When, what and how do you cut?

Never cut the top of Kentia palms

The Kentia palm grows quite slowly, so it takes a while to reach a certain height. That's a good thing, because you should never cut the tip of a Kentia palm if you want to continue to enjoy the palm.

Only the fronds are cut and, when repotting, the roots:

• Cut brown leaves
• Cut off brown leaf tips
• remove dry fronds
• Shorten diseased fronds
• Prune roots

If you want to cut whole fronds, you'd better wait until autumn to do that. Then the palm recovers over the winter.

How to Properly Prune a Kentia Palm

Are the Leaf tips brown, just cut this off. However, the cut must not lead into the healthy foliage, as the leaves will later dry out in these areas.

Discolored fronds are not cut until they are completely dry. Only if there are many Pests have spread on the palm, you should remove the affected fronds beforehand. Cut it off directly on the trunk so that a stub of three to four centimeters remains. It frays and later gives the Kentia palm its typical appearance.

Always use sharp tools to cut the fronds. Blunt blades tear the interfaces and thus provide a breeding ground for bacteria, germs and fungi. Before use, clean the cutters thoroughly to avoid passing pests or diseases on to the Kentia palm.

Prune roots when repotting

If you want to slow down the growth of your Kentia palm a little, you can shorten the roots when you remove the palm repot. Just cut off a few side roots. Be careful not to damage the long tap roots. If these are damaged, the Kentia palm can die.