Behind the scenes of caring for a Kentia Palm

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OK, I'll admit it, I really kind'a hate to show the *behind the scenes* stuff of the garden. But there is a lot of it, and a good magician never reveals how it's done, so I must not be all that good.

Today I am doing a couple of simple *houseplant* things that you probably saw your grandmother do. That is, I'm airing a houseplant, and I am rinsing out the salt from the soil.

It's a beautiful day here in Glendale, not too hot, not too cold, and a bit of cloud cover, so it's a perfect day for airing out a Kentia Palm. So, the first step was to get it safely outside and removed from the cache pot. What you are seeing in the photo is the original pot that the plant came in. I was told by Kentia Palm expert +Kevin Williams of Elegant Kentias that these plants like to have their roots a little crowded, so I have left it in the pot. I have already transplanted two plants out of this pot, so it should still have plenty of room for several seasons.

It's not a windy day, but this is a top-heavy plant, so I have it tucked up against a corner. It's early afternoon and this is an eastern exposure, so it won't get hit by any direct sunlight until morning. So I can leave it out all night.

I have also run a lot of plain water through the soil (you may have seen your grandmother do this to plants in the sink) and that's what rinses the salt out.

The weather is mild and overnight lows aren't too low, so I may leave it out for a couple of days, and then back it goes into the house!

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