I've tried them twice, but never did well for me. I had one die on me completely indoors. The other survived down my basement under a grow light, but they always seem to get brown tips, get root rot, or lose fronds completely. They seem to hate the dry air indoors due to the furnace. I moved the second one outside in the summer, in a shady spot to avoid sunburn, and it didn't grow at all, 2 months outdoors. I moved it to full sun, and it grew 1 frond, and remained unattractive due to sunburn. Finally I gave up on it and gave it to a family friend. He keeps it in his Florida room, which can be in the 50s on a cloudy day, and it seems to be maintaining. It will be interesting to see how it does in that room when it gets steamy on a sunny summer day. There is also a hot tub in the room, so I'm sure the humidity helps. Either way, they only look nice for me when I first bring them home from the store, and soon after start declining.

Really big Majesty palms are quite attractive! The trunks expand so much, they remind me of Bottle Palms or even Jubaea (Chilean Wine). I just keep reading that they love water and fertilizer, so as I said, I am sitting it in a saucer of water and keeping it cool for the winter and see what happens. Most palms have some degree of drought tolerance but a minority do not (for example, Cat Palms and Paurotis come to mind and not much else).

I had three Majesty Palms and two died of scale infestations that got pretty nasty. The third one, which was actually the first one I got, is doing well though -- I've had it about a year now. Mine is like Alex's, in fast-draining "soil" (more like sand and chunks of debris) which I water frequently. And contrary to light care indications, I keep mine in a relatively low-light environment. I say low just because it's not very near the window, so although it's a well-lit room, it is very indirect light.

It does suffer a little from humidity problems, in that the fronds are a little crinkly, not as soft as when grown in a nice steamy greenhouse. And it has "lost some weight" as it were: some of the smaller suckers and lower fronds have died off completely, either because of my inadequate watering or just an adaptation to the lower light conditions. But overall it's a beautiful, graceful individual which I don't find to be too impatient or particular. I have much worse trouble with my Livistona chinensis palms, for example.

I don't have any experience with overwintering them, so I don't know how they behave when they go into dormancy, but I would think that the saucer treatment would be a formula for root rot. These guys seem to love the airiness of their soil as much as they love frequent watering. So I don't know that you're going to achieve a set-it-and-forget-it arrangement, but I'm curious what you find your results to be. Personally, I think you could overwinter these like people do their tea roses (another thirsty plant), that is, just keep the soil moist, watering it moderately a few times in the winter while in the basement/garage, and keep them propped up off the cold floor on a wood block or something.

-Ben

I have read that they grow along riversides, thus the species name 'rivularis', and enjoy being waterlogged (again, not typical palm treatment to be sure).

This is a very late response as it has been 2 years since the conversation started but I figure if I am reading it someone else may still be wanting information as well.
I live in Colorado so humidity is very low and temperatures get to both ends of the extremes (usually either too hot or too cold and obviously very dry). I don't have a lot of success with Majesty Palms here at all less than a year actually. We also have hard-very hard water issues in my area. I water my plants with reverse-osmosis cleaned water for that reason and when I can't I use the shower and fill the pot a couple of times letting the water run out of the pot (not sitting in water) over night in the tub before returning them back to their south facing window where they get filtered sunlight. They tend to turn brown on the edges when the salt builds up in the soil. They can tolerate drying out briefly between watering but here they must be misted regularly. I don't repot them after letting them adjust to the new environment of my home, which is different from the nursery, which is of course very different from the Florida distributors. One is likely to kill or have many a Majesty die before getting it just right. I have had my best luck with Cat Palms from Wal-Mart. Though they do die back and I have one after 3 years that died all the way back but still making new healthy growth. None of my palms have ever experienced anything worse than fruit flies I attribute the lack of spider mites and other bugs infestations to the showers but I also attribute the fruit flies to those showers. So I have learned regardless of which palm I have they should be misted regularly but showered no more than once a month. I hope my experience will help my newest majesty palms survive longer but also help someone else care for theirs or at least help someone determine that Cat palms are easier to care for indoors especially in a dry climate.

Hi, I just bought a Majesty Palm. I am new to indoor gardening, and didn't know anything about them, but Lowe's had them for $5.00, so I figured I could take a chance.

I've been doing some research and found this about the soil:
"Majestic palms do best in a rich, moist mix of soil with good drainage. A mix composed of 1 part loam to 2 parts sand and 2 parts peat moss works well."

Has anyone tried that? Or do most of you use regular potting soil?

I see from this forum, and from another forum I checked into, that this plant is not so easy as a house plant.

Well, since I have it, I'll give it a try.

That sounds like a lot of peat moss to me.
I just use a sandy mix but do not let it dry out. They need more constant moisture than most palms. Try a cooler room that is somewhat humid if possible.

I would think that peat moss would give more constant moisture than sand. Then again, I don't have a majesty. I gave up on them. From what other members have said, and as Njoasis stated, they need to be kept moist.

Island, it's just that a peaty mix makes for some interesting problems. I put my palms outside in the growing season
(many are still outside in fact), but in the heat of summer, peaty mixes have a tendency to bake. Contrary to it being too moist, once peat dries, it becomes extremely hydrophobic (it repels water) and plants actually are easily UNDER watered. I would err on the side of a coarse, sandy mix...even if you have to keep this one in a shallow saucer of water (something which you would not wanna do for 95% of all palm species).

So far my majesty palm is making it.
altho I notice now that the leaf tips are brown.
I left it in the pot it was bought in.

I have it in a corner where it gets bright light but no direct sun. I watered it Nov 9, have not watered since.
It feels dry to my first knuckle, so I suppose I should water.

I am new to house plants, and I keep reading that over-watering is the biggest killer so... I am torn.

I mist it every couple of days. The humidity is probably low in the apt bec. I have forced air heat, which however I keep off unless I really need it.
Temps is about 70 day, about 68 at night.
I'm also going to make a pebble tray.

so I wonder if the brown tips could be from under-watering?

Make sure it's planted in a fast draining soil and keep it watered, don't let it dry out. Growers use sphagnum peat moss, which seems to hold moisture but still stays pretty airy, so maybe try that. Some potting mixes are too heavy and dense, which causes rot. Several members on this board have said that they have success by keeping them watered.

Brown tips are probably from either under-watering or dry indoor conditions, so you need to increase humidity.

I so far have not had any problems with my indoor majesty palm. It is healthy. I haven't had the tips turn brown or anything. It is by far the lowest maintenance plant I have and i by no means have a green thumb. I have a tropical hibiscus that i am already having to nurse back to health due to it being put in shock after i repotted it, i usually wind up killing all my plants but my palm is doing quite well. I water it about once a week and it sits in a well lit corner of the room with a window and my patio door. I have had it since April and it has nearly tripled in size. I am betting by next year it will need to be split up ad there are technically 3 plants in one. It is thriving indoors. I set it outside so the pot can drain everytime I water it.

If you have had it since April, it has not gone through a winter, and that, is the true test. Mine looks great outside now too. The problem, is that these guys really do seem to resent an indoor lifestyle and over the winter are very prone to scale and mealy bugs. Keeping it in a cool and moist area over winter is a big plus though. Good luck with it!

It stays inside and the room temp in my house never goes above 71 heat or air and in the winter it will sit in the same spot next to the door and window which it stays pretty cool in the corner of the room.

I have 3 Majesty palms that are like 5 ft tall . I live in northeast long island NY .

I bought these in the summer and have flourished outside . I was told to bring them in during the winter. They are still in original containers . I have a 3 seasons room that faces the south . Should I store them in the sunroom so they get sunlight all winter or should i store them in the basement that is temp controlled . The sunroom is extremely cold at night when the sun goes down as there is no heat in there . Thanks in advance

I got my Majesty palm early this year to keep as a house plant initially. It declined rather quickly after a month of having it, which was a shock to me, because I never had a house plant do so poorly so soon. After I did research I realized they suck as indoor plants. Thankfully spring was on its way and as soon as the temps were optimum, all my houseplants and overwinters went back out anyway. Well the palm was placed on the south side of the house, basically in front of my porch, and I have to say it has recovered beautifully, and has grown since. It just looks wonderful. Now sadly it is about time to bring them back indoors since it is Sept. Fingers crossed reading the tips on here I can nurse it through the winter months. Here's hoping! I also have a small trachy palm for my "hardy palm project", but I have intentions to plant it in the ground by our new shed, but we didn't get to putting the new shed in this year, so little trachy is still in its pot and hopefully I can bring it through the winter indoors without a hitch too. We'll see....

Pic is about a month after I put it out. Apparently I deleted my most recent pic.

I just bought one for my loft, with the huge windows and 30' ceilings I'm hoping it does well. I have many other large plants in there that thrive. Crossing my fingers!

I also just bought a majesty palm (even though I had read it's a difficult houseplant); it was on sale at Home Depot and already nice and tall. How does everyone water their MP? I usually like to soak my potted plants, but the MP is too tall for me to move to the soaking area and back. I've just been pouring water over the top of the soil until it drains out of the holes in the bottom.

Also, does anyone put a tray of gravel filled with water beneath their MP for humidity? This is recommended for ferns.

Thanks :)

I don't know why places like HD, Lowe's, WalMart etc sell these plants outside true tropical areas. They are not houseplants and not hardy where there is frost. A few people told me they buy them for their porches or decks in summer and toss them as soon as cold weather comes. Here in North Central FL I'm keeping mine overwinter in the heated greenhouse. So far no problems but there's 2 more months of winter. I may just plant it in the yard this spring and if it dies next winter, so be it. It will not fit in the greenhouse next winter at the rate it grows. And that fast rate I believe is why the stores carry this palm - it's more profitable than the hardier palms - but who knows.

they want much more water than most palms!

I bought a nice big one (4-5 feet) at Ikea for $12 this summer, it grew vigorously outdoors, but after reading about how difficult they are indoors I was already okay with it dying at the end of the season. Well, it's been doing surprisingly well indoors this winter, it gets very little sunlight indoors but it's still actively growing. The two coconuts I've owned both rapidly deteriorated once moved indoors, no other palm I've had has reacted to indoor-life in such a way.

Majesty's are thirsty palms, but they aren't as bad as Phoenix roebelleni and Chamaedorea cataractarum in my experience.

They can do med light and keep them on the drier side in the winter. Look at it as a summer being the rainy season, winter being dry. I have had mine going on 3 years. They are easy low maintenance houseplants.

Matt K - You may have unusual conditions in your home because they need more light and humidity than most houseplants. With proper care they the grow several feet each season. They quickly outgrow their space indoors. Or you may have a different palm. They are not known to be good houseplants. Mine is overwintering in a small sunny greenhouse.

Sorry I forgot to mention "house plant " that is in the house mid Dec-March. 100% wouldn't recommend it year round indoors.

Well, mine has been doing well through the winter thus far. I've been keeping the soil wet and trying to mist it anywhere from twice a week to every other week as I remember to do so. It did start to decline over the holidays because I forgot to water it and it was drying out. I just trimmed the dying branches off, and went back to watering and misting. Seems to be doing fine now, it's even putting out new branches still. 4 more months!

Mine is doing surprising well this year too. In the basement under lights..., some direct sun. These like it wetter than most palms.

I recently planted mine in the yard. It survived a 26F night just fine. I can hardly believe how rapidly these palms grow.

Mist all the time indoors and they are very happy. I do it about once a day and it remains very green amd mite free.