Among the most loved and hated indoor palms at the same time, there is one that is especially beautiful: the livistona rotundifolia. This plant, with open leaves as if it were a fan, is very decorative, and so much so that there are many of us who want to take it home and put them, for example, in the living room, so that all those who come to visit us , see it.
However, when we decide to buy it, we are taking home a problem. A very serious problem if we intend that we live many years. And it is that its cultivation is very difficult. But, How can you prevent it from dying?
To know how to take care of it, it is essential to know some details of its origin. Thus, the livistona rotundifolia It is a species native to Asia, mainly from the Malay Peninsula and Java. In this places The climate is tropicalwhich means that the minimum temperature is around 10ºC. To this must be added that the young specimens that they take to the nurseries usually come from the Dutch nurseries, where they control all aspects of their cultivation: temperature, humidity, fertilizer,… in short, everything.
When they arrive at our home, during the warm months they are perfect, but as autumn approaches, the temperatures drop, the humidity begins to be high … Trouble is coming!
In order to. Let’s back up a bit. Let’s get ahead of events. It is spring (or summer). We go to the nursery and we see a beautiful palm tree called livistona rotundifolia. We like its bright green color of the leaves, its trunk … Total, we take it with us. During the first days, we will have it in the same pot, placed in a room where it receives a lot of light (If possible, we will place it outside in an area with a lot of light, but without it reaching it directly).
After a week, we will change the pot; to one that is about 5cm wider, so, if you give the stretch, you can do it without problems. We will use a substrate that has good drainage for this, the following mixture being highly recommended: 60% black peat + 30% perlite + 10% organic fertilizer (worm humus, horse manure, … whatever we prefer).
After four weeks and up to a month before the cold arrives, we will fertilize it with fertilizers that are already prepared for the palm trees, or combining them with liquid organic fertilizers such as guano (once one, and the next another). We will water it about 3 times a week in summer, and every seven days the rest of the year. We will not pulverize itsince the leaves could be spoiled.
Before the cold arrives, we will put it inside the house if we did not have it, and We will put glasses or bowls with water around it so that the humidity around it is high. And we will begin to water with warm water. It is often said that in winter you do not have to pay, and it is true, but if we want it to survive us, we have to pour a small spoon (of the coffee ones) of that compost that are like blue grainsthe Nitrofosca they call it, once a month. With this fertilizer, the roots are kept at a much more pleasant temperature for them, which is essential for their survival.
It will be this fertilizer that saves the plant. Well, him, the humidity and, also, the fact that we protect it from drafts (both cold and warm). Also, if we have a radiator, and we have it right in a bright room, we can put our livistona rotundifolia close; otherwise, it is advisable wrap the pot with a thermal garden blanket (It is like a white cloth made of a material similar to cotton), which we will find in nurseries, or take it outside on days with better weather.
Thus, the plant will succeed. Sure. Why? Because we have strengthened it with fertilizersand this is all you need to survive the cold months .
