Chinese fan, Mediterranean fan, triangles (have 3 now, yippee), spindle, D.spinulosum, D.edule, Zamia vasquezii, Z. picta, Sabal seedlings, Rhapis excelsa, Jasmine, Bird of Paradise, are all grouped together which keeps humidity higher than if they were displayed separately all over the place. Haven't seen any spider mites...yet.
The high humidity from grouping plants is especially for the Licuala grandis.
Its new leaf has NO brown edges, a reasonably good indicator this high-humidity loving palm is happy.
This winter has been sunnier than most, but I think humidity is more of a benefit in winter than sunshine.
Hope this helps.
Barb