Only the other day I was standing in a seed shop when a woman came in and said a palm she had purchased about three months ago for her flat had died. She had had many palms from the firm and none of them had done well, although friends of hers had palms from elsewhere, all of which were in perfect health. Of course the blame must lie with the nurseryman. Never for a moment did she imagine that she herself was the cause of the death of the palm.

It came home to me then that the people who live in houses and flats in the more restricted districts cannot get as much out of their palms as they should (although the plants are remarkably suited for such places) through lack of knowledge of how to manage them. This is my advice to a householder buying a palm.

In the first place, when purchasing palms for a house or flat where they will have to spend the greater part of their lives indoors, you should see the plant is well established. By well established, I mean a plant that has been growing in the pot in which you buy it for some nine months or so. If it is a plant just dug up out of the ground and potted up for sale, in nine cases out of ten it will "go off".

When you have your palms home, see that they stand in a place where there is no draught and have as much light as possible. Every opportunity should be seized to give them a spell in the open air, on the window ledge, backyard, balcony, flat roof, etc., and particularly when it is raining. If you are able, they should be stood outside every night, as the dew refreshes them.

Two things often happen to palms in houses - either they are over-watered or under-watered. Which is the worst I cannot say. In either case the ultimate result is that they die. I have seen palms standing day after day in saucers of water or others that have been watered night and morning, whether they needed it or not, just as regularly as the canary was fed. On the other hand, there have been plants forgotten for days and weeks at a time, that have become dust dry, and thereafter have had just sufficient water to damp the surface soil of the pot. Such palms cannot progress.

There is only one way of watering palms in pots. Take a basin or bucket full of water and plunge the pot containing the palm into it, so that the water covers the soil. Leave it to soak for about half an hour. This should be done about once a week.

Another thing, never leave palms in a room where a gas light or a gas fire is burning. Remove them to some part of the house where they escape its harmful fumes. Palms should be washed regularly with soap and water. Sunlight soap is by far the best, I find. as it has no injurious effects on the foliage. The reason for washing is to free the pores of the leaves from dust, which settles on them in abundance in a house, and also to destroy any ‘scale’ which may attach itself to the plant. Scale is one of the most injurious pests that attack palms, but if the plants are washed regularly. it will do little harm.

Wash with a soft cloth and go over all the divisions of the leaves carefully. the stems and ribs of the leaves. After washing they will appear more attractive than ever. Wash first with the soap and water and then rinse with clean water. Dry with a soft dry cloth.

The plants will do well for you for about two years in the pot in which they came, and then will need re-potting.