Here's a link to a picture of it.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Another picture.

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I'm just guessing, but I think perhaps it's been overwatered. Though browing leaf tips can be caused by low humidity , it's slightly different looking that the damage caused by root problems from overwatering. However, if you do a root check and see mostly healthy roots, it should recover just fine and improve with better conditions come spring time and the damage could be strictly from low humidity!

Casey, It looks like overwatering to me. I think date palms are desert palms and do not need alot of humidity. You said you fertilized it in the fall. Thats a mistake. I do have a pusilla date palm and the older fronts do die when new ones emerge. I would just be careful watering it. Let it dry out almost completely before watering it again. Remember its a desert palm. Good luck,, Bill

Phoenix roebelenii (Pygmy date palm) is actually from tropical forests of SE Asia (Thailand and Burma). And while roebelenii might have to survive seasonal dry seasons,it's not desert. Phoenix dactylifera is the species found in desert regions of North Africa and the Middle East. The reason that many palms are able to survive so well in drought is the long, deep roots that they send down to tap into ground water. Grown in a container indoors, I think it would be a mistake to treat most any palm as a desert cactus.
Not sure of why your palm is browning. Are you possibly underwatering without realizing it? Sometimes water will just run through some soils without really penetrating. Could it be from excessive fertilizing? (I don't fertilize anything until late February.) Is a cat using your container as a litter box? With moderate watering, humid air and the coming spring, I think your palm should be able to recuperate from whatever the current probem is. Good luck & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

As long as it's just the lower fronds that are browning I wouldn't worry too much about it. Eventually the oldest ones do start to wither and fall off. As long as the newest growth and emerging fronds are ok the plant is fine. You can prune the older ones off after you take it outside. I agree that I would not fertalize it until late spring. If you have it near a heat vent that could explain what's happening. One can make up for a lack of humidity by misting thouroughly every couple of days. Mist all the fronds top and bottom, the spear, and the shaggy dry part underneath the spear. If it's in a steady 60s you can't really o0verwater it. They occasionally get flooded in their native land (SE Asia).

If it's inside, DO NOT MIST THE SPEAR!!!!!. Lack of air circulation will cause the water to set and form mold and the tree will die by Feb.
I would just water once a week with a big watering, let the water drain, then water again. But just do this once a week.
The browning may be caused by either overwatering, or actually with this tree being this size, it may just be natural.
I would just let it go w/ 1 a week watering, and I bet it will be fine. One thing us Northern folks do is to "Mother Hen" our palms too much in the winter.

From a quick glance,is only the fronds on the window side brown????
Other side looks okay!
Are you rotating your palm weekly?

casey

Do you have this palm close to a vent ?
Dry air is very bad on palms..

I would repot this palm when it gets warmer..
A lot of times just bringing one in from the
outside to inside will cause it to brown ..
but it's nothing to seriously worry about.

Thank you for the replies!

I just examined my palm and pruned off 4 mostly brown fronds! The bottom two "layers" of fronds have noticeable browning and yellowing with the lower of the two "layers" having the most. All the fronds, even on top, have a little brown and yellow on the tips of their leaves. It's noticeable on these fronds only if you closely examine them.

The pot is about 1.5 feet away from a floor vent, so it's pretty close. Should I move it? There are also two electric heaters in the room for supplemental heating. They function like radiators. Are these okay to use? Maybe they are drying out the air. As I recall, the palm started to look more wilted when I moved it into this room. Originally, it was in a different room grouped closely with a lot of plants. It was about 3 feet from a heat vent, and there were no electric heaters. Hmmmm...

I'm thinking I should move it away from the vent and take out the electric heaters. Good idea?? Then I could see what happens. I could eventually get a humidifier if it didn't perk up. What do you think?

I really don't think I'm over-watering it. I let the soil get moderately dry and it doesn't sit in water. Could the fact that it is pot-bound (I just discovered it) be a contributing factor? I can't repot it for a couple months, but it would be nice to rule that out.

Thanks,

Casey

Seems to me from what you've said about the proximity of a heat vent, that's most likely the biggest cause of the problem. Having said that though, I'm reminded how I once thought that those Californai humidity reading were 'desert" like on occasions , though the palms didn't necessarily show the results of that , but I guess nowdays, with changing climate etc. and folks watering in many cases , those humidities are no longer so low in southern CA sometimes? I could be wrong about that, but the pygmy date palms did look healthy and without the browning fronds!

I would move it away from the vent. That is very dry air unless you have a humidifier on your furnace. Don't worry about misting the the spear. It helps control a potential mitr problem and will not rot you spear (unless it's in the 50s) I've been misting the spear on my Roebi the past two winters with now rot problem.