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Why did my palm leaves turn brown?
Thanks to Ben Lusky for this great question about his palm leaves.
He first noticed this problem as a small brown spot on one of the fronds. The plant was outside and the temperature was pushing 100 degrees. The plant was also in a very small container when it was first purchased, and it was still in this container outdoors. Ben brought the plant in and transferred it to a larger pot.
Several things may be going on here. First, his plant may have experienced some heat stress and sunburn, so bringing it indoors was a good thing to do. But once inside, it suffered from a lack of sun.
Transferring to a larger pot and bringing it indoors at the same time may have added to the problem. Out of concern for the plant, it's easy to over water it. The type of browning in this photo indicates too much water. When you move a plant indoors you need to cut very far back on the water, and then move it back outdoors as soon as the environment is right. Cut off the damaged foliage and monitor soil moisture and sun exposure carefully until the plant recovers.
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