Gardening : THE INDOOR GARDENER : ‘Down Among the Sheltering Palms’--Inside

When you think of Southern California, you almost inevitably think of tall, majestic palm trees.

And if you’re a Southern Californian looking for the perfect indoor tree for an entryway, a living room, a bedroom, or dining room, you should also be thinking about palms.

There are at least half-a-dozen different kinds of indoor palm trees readily available in nurseries and garden centers all over the Southland, each of which satisfies a different decorating need and requires slightly different care. The most common of these trees are the kentia palm, areca palm, fan palm, dwarf date palm, neanthe “bella” palm, bamboo palm, and rhapis, or lady, palm.

Kentia palm--My personal favorite among all these tropical beauties is the kentia palm (Howeia forsteriana). Although very expensive as houseplants go, kentia palms are worth every penny you pay, which might be as much as $125 for a six-foot plant with four separate stalks. This tree can grow up to 10 or 15 feet tall indoors, and its tough, dark-green pinnate leaves on thick, graceful fronds make it a striking addition to any decor.

Kentias are extremely good low-light plants, which makes them perfect candidates to brighten up darkish entry halls or shadowy corners. Keep your kentia palm potbound, as this plant (like most palms) tends to die back when transplanted into too large a container. Keep the soil slightly moist to the touch, feed every week with a good liquid houseplant food, prune off the occasional dead frond, and your kentia palm will reward you with years and years of vigorous growth.

ARECA PALM-- (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens)-- Also known as the “butterfly palm,” this plant has slender, graceful, yellow-green stems that form an attractive clump up to 25 feet tall with pinnate foliage that extends almost all of the way to the base of each stem. As kentia palms are expensive, areca palms are very, very cheap. You’ll find them being sold all over town, not only in nurseries but in parking lots and flea markets for as low as $10 or $15 for a six or seven foot tree!

But caveat emptor!: Areca palms will not stay alive indoors in a pot for much more than six months to a year. If you put your areca palm in a bright, sunny spot, such as an atrium or sun room, keep the humidity high with frequent sprayings, and feed the plant once a week you’ll maximize its life span. But these plants just aren’t meant to be grown in containers inside, so even though the tree is a bargain--$10 or $15 for a year’s enjoyment is a heck of a good deal (compare that to cut flowers!)--when your areca palm begins to die back don’t blame yourself.

Fan palm-- (Chamaerops humilis). The fan palm is another exotic plant that’s not as readily available as the kentia or the areca but they are around and you’ll find one with a little nursery-hopping. You’re sure to recognize this fabulous plant when you see it: It grows up to seven feet tall on a single, reddish-brown, shaggy trunk. The tall, thin, green stalks eventually fan out like a peacock’s tail--or a green Japanese fan.

Your fan palm will thrive if you keep the soil moist--which is a good rule for all palms. Too little water and palms will dry up, too much and they will rot. So, as for all houseplants, try to err on the side of underwatering until you discover exactly how much water it takes to keep your fan palm flourishing. This palm is most rewarding as part of a tropical motif in a bright entry hall or atrium.

Dwarf date palm-- (Phoenix roebelenii). The dwarf date palm is a very graceful houseplant with a single, rough trunk topped by a crown of feathery leaves. P. roebelenii can grow up to 60 or 70 feet tall in its natural habitat, but this dwarf variety will reach only about three or four feet indoors.

Although an established plant is relatively expensive (up to $40 or $50 depending on the size) you can grow one yourself from the pit of an unpasteurized date. (You can usually find these in health food stores.) Plant several pits about an inch deep in a four-inch pot filled with one-half commercial potting mix and one-half vermiculite. Keep the mixture moist and the pot warm (between 65 and 80 degrees). Then, because it takes quite a while for a date palm seed to germinate, months perhaps, be patient.

Once your date palm seedling sprouts into a plantlet, keep it in filtered eastern light, keep the soil moist, spray it frequently, and feed it regularly. Like the kentia and most other palms, the date palm likes its roots to be tightly contained, so avoid the temptation to use anything larger than a 10-inch pot for repotting.

It’s unlikely your dwarf date palm, grown indoors, will produce any fruit.

Neanthe “Bella” or dwarf palm-- (Chamaedorea elegans). This terrific plant is one of my favorites. I’ve got one that I raised from a seedling into a full, lush symmetrical beauty that has reached the maximum height for this plant--about three feet. Like most palms, it’s a slow grower, so the process from seedling to adult took about four years.

Although not a spectacular plant, the dwarf palm is quite attractive, with slim stems bearing thin, pinnate, leathery leaves. In brighter light it will produce stalklike “flowers” that look like rows of yellow seeds on a stem, but these are strictly a bonus.

Although this plant prefers more light to less, it can do remarkably well in a shady location, and makes a lovely decorative accent as a floor plant alongside a couch or an end table. You’ll often see another variety of Chamaedorea, C. erumpens, which is commonly known as “bamboo palm.” This plant needs a bit more light than C. elegans , but will grow a couple of feet taller and will eventually resemble a small bamboo plant.

“Large lady palm”-- (Rhapis excelsa). Another somewhat expensive variety, the lady palm is a perfect addition to any home decor. It resembles a miniature fan palm with bamboo-like canes that will grow to 10 or 12 feet indoors under optimum conditions: Bright sun, frequent waterings so that the soil stays moist, frequent spraying to keep the humidity high and regular feedings.

The leathery leaves of the lady palm are dark green, but if you’re lucky, you might stumble upon a variegate variety that is banded with ivory stripes lengthwise. I’ve also seen a more delicate variety of this plant, R. humilis , at an occasional local nursery from time to time.