Palm Majesty

Ravenea revularis

Characteristics

Culture

Bearing long green, regal fronds, Palm Majesty is perfect for gracing any indoor space. A common houseplant, majesty palm grows slowly, becoming larger and more elegant with time and care. Happily, it’s super easy to grow if you give it the right amount of light, water, humidity, and fertilizer. One key to growing majesty palm indoors is to never let the soil dry completely; this palm comes from spots along streams and rivers. Be sure you have a pot with drainage holes so excess water can escape, otherwise the palm’s roots can drown and rot. Not sure if your palm is getting too much or too little water? Here’s an easy way to tell. If the fronds begin drying out at the tips and it moves down the leaf, causing the leaves to brown, the palm is too dry. If the leaves turn yellow, the soil may be too wet.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Because Ravenea revularis is a tropical plant, it likes moisture in the air. If the air is too dry for yours, you might find that just the leaf tips turn brown and dry. Boost humidity indoors for your majesty palm by keeping it in a room with a humidifier, or choose a wide, shallow container and fill it with gravel or sand and water. Set your majesty palm pot on top of the gravel or sand (so the bottom of the pot stays above the water line). As the moisture in the tray evaporates, it goes into the air right around your majesty palm fronds. Just refresh the tray with water periodically.  It’s also helpful to protect your palm from cold, dry air. Majesty palms damaged by cold may recover fairly quickly if injured, but must be tended to right away. Warm wet air is best. When grown indoors, majesty palm is a slow-growing plant, adding no more than 1 foot per year until it reaches about 10 feet in height.

Problems

Protect your majesty palm from pests, such as spider mites, by regularly fertilizing and keeping an eye out for signs of an attack. Good humidity can help keep spider mites at bay, as can misting with water regularly. Wipe the undersides of the leaves with a moist rag also helps keep spider mites from being a problem.

Garden Uses

House plant. One of the choicest spots to keep this tropical beauty is a corner of your bathroom if it has a large window. Your palm will love the bright light and abundant moisture. If your bathroom isn’t big enough for a majesty palm, go with a bright corner in your office, living room, dining room, or bedroom.