Maybe you could post a pic of it for us? Are you sure you have a Raphis humilis? Those, Raphis Excelsa, and Raphis Multifida (finger palm) often, and easily get confused.

All the advice Njoasis gives is sound. Not much direct sun, more water than quite a few palms... They are great indoor palms for sure, but not quite as hardy / abuse tolerant as Camaedorea Elegans. (Parlor Palm)

Rhapis humilis get pretty tall... like over 20' tall.. that what you have? Rhapis excelsa (much more common) only gets up to about 8' tall at the most. Hard to find true Rhapis humilis- tend to be pretty costly. Do NOT make good indoor palms, either- way too tall. Rhapis multifida are the best in my opinion.

Here is a Rhapis humilis

and a close up of the plant from above

those are known as slender lady palms since their leaflets end in a point... as opposed to a regular lady palm (Rhapis excelsa) in which the leaves end abruptly with a tip that looks a bit like someone cut it with a pinking shears

Here is a Rhapis multifida... sort of like a miniature Rhapis humilis with pointed leaflets, only just 4'-6' tall like an R excelsa

Great pics Doc

Recently I got a Lady Palm that started drying out, old leaves have their tips dry out new ones just die. I have never taken care of plants before and I am bit at a loss here. Can someone offer advice on how to save this plant? I watered it until soil got most and then leave it to dry out for few days. Added some diluted plant food, try to keep the humidity at 45% and spray the plant with water daily.

Great Rhapis pics everyone!

Jakenyc, hard to say what the problem is with your Rhapis. Can you get a pic that shows more of the plant? It definitely looks like it was stressed out. Did it see any cold at all? Was the soil really dry at any point? How long did it take for it to decline after you got it?
It doesnt look like it has much life left in it. If you got this from a plant place recently I would try to return it (not all nurseries accept returns) because it's possible that they are the ones at fault.
-Alex

These palms do not tolerant drought well. If you let it go too dry, it will go into a quick, final decline!

I water mine with rain water which seems to help with the leaf tip browning problem..other than that mine just needs a bigger pot. I want to seperate some of the canes and make 2 pots but I'm kind of scared to I don't want to set it back to much or kill it all together.

This post was edited by miketropic on Sun, Jan 27, 13 at 10:39

They are easy to divide. Use a sharp, sterile knife and cut down through the root mass. Do not pull the roots. I would hold off though till early March.

do you see any trasplant or root distubance shock from it? I don't think I will divide much there are around 20 canes..a nice 10/10 split would be fine.

Just pulled two canes a few days back from ground and planted them in pot after an hour from uprooting.just now I realised that the new leaf growth in a cane is opening and has become yellow in colour is it normal if not how do I help it? Thanks in advance

My girl needs help too. We don't know what to do. We moved 5 months ago and transplanted a month later. In retrospect I knew better but hindsight is 20/20. She is getting a white sediment and dying in front of our eyes. We are doing what we can but are now afraid it's too late. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

You have a bad mealy bug infestation. They get in the new leaves Evan before they open. Malathion would work. Cover everything, drench the soil. Make sure when you spray, you get down into the crowns of each stem. Might need to do it again 2 weeks later. You can still save the plant. Kill those in the crowns and new, nice leaves will come out and make it look good again.

Can someone help me with my palm!

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4638679/is-my-sabal-palmetto-transplant-dead