Indoor Gardening and Houseplants: what's wrong with this plant? second plant, 1 by merryma

merryma wrote:
This is the second plant that this has happened to. I think it's a palm, but I'm hoping someone will be able to tell what it really is from the pic. It comes home and turns brown. The first one was repotted about a week after it came home.....I figured it was root-bound. I just used regular potting soil, Miracle Gro, I think. But it turned brown. Tried another one, nice and healthy in the store, brought it home and this time it wasn't repotted, but the same thing happened. First one frond turns brown, then another, then the whole thing goes. It wasn't bought at a greenhouse, so there are no instructions on it. They both got indirect, bright light. The first one was watered, this one hasn't really been watered much yet. Since I'm not sure what it's actually called, I can't tell if it's supposed to be dry or damp, direct light or no light. Anybody know what's going on?

Thanks for anything you can tell me....