Chamaedorea cataractarum, better known as the cat palm, is a tiny palm tree that belongs to the family of Arecaceae. When they live in their natural habitat, the roots of the plant are buried in the water and sheltered by higher, larger trees. Few Chamaedorea palms can thrive inside, but the cat palm is one among the exceptions.
Watering your plant as often as every five to seven days is recommended if you reside in hot weather conditions to keep the soil from becoming arid. Watering is not required as frequently throughout the cold months for the indoor palm.
How to Tell if Cat Palm Needs Water?
While cat palms do prefer moist soil, it also has to be well-drained. To see if your cat palm needs water, check the moisture of the topsoil using your finger. If the top 2-4 inches of the soil is dry or if you notice the plant is wilting, you have to add water.
The watering requirements of a cat palm are influenced by several different factors. Cat palms in clay pots require more frequent watering than plants in plastic containers, therefore watering them more frequently is a good idea.
How Do You Know When Your Cat Palm is Sufficiently Watered?
Avoid soaking the palm leaf by watering it at the soil level. Take care to water the entire pot to the point where water comes out of the bottom of the pot. As a result, the soil should look like it has enough water.
Can You Overwater Cat Palm?
Cat palm is a type of plant that doesn’t do well in extreme water conditions. That means it will suffer if you constantly add too much or not enough water.
What are Signs of an Overwatered Cat Palm?
When your cat palm is overwatered, the leaves will start turning brown. When the plant doesn’t have enough water, the leaves start turning yellow.
Why is Cat Palm Turning Brown/Yellow?
Overwatering is one reason why cat palm plants turn brown. The roots can’t thrive in soggy soil. Roots can’t supply the plant with the oxygen it needs, resulting in browning and decaying leaves
Another possible cause for brown leaves is underwatering. As soon as you realize that the soil is becoming dry and crusty, you shouldn’t be astonished if your plants have brown tips. It’s time to hydrate your palm, which is in desperate need of nutrients from the water.
Too much fertilizer or the use of the wrong kind of fertilizer is a typical error while growing plants. The plant’s roots can’t take up water from the soil because salts dissolved in the soil cling to their particles, preventing water from being absorbed.
To absorb water, the root environment should not be salty. Thus, water and nutrients can’t reach the leaves, causing them to wither and rot. As a result, your cat’s palm will have brown tips.
Cat palm does enjoy its fair share of sunlight. However, too much exposure to direct sunshine might cause sunburn in the plant. Avoid placing your palm in direct sunlight if you want to prevent brown tips from developing.
Does Cat Palm Need Fertilizer?
For the best results, you want to fertilize your cat palm every four to six weeks as the plant grows (that’s between spring and late summer). You only need to fertilize it once during the fall and once during the winter season.
Pick all-purpose fertilizer diluted in half. liquid solution or granular mix should work just fine. Be careful with adding too much fertilizer to the cat palm.
As a result of over-fertilization, a buildup of minerals and salts occurs in the potting soil, placing the plant at risk of death.
Burned leaves and the growth of a white salt-like substance on the surface of the soil, which is visible when the soil is dry, are two indicators of over-fertilization. Immediately flush out your pot with a large amount of water and let it drain fully if you observe any of these indicators.
How Much Sunlight Does Cat Palm Need?
The cat palm, which thrives in bright, indirect light, requires significantly more light exposure compared to other indoor plant varieties. Don’t place the plant in direct sunlight because it can result in the burning of the leaves. Your plant should be placed near a sunny window but make sure to avoid direct sunlight exposure.
if you discover that the color of your plant’s leaves has changed to a dull yellow or brown, you should shift your plant to a less sunny location. Cat palms thrive in partial shade in a highly lit space, making it an ideal site.
Will Temperatures and Humidity Affect Cat Palm?
Due to the root’s inability to withstand low temperatures, the cat palm doesn’t like cold weather at all The room’s temperature must not fall below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Temps around 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal for these plants. Temperatures must not fall below 45 degrees Fahrenheit at night.
Another thing to know about these plants is that they love humid environments. They thrive at a humidity of at least 55 percent when located indoors. If there’s not enough humidity, the leaves will turn brown.
How Do You Save a Dying Cat Palm?
To begin, you’ll need to do a thorough inspection of the plant to determine what the problem is. Browning, withering, or scorched leaf tips are all symptoms of overwatering. Your plant may need to be repotted in new soil if the problem is due to overwatering.
Find symptoms of pests if water isn’t the problem. If you discover that it is a pest, you have to figure out what you’re dealing with first before taking a course of action.
How Do You Water a Cat Palm?
Whenever it’s time to add water to your cat palm, pour water into the soil until you notice it starts pouring at the bottom. If you have a large plant, it’s convenient to give it placed on casters. That way, you can roll it outside whenever it’s time to water it.
I recommend you use distilled or at the very least old tap water while watering your plants. Cat palms are extremely sensitive to dissolved particles in our tap water, such as chloramine and fluorides, which can cause them to die.
It is critical to maintain a close eye on the soil. It’s necessary to cleanse the soil thoroughly with distilled water if you notice any deposit build-ups on the soil.
Final Thoughts
Understanding cat palm care means being aware of the amount of water your cat palm requires at any given time. Cat palms do not thrive in dry soil, requiring instead a consistent moisture level throughout the soil.
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Janice is a retired High School teacher who is spending her leisure years keeping busy with all sorts of projects. Aside from freelance writing, she’s an enthusiastic amateur chef, home wine maker, and tends a large raised-bed vegetable garden, while at the same time running a Bed & Breakfast.