Cat palm and majesty palm are two different palm plants. If you want some help in deciding which one will be the best houseplant for your home. Then you are reading the right article.
Because today I will show the difference and similarities between cat palm vs majesty palm.
Cat palm is easy to grow and maintain in the indoor environment. Whereas the majesty palm needs a little bit of extra care and attention.
In this guide, you will find every single detail about these plants.
Now let’s talk in detail.
Quick Care Guide
| Growing Requirements | Majesty Palm | Cat palm |
| USDA Hardiness Zones | 10 to 11 | 9b |
| Light Needs | High bright light | Indirect bright light |
| Size | 10 feet tall, 4 To 5 feet spread | 5 feet tall 3 feet spread |
| Soil pH | 5.0 to 6.0 | 5.8 to 6.5 |
| Watering | moderate | moderate |
| Pests | Sap sucking like Mealybugs | Sap sucking like Mealybugs |
| Diseases | Root fungi and leaf spot | Root fungi and leaf spot |
Difference between Cat palm vs Majesty palm
The above table shows the maximum growing needs of both plants.
You can see that most of their growing needs are the same. This means you need to follow the single-growing guide for both plants.
But despite that, there are some differences that you need to know before choosing palm plants.
Now let’s talk about them
You May Also Like: Calathea Beauty Star Care Guide
Leaf texture and Design
Both palm plants have a similar types of leaves.
The difference is in their texture and size. Majesty’s palm has long leaves that are tough and rough to touch.
Cat palms produce smaller leaves that are soft to the touch.
Majesty palm leaves are stronger leaves therefore, this plant does not face leaf diseases.
But cat palm leaves are made up of soft tissues. They are more prone to leaf spots and leaf fungal diseases.
Do not expect flowers from these plants if you are growing them indoors.
This is the reason we list these plants under foliage plants. Their leaves are the real beauty that gives them a very attractive look.
Size of their leaves
In its natural habitat, the cat palm grows under the strong canopy of large trees.
They block the maximum of the sunlight and only receive low intense light. Due to this the leaves grow in a clump shape and stay small.
On the other side, the majesty palm grows 10 feet in height. This means it has long beautiful leaves.
They are straighter than the cat palm leaves.
Container growing majesty palm is easy to manage. Because it is a large plant. Give it plenty of space to grow and spread.
Grow it in a big size room, if you have a small size room then choose the cat palm.
Light needs of Cat palm vs majesty palm
Because there is a difference between their size there is also a difference between their light needs.
Due to the small size of the cat palm plant, it needs low indirect bright light.
Do not put it in direct sunlight.
The high intense sunlight can burn the plant leaves. The yellow and pale color of the leaves is the first sign of the light burn.
Locate a place in your house that is bright enough to full fill its needs. 4 to 5 hours of indirect light is sufficient for its growth and maintenance.
The majesty palm needs brighter light and if you expose it to the direct sunlight in the morning. It will be very beneficial for its growth.
Type of soil and soil pH
For the best cat palm care, grow it in normal potting soil. Just mix some parts of perlite in it.
Because normal houseplant soil has good draining properties but it cannot hold a good amount of moisture.
To increase its moisture-holding capacity mix perlite in it.
Perlite also makes the soil fluffy and light.
The majesty palm needs slightly acidic soil. If you have cactus potting soil at home you can use that for growing majesty palm.
Cactus potting is more acidic to lower its acidic value you need to add peat to the soil.
Then use a soil pH testing kit to measure the pH. It should be in between 5.7 to 6.5.
Watering both the plants
Cat palm needs a little bit of moisture in the potting soil for good growth.
It can also tolerate dryness but wet soil can kill it in a few days.
Therefore, before watering you need to check the soil, if the top 4 layers (4 inches) of the soil become dry then water the cat palm.
Always check the soil before watering it, this will protect your plant from overwatering problems.
The majesty plant needs a high amount of water. Therefore, you need to water it more frequently than the cat palm.
The watering rule for majesty is, the top 2 layers of the soil must be dry before watering.
Use high-quality water for watering palm plants.
Water that is free from toxins and does not contain heavy minerals is considered top-quality water for watering palm plants.
Humidity
Humidity is the growing factor where both plants are way different from each other.
The cat palm happily grows in normal indoor humidity. It can also tolerate humidity fluctuations.
A sudden drop or rise in the air moisture cannot put any negative effect on it.
The humidity of the room must be higher than 40%.
In the case of majesty palm care, you need to give it consistent humidity for the entire life cycle.
It can also tolerate low and high humidity but with a difference of 2 to 3 percent.
For majesty plants, keep the room humidity above 50% and below 80%.
To do this you need to keep eye on the room air moisture. Which is only possible if you take the help of the hygrometer.
Buy any inexpensive hygrometer from Amazon and install it in the grow room.
If the room humidity is less than recommended then use the pebble tray and put the plant over it.
The evaporating water will increase the room humidity.
If you want an easy solution then buy a plant humidifying device and use it in the grow room.
Pest and diseases
Spider mites are the main enemy of both palm plants.
They are tiny size bugs and are hard to see with the naked eye. Infected plants develop brown spots on their leaves.
They are mainly found on the undersides of the leaves. There they make their colonies and give birth to the next generation.
The good news is you can easily tackle them with insecticidal soap. Spider mites cannot survive in humid conditions. Rinse the plant with soap and get rid of mites.
Fungal disease is the second enemy of palm plants.
Root fungus is common in overwatered plants. To protect your plants from root rot. Follow the correct watering technique and use well-draining soil.
There must be a draining hole in the base of the plant pot.
Similarities between cat palm and majesty palm
Cat palm and majesty palm needs room temperature between 65 to 80 degrees F for best growth.
Both plants do not like soggy and wet soil. Extra water results in root rot.
Spider mites are the common enemy of both palm plants.
But some so-called garden gurus will tell you that the majesty palm plant needs more care than the cat palm.
There is only a slight difference in their growing needs especially when it comes to the humidity.
Otherwise, both cat and majesty palm plants need the same amount of light, water, temperature, and fertilizers to grow.
You can grow any plant by following our care guide.
I like the cat palm more than the majesty palm. Because it looks more attractive than it and also grows small in size.
In indoor spaces, it is hard to maintain large plants like majesty palm. Therefore, I recommend cat palm over the majesty.
But if have a big size room and want to have majesty palm then follow our guide to grow it safely.
