Help my Cat Palm

Question

Need help with my cat palm. I got the plant two weeks ago and since two days ago all leaves are dropping off. Is this under watering or over watering? What do i do to save it?

Answer 1

A cat palm begins to shed its leaves when it's either being over or under watered.

Over-watering often leads to yellow leaves and a soggy, dense soil feel. While, under-watering results in dry, crispy leaves.

Here's how you can rescue your plant:

Adjust your water schedule, start by checking the soil moisture. To accurately check soil moisture, stick your finger about an inch into the soil.

Check Light Condition because Cat palms prefer bright, indirect light. If it's not getting enough light, it might drop leaves.

Check the temperature because sudden changes in temperature can lead to leaf drop.

Regular checkup of any sign of pest infestation.

Feeding your cat palm correctly.

Prune dead leaves.

Be patient, give your cat palm some time to adapt, and hopefully, it will recover.

Answer 2

It's hard to tell from the picture but the usual issues are:

• not enough light
• too much water
• maybe the grower did not acclimate the plant to lower light conditions before shipping it.

This is what you can do:

• move the plant as close as possible to a south, east or west window with an unobstructed view so it gets more light
• water when the top inch of soil is dry. Then, water thoroughly till water runs out the bottom of the pot. It can take a week or two to dry out enough for more water
• new plants will shed leaves or fronds in response to lower light. Trim the dying growth off cleanly at the base of the stem
• watch carefully for spider mites which are usually seen living on the underside of the fronds. They look like tiny grains of salt and will make webs when there are a lot. The cat palm in this question has spider mites. Check weekly for mites and read this question if you see them to learn how to control them.