by dwarf palm i assume you mean pygmy date palm? do not cut any branches off unless they are brown and completely dead. the palm needs the nutrients still in the leaves to keep growing especially if it is as stressed as you describe.

VERY grateful! AH HAH: I just looked again at the label on the pot: "pygmy date palm" The branches/leaves what ever they are called are not brown but definetly wilted over and definetly a sad shade of green. It is out of the air conditioned but well lit office and outside in the humid air which I think I read is what they "like" humidity and this heat wave. We wont cut anything off it then and keep it moist. IF it does return I'll replant into a larger pot! Be a NICE JOY if it returns. I guess it can go either way: I'll lose it OR it'll come back.

Pygmy palms are not great indoor palms, they do a lot better outside. Dont give it full sun because of all the time it spent indoors, and they like lots of water when it's hot out
-Alex

Grateful Alex! thank you!! I'm sure you wish us good luck!

I'll simply use some courtesy 1st: I hope I'm not being a nuisance: correct or wrong n bad: I decided I would compensate my pygmie palm NOT being waterd by keeping it..........well the palm is in the same original pot as when it was purchased. There are 3 drain holes to the pot I lowerd the pygmie palm in its pot into the large feed/water bowl of the large dog we once had.I then poured enough water into the bowl that the water rose up to and coverd over the drain holes to make sure that poor dry pygmie palm can get its water. good or bad and over kill please?

BAD IDEA
those palms like good drainage and hate sitting in water. just water it from above let it drain and put it outside.

THANK YOU!!

THANK YOU!!

Does your palm look more like these...

Or these... this is NOT a palm, but a succulent.

HI hi uhm you would laugh at me if you knew/saw what this one I have inherited looks like. the branches droop like a weeping willow. when I hold them all vertical I wonder if the whole plant measures maybe 3 feet total. I saw a photo of one similar to my "rescue palm" will try to post it!

What my "rescue" palm is supposed to look like, this HAS to be what I have

What my "rescue" palm is supposed to look like, this HAS to be what I have I'm also SO VERY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION HERE!!

majesty palm?

The photo you posted looks like a Majesty palm, Ravenea rivularis. Does your palm have spines at the base of the fronds? If yes, it's a Pygmy Date. If no, probably it's a Majesty. Ravenea rivularis loves water, lots of water. These are often sold as houseplants where they get underwatered and die.

I suggest the wilted fronds will not recover, and are getting stressed trying to rehydrate, which won't happen. You might as well remove them. Locate the emerging spear and mark it with a marker pen. Keep your eye on that mark over the next couple of weeks, to be sure the spear continues to push out new growth. If you get 3 inches of new growth, your palm is a survivor.

I would put it outdoors in dappled shade or early morning sun with shade the rest of the day. It will need time to adapt to life in the sun. It will burn if you put it in full sun. Then your palm will be toast.

this is very terrific info! the employee left the tag on the pot the tag reads pygmie date palm. never had one before so not sure what a spine is or looks like. theee difference between what I have and this photo is that the "branches" are wilted/bowed way down to the floor and a sad looking shade of green. I guess I will cut off all those wilted "branches at thier base watch and hope for new growth??? await your reply please.

as follow up: I brought the "palm" home monday 7/23 right after work and have really waterd it! I set in a pan pf water over night tuesday till today wednesday 25th (new Jersey) sighhhhh no worse anyway.......do I be patient give it the week see if the "branches" rehydrate and erect ...OR cut them all off now? OOOOOPS forgot have not brought the palm in at all it is on cement outside shaded porch.

I keep busy when I have a day off fortunatly so far its a fun busy. To whom ever is following this...I will call it dramatic, I regard any rescue seriously, uhm serious fun(?) I cut every branch off the 3 uhm "things" sticking out of the dirt. Wowch those needle things hurt! Its discouraging but we'll see if this is a "survivor pygmie" or not. I brought home a forsaken Norfolk island spruce some years ago, "Charlie" tree is now flourishing as is the miniature rose I got for honey last Valentine's day. It got away from us or me I think it went dry I waterd kept kept it in sunlight sigh its still struggling. well "here's to my Pigmie date palm"!

well I was getting good instructions where'd you all go? something I said??

Sounds like your doing fine-maybe you can post a pic of the now famous palm??

Brian,

On ALL Phoenix species, the lower leaflets degenerate into spines. If yours has them there will be no doubt in your mind. Pigmy Dates are better indoor palms than Majesties; it's just a matter of care. Try potting it up and soaking it twice a week. Be sure the pot has drainage holes. Set the pot outside in light shade. That means under a tree but not in the deep forest.

Definitely sounds like a Pygmy palm to me as well. I have had bad luck with them indoors, but they are better than Majesty palms (for most people at least). Majesty palms need a lot more water than Pygmy palms, but Pygmy palms do like to stay moist in hot weather and shouldnt completely dry out ever.
Good luck!
-Alex

Ah hello and thank you to those who replied. back to work today thursday i saw again the employee who gave me the "palm". she only bought it about the 1st week of July at a GOOD grocery store for 10.00. and as I seriously/really came to think: she "occaisionally" gave it a spash of water. then days later went on vaction about 5 days and nobody waterd the palm, well how could she expect anyone to with the door/office locked??!! she returned it was wilted so likely there wasnt even light on in her little office. a bit DUMB and thoughtless for who she is! SO I have the plant in intensive care....I'm making sure it has water now and it stays outside shaded in this heat wave.......doing all I can do i guess??!! grateful to all of you PLEASE stay close wouldja please??? THANK YOU!!

mention was made about a pic of the palm and I imediatly felt the misery of that:1. the sickness in the house S.O. has had both hips replaced she is but in bed with complications. 2.working at repairs so as to sell present "diggins to sell and relocate. 3. attend to my job everyday. 4. UGH the tiny little camera I do have somewhere if i find it how do i get ti working again? hours and hours and hours later I hope here is "whats left" of the "pygmie date palm" that is in intensive care. Upon presenting this I'm embarased enough, please be gentle.thank you all!

UGH what I forgot to mention in the frustration of creating the photo is that: over the days I have been troubled by the fact that the POT the palm is in....concerns me; its drain holes are 3 inches from the bottom at the sides which tells me it cant drain well. unless the pot is tilted which i have done water remains and has remained in that pot. friday evening I got the idea I put a box cutter blade to each hole and cut each side of each hole down TO the bottom and cut that "tab" off...NOW the roots can breath good i would say and when there isNO more water in the pan the only remaining moisture is in the dirt, the roots arent drowning, the roots shouldnt be drowning.now I or we hurry up and wait and see! Oh I will add I am amazed that I did manage to get that photo! camera still works wow what computor effort and time.....and that gets me to acknowledge the amount of time that can be wasted/used in working a computor! Or am i that illiterate???

unfortunately your pygmy palm looks dead to me. I did have a pygmy palm a few years back that was severely underwatered and it looked just like yours, but after giving it a good pot and soil and bringing it outdoors for the summer (with water), it did amazingly enough come back to life! But if you keep it indoors I dont think it will have a chance, when they are that severely damaged it's going to take sun, heat, and water (and good drainage so the soil doesnt stay too moist) for it to come back.
Hope it makes it for you!
-Alex

Alex hi! hi! Ahhhhh I been watching for a reply BUT NOW I'M NOT HOLLERING I'M TYPING IN CAPITALS TO MAKE SURE THIS IS SEEN: THE PALM IS NO LONGER IN HER OFFICE I HAVE IT HERE AT MY APARTMENT O U T S I D E AND VERY WATERD. AGAIN I'M NOT HOLLERING I have been typing large to make sure it is seen that it is outside. The coworker gave it to me Monday july 23 I have had it thus only 4 days. I did see instructions to cut off its wilted branches. I cant afford to invest in potting soil yet I did give it a little potting soil I had to just top off the top of the dirt. SO I need to calm down "I have had it only 4 days. IT IS OUTSIDE IN THIS HEAT WAVE not a lot of sun and not drowning BUT plenty of water heh heh I hope this helps! THANK YOU ALEX!!!

throw it away......sorry but its dead.

well that is gentle and honest of you. I agree it looks "interesting/discouraging". I am grateful that you replied. I'd rather have your input even if its sad rather than to have nothing at all!. it cost me nothing, it will cost me nothing. I feel proud that i have upgraded its environment, it has a much better chance and oooooops others have encouraged me. I have till the weather gets cold and even then IF it comes back .........well one winter i decided to have some fun.I arranged a fluorecent tube over a long planter of "Shamrocks". Honey repeatedly reassured me they wont come up "remember your disapointment level dont get your hopes up".heh heh heh and a Muah ha ha ha later I had Shamrocks! Really, sincerely I am grateful to you for sharing!

Even if it isn't dead, you should throw it away and spend a few dollars on a healthy palm.

And to think I typed earlier that"I would rather have input than have nothing at all". Talk about "watch what you wish for you might just get it" YOUR words I dont appreciate, explain WHY I should "throw it away and buy new even if it isnt dead". WHEW!!

well it would be a waste of time and resources to even attempt to bring a dead palm back too life. Even if it wasn't dead it would take a few YEARS to get it back to normal. And if you buy a new palm you can start from scratch and have a healthy beautiful palm to enjoy :)

What eric said. Enjoy a healthy palm now. :-) Think of this as a learning experience. Now you know what a Pygmy Date Palm is. :-)

"it would be a waste of time and resources" we'll review this: A plant, a tree that somone else "forsook" they gave it away to a better home, it is now sitting in "intensive" care with assurances what kind of resources/how much resources gets "wasted", giving it a look at every now and then? "Could require a long time??? I am cheap thrifty and frugal,mostly because we are quite impoverished we CANt just "run out and buy". and if this is the case more animals would die rather than BE RESCUED. I have some kind of time. There are times when my 56 years feels like the end, right now I bet I have enough years to give this palm a chance/try. Uhm THANK YOU to everyone who has encouraged I'll take it from here "enjoy" to those who discourage.

hours later: actually, rethinking I will post again that the palm survived, returned, came back OR heavan forbid that I discarded it.

Have to agree with everyone else.. .such a plant is very cheap to replace and this one looks far beyond any hope of saving. Having killed my share of palms, I can recognize one that is lifeless, sadly. Nice of you to try to save it, though.

IN particular "nice of you to try to save it though" THATS what I like to see! It is amazing how fast this palm "went down" in not even 4 weeks from the time of purchase. Well I'm not giving up on it yet. Uhm "such a plant is very cheap to replace" with the illness in the family noone knows how much we are hurting financially.so no we cannot just run right out and buy something on a "whim", "we'd like to have that it, would be fun". well one day at a time!

a plant that size at Home Depot should run around $12.

Ahh I happened to wind up back here today saturday I s ee this new comment: "roll" your eyes if you like but 12.00 dollars is................if an expense isnt for n e c e s s i t y we have to ignore it. count your blessings if this frustrates you.