Real Palm Trees: Beautify the Inside of Your Home with a Tropical Touch
Indoor Palm Trees bring the feel of the tropics into your home and help purify the air. It might surprise you that many are slow growers and easy to care for. Most palms are also much more tolerant of shade than you might think. I'll go into the best indoor varieties and their preferences below.
How to best display a palm inside depends on its size and type. Indoor Palm Trees are perfect as corner specimen plants or foyer plants. Likewise, palms do very well in groups, with smaller potted plants clustered at their base. Wherever you decide to locate your palm, try to avoid too much traffic brushing against or pulling on the fronds as this will weaken the plant and possibly kill the frond. All in all, a real palm tree or trees can breath fresh life into any indoor environment and make it your own personal paradise!
How to best display a palm inside depends on its size and type. Indoor Palm Trees are perfect as corner specimen plants or foyer plants. Likewise, palms do very well in groups, with smaller potted plants clustered at their base. Wherever you decide to locate your palm, try to avoid too much traffic brushing against or pulling on the fronds as this will weaken the plant and possibly kill the frond. All in all, a real palm tree or trees can breath fresh life into any indoor environment and make it your own personal paradise!
Contents at a Glance
Kentia Palm Tree
The #1 Selling Indoor Palm Of All Time!
It prefers some direct light through a window, but doesn't demand an extremely bright spot. Watering should be done when the top inch of soil starts to dry out on your palm plant.
All palms of this species grow from single trunks, but sometimes commercial growers will plant several in a pot to make it appear more lush and full. Kentia palms benefit from spending the summer outdoors and from regular cleaning of their leaves during the winter.
Tips For Growing Indoor Palms
Follow These Pointers For Healthy, Happy Trees
* Good drainage is essential. Never let a palm's root ball sit in water.
* Feed your palm regularly during the growing season. Potassium deficiency is especially common in palms showing up as yellowing or brownish fronds.
* Trim your palm carefully. It's a very common mistake to overprune palm trees, which weakens the overall plant and robs it of valuable nutrients.
* Only repot when the palm is completely pot bound. Palms often have shallow root systems, and they don't appreciate being disturbed. Also, infrequent repotting slows the growth rate of palms that might rapidly outgrow your room.
* To keep your plants lush and green mist the leaves daily in the spring and summer, and less in the winter.
* Feed your palm regularly during the growing season. Potassium deficiency is especially common in palms showing up as yellowing or brownish fronds.
* Trim your palm carefully. It's a very common mistake to overprune palm trees, which weakens the overall plant and robs it of valuable nutrients.
* Only repot when the palm is completely pot bound. Palms often have shallow root systems, and they don't appreciate being disturbed. Also, infrequent repotting slows the growth rate of palms that might rapidly outgrow your room.
* To keep your plants lush and green mist the leaves daily in the spring and summer, and less in the winter.
Lady Palm
Fresh, clean lines & likes light shade
Lady Palms are easy to grow indoors, adapting readily to limited light. Too much light, particularly direct sun, can cause the leaves to turn yellow-green. They like a lean diet - too much fertilizer can cause the variegation patterns of the showiest varieties to fade.The Lady Palms are an excellent choice for people who like a formal, easy-to-keep plant that evokes an Oriental mood. They especially enjoy an African violet mix soil amended with sand. These elegant plants are traditionally grown in shallow bonsai pots or ceramic urns to limit their size.
Lady Palm - Small Palm Tree
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Top Six Indoor Palm Trees
Most Popular & Easy To Grow (in no particular order)
Common Name (Botanical Name) & Characteristics
Kentia Palm (Howea forsteriana) Long, feathery fronds droop slightly; slow growing and easy to keep
Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea species) Elegant, feathered fronds with rich green color; best palms for low light
Fan Palm (Chamaerops humilis) Pointed, fan-shaped gray-green leaves, black hairs on trunk, likes it warm
Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebelinii) Long arching fronds with thin, pointed leaflets; likes to grow on dry side
Lady Palm (Rhaphis excelsa) Fans of broad, dark green or variegated leaves; tolerates limited light
Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus) Large, architectural plants for big spaces; generally easy to grow
Kentia Palm (Howea forsteriana) Long, feathery fronds droop slightly; slow growing and easy to keep
Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea species) Elegant, feathered fronds with rich green color; best palms for low light
Fan Palm (Chamaerops humilis) Pointed, fan-shaped gray-green leaves, black hairs on trunk, likes it warm
Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebelinii) Long arching fronds with thin, pointed leaflets; likes to grow on dry side
Lady Palm (Rhaphis excelsa) Fans of broad, dark green or variegated leaves; tolerates limited light
Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus) Large, architectural plants for big spaces; generally easy to grow
Palm Care Tip
Do not use any of the leaf shining products on indoor palms as they can severely injure the foliage.
Pygmy Date Palm
Flashy arching fronds with delicate-looking leaflets
These little date palms aren't so little when grown outdoors in Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, where they mature into thick-trunked trees producing edible fruits.. Indoors they seldom flower and the plants stay much smaller, often growing to less than 3 feet high. The graceful fronds are delicate looking - but place out of high traffic areas since the bases of the leaflets are armed with sharp spines.These plants have heavy roots that make for heavy containers. Best grown near an east window where they will get strong morning light, they seldom require moving. They prefer standard potting soil amended with compost, sand and a small amount of clay soil. Pygmy date palms are sensitive to shortages of micronutrients. I've found they like a good rose time-release fertilizer in spring and summer. Do not feed in fall and winter.
Buy Small Palm Trees Here
Parlor Palm
Popular since Victorian times
Parlor Palms make excellent office plants. In the home, they look great filling in an empty corner behind a sofa or other large piece of furniture. They grow well in moderate natural light or fluorescent light. Fully mature parlor palms get to about 4 feet high and 3 feet wide.Exposure to sun can cause the leaves to develop brown tips, so use caution if you shift the plant outdoors in the summer. They tolerate dry indoor air, but do best when misted regularly to increase humidity. This also helps prevents spider mite infestations. Cleaning the leaves by hand from time to time makes for a happier plant. As far as soil goes, they prefer African violet soil amended with sand.
Palm Care Tip
Prevent dust on leaves, salt accumulation in the soil, and spider mite infestations by taking the plant outdoors and treating it to a long, warm shower. Indoors, you can easily do this in a roomy bathtub or shower stall.
European Fan Palm
Perfect for a bright sunroom!
The European Fan Palm needs direct sun 4 hours daily with bright filtered light the rest of the day. Hardy enough to grow outdoors in Tucson and Texas, this plant's natural habitat is dry, rocky mountain slopes. Characterized by broad, stiff, fan-like fronds of up to 24 inches across.When grown indoors, European fan palms slowly grow to about 4 feet tall. Their deep roots are fragile so repot only as necessary, about every three years. These palms prefer a peaty mix soil amended with compost and sand.
If you move them outdoors in the summer, clean them thoroughly before bringing them inside in the fall. Fertilize once or twice in summer with a balanced houseplant food.
European Fan Palm Tree
Areca Palm
Typically grow 6 - 7 feet indoors
For happy Areca Palms, plant in large tubs set on the floor in a warm, well-lit spot. These attractive palms feature feathery, medium green fronds. The lowest parts of their stems are yellow to yellow orange in color.They like warm conditions: during the day above 75 degrees, and at night no cooler than 65 degrees. Ideally bright, indirect light from a south or west window.
Areca palms are partial to a peaty yet porous soil mix amended with sand. In spring, feed with a time-released fertilizer. In summer, they benefit from a micro-nutrient spray. In fall and winter, do not feed.
Areca Palm - Small Palm Tree
Indoor Palm Tree Tip
An Indoor Palm Tree Makes a Wonderful Gift - Especially Appreciated By Those of Us In Colder Climates. We Can Dream of the Tropics!
My Lenses
Do You Like Indoor Palm Trees?
If so, which type and why?
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TheLifestyleChanger
Mar 16, 2012 @ 11:14 pm | delete
- I like the indoor palm tree look, but I live in the tropics, so am never short of palm trees of numerous varieties to look at.
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mcochs
Dec 26, 2010 @ 2:33 pm | delete
- Another awesome lens! Blessed by a Squidoo Angel on 12/26/2010. Have a great day!
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mochimo
Dec 9, 2010 @ 5:43 pm | delete
- I like both outdoors and indoors type, since there are no obstacle for me with my climate to grow palm outside/inside area. For indoors, I love the Chamaedorea metallica. They are fit well with my home, little care requirement, they love shade and don't shade their leaf often.
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Tempting Tropicals: 175 Irresistible Indoor Plants
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This is an informative and well-rounded reference book covering 175 different types of indoor tropicals from vines, palm trees, flowering plants and much more. The book conveys all the necessary practical information relating to feeding, care, growth cycles, and light and moisture requirements along with troubleshooting for pesky insects and possible diseases. Great for beginners and seasoned gardeners alike - with marvelous photos and easy to read, detailed text on each specimen. Highly recommended!
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