The parlor palm or Neanthe Bella Palm is a beautiful, low height palm. It is commonly kept indoors as a houseplant and with a little care the parlor palm can give a beautiful appearance to your lawns, common rooms, kitchens or wherever you place it.
Facts & Care Sheet
Maximum height: 8 feet, which it rarely reaches, normally they would reach a height of about 4 feet.
Maximum width(spread): About 3 to 5 feet.
Native Range: Mexico, Guatemala
Scientific Name: Chamaedora elegans
Other common name(s): Neanthe Bella, Bella Palm, Good Luck Palm, Dwarf Fishtail Palm, Dwarf Palm
Growth rate: Very slow
Propagation: By seed, division and cutting
Sun: Bright indirect light to partial shade.
Water: Keep the soil evenly moist for most of the time. Allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings.
Soil: It should be well drained, else root-rot is a common problem with these plants.
Fertilizer requirements: Fertilize with a mild fertilizer. The roots of the Neanthe Bella palm are sensitive to over fertilizing. Do not fertilize in winter.
Poisonous: No
Drought Tolerance: Low
Cold Tolerance: 10a, 10b, 11 zones
The needle palm, which is native to Southeastern United States, is the sole member of the genus Rhapidophyllum. Needle-like spines are produced at the petiole bases. The scientific or Botanic name for this palm is Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Rhapidophyllum means “needle-leaf”, while hystrix is from the scientific name of a genus of porcupines. It is also sometimes called Porcupine palm.
Facts & Care Sheet
Maximum height: 8 to 10 feet
Maximum width(spread): About 8 to 10 feet.
Native range: Southeastern United States
Scientific name: Rhapidophyllum hystrix
Other common name(s): Porcupine palm
Growth rate: Slow
Propagation: By seeds, division of clumps. Seeds can take about 6 to 12 months to germinate.
Sun: Full sunlight to partial shade.
Water: Requires regular watering. The needle palm has amazing ability to tolerate both droughts and floods.
Soil: Well drained soil
Poisonous: No
Cold tolerance: Very high, can survive temperatures as low as -10 to -15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Drought tolerance: High
Fruit: Fruit of the needle palm is a brown drupe that is 2 cm long.
The triangle palm(Dypsis decaryi) is a medium sized species of palm tree that works as an excellent air purifier. It is native to the rainforests of Madagascar.
Facts & Care Sheet
Maximum height: 30 feet
Maximum width(spread): 12 to 15 feet
Native range: Madagascar
Scientific name: Dypsis decaryi
Propagation: From seeds
Growth rate: Moderate
Hardiness: High
Leaves: Large tough leaves
Sun: Prefers full sunlight but can also thrive in slight shade.
Water: Requires regular irrigation, let the soil around the plant moderately dry before watering it again.
Soil: Slightly towards the acidic side and sandy.
Poisonous: Yes. Its seeds and other parts can harm if ingested.
Cold Tolerance: Moderate, can tolerate cold temperatures as low as 25 degrees Fahrenheit.
Drought Tolerance: Moderate to low, can handle occasional dryness but normally should be watered regularly.
Fruit: The fruit is black in color and round in shape and normally is about 1 inch in diameter. It is not edible.
Propagation
The triangle palms are propagated by seeds and the seeds normally germinate within one month of being planted.
Most of the world was unaware of the existence of this beautiful palm until 1978. Then an Aboriginal man brought it to botanists and since then it is a famous palm tree. The scientific name “Wodyetia bifurcata” was given to it in honor for that Aboriginal man Wodyeti.
Facts & Care Sheet
Maximum height: About 35 feet
Maximum width(spread): About 20 feet
Native Range: Northern Australia
Scientific name: Wodyetia bifurcata
Growth rate: Moderate to fast
Propagation: Through seed
Leaves: Large
Sun: Full sun is better. It will also thrive in partial shade.
Water: Water it regularly
Soil: Any kind of general purpose soil.
Fertilizer requirements: Fertilizing once or twice a year is enough.
Poisonous: Yes, seeds are poisonous and can cause health problems on ingestion.
Cold tolerance: Although it thrives better in warmer temperatures, they can tolerate colder temperatures down to about 26 degrees Fahrenheit.
Drought tolerance: Moderate
Fruit: Orange to green fruit in earlier stages. The 2 inch long ripe fruit is orange red.
A common palm globally that is known for the amazing fruit it produces i.e. the coconut. The coconut palm starts producing fruit when it is 6 to 10 years of age and keeps on giving fruit till it is about 80 years of age in most cases.
Facts & Care Sheet
Maximum height: About 80 to 100 feet
Maximum width(spread): 20 to 30 feet
Native range: The origin of this palm tree has been a subject of debate. While most authorities say that the coconut palm is a native of South Asia, others claim its native range to be South America. It is also important to note that some fossil records of a coconut-like plant that was smaller in size has been found in New Zealand. These fossil records are about 15 million years old. Interestingly, even more older records have been found in India, while the oldest is from Bangladesh.
Scientific name: Cocos nucifera
Growth rate: Moderate to fast
Propagation: By planting a fresh coconut in moist soil.
Leaves: It has big hard leaves.
Sun: Place them in areas with bright and direct sunlight.
Water: Water thoroughly and frequently the well-drained sol around it.
Soil: Sandy soil with a preferred pH of 5.0 to 8.0.
Temperature: Moderate, 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
Poisonous: No
Cold tolerance: Can bear cold temperatures of 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
Drought tolerance: Very high
Fruit: The famous coconut which is consumed by people around the globe.
Propagation
Propagation is done from a coconut. Take a fresh coconut and listen for sloshing milk when you shake it. Soak it in water witht the husk intact. Then take a container and fill it with well drained, sandy soil. Plant the coconut pointed downwards into the container. Now one thing you will have to make sure if you want the nut to sprout and that is to never let the soil dry. Water frequently so that it stays moist. The soil should be moist, not wet. place it at a sunny location. The plant will sprout from one of the three holes.
Tags: propagation
A beautiful, amazing palm tree that will require a lot of space because of its huge spread. The Bismarck palm is native to Madagascar and suitable for sub-tropical climates. They got their name from the first chancellor of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck.
Facts & Care Sheet
Maximum Height: 60 feet, mostly they grow about 40 feet tall.
Maximum width(spread): 15 to 20 feet
Native Range: Island of Madagascar
Scientific name: Bismarckia nobilis
Growth rate: Slow
Propagation: By seeds
Hardiness: High, it is really hard to kill this palm.
Leaves: Big coarse leaves
Sun: Full sun to partial shade.
Water: Irrigate the plant on a regular basis.
Soil: Well drained, sandy.
Poisonous: No
Cold tolerance: Can withstand cold temperatures as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
Drought tolerance: Moderate
Fruit: A round fleshy fruit which is 1 to 3 inches in length and about a half inch in diameter. The fruit is not edible.
The ponytail palm is not a palm. In fact it is a succulent that looks like palm and belongs to the Ruscaceae family. Here is some information on them.
Facts & Care Sheet
Maximum height: Above 30 feet
Maximum width(spread): 10 to 15 feet
Native Range: Mexico, the semi-desert regions of southeastern Mexico to be exact.
Scientific Name: Beaucarnea Recurvata
Other common name(s): Bottle palm, elephant foot, Nolina palm
Growth rate: Slow
Propagation: By removal of basal offsets, seeds and stem cutting of multi-stemmed ponytail palms
Hardiness: High
Leaves: Long, thin and soft leaves
Sun: bright sunlight, also thrives in direct sunlight.
Water: Water thoroughly once a week. Water requirements vary with temperatures, atmosphere, zones etc. Remember it is a succulent and should not be over-watered, letting its soil dry won’t really harm it.
Soil: Fast draining, sandy
Fertilizer requirements: Very low
Temperature: Warm, arid temperature
Poisonous: No
Cold tolerance: Not very good at tolerating cold. Temperatures below 30 degrees Fahrenheit for extended periods can harm this palm tree.
Drought tolerance: Very high
Propagation
By Seed
By Offset removal
It is a beautiful palm tree that is very commonly kept and grown in houses and makes a beautiful houseplant. Being native to Lord Howe Island, the Kentia palm is named after the capital city of Lord Howe Island i.e. Kentia.
Facts & Care Sheet
Maximum height: 60 feet
Maximum width(spread): 15 to 20 feet
Native range: Lord Howe Island
Scientific name: Howea forsteriana
Other common name(s): Thatch palm, sentry palm
Growth rate: Slow
Propagation: By seeds
Hardiness: Moderate
Sun: Bright indirect sunlight is preferred. They will also tolerate lower light levels.
Water: Being native to a tropical area, they prefer the soil to be moist most of the times. However, allow the top 1 to 2 inches of soil to dry before watering it again. The Kentia palm will die of continual dryness or over watering.
Soil: Soil that is rich in organic matter and well-drained.
Fertilizer requirements: Fertilize in summers for a better health.
Poisonous: No
Fruit: Oval shaped, 2 inch in diameter.
Cold tolerance: Moderate, Can tolerate temperatures down to 23 degrees Fahrenheit. However, such low temperatures for an extended period can harm the plant.
Drought tolerance: Moderate to low
Propagation
Propagation is done by seeds. Normally palm seeds germinate properly in when kept in warmer temperatures, however the Kentia palm is an exception in this regard, maybe due to being a native of Lord Howe Island. They can germinate in lower temperatures of 50 degrees Fahrenheit, nut warmer temperature is preferred. The Kentia palm seeds normally take 1 to 3 months for the germination process to complete.
Beautiful Kentia Palms (Image property of Black Diamond Images @ Flicker)
Black Diamond Images
Tags: propagation
Pindo palms are medium height palm trees that bear a delicious fruit used to make jellies. Here is some more information about them.
Facts & Care Sheet
Maximum Height: About 25 feet
Maximum Width(spread): 15 feet
Native Range: Central-southern Brazil and adjacent areas of Uruguay and Argentina.
Scientific name: Butia capitata
Other Common Name(s): Jelly palm, wine palm
Growth rate: Moderate to slow
Propagation: By seed
Hardiness: Quite High
Sun: Full sunlight to partial shade.
Water: Water regularly
Soil: They will adapt to most soil conditions so soil is not a problem.
Fertilizer Requirements: Although they will thrive without a fertilizer but it is good to fertilize them a few times in spring.
Poisonous: No
Cold tolerance: High, can tolerate colder temperatures as low as about 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Drought tolerance: High
Fruit: Delicious edible fruit with large seeds which is used to make jams and jellies. The fruit is oval shaped and about one inch long having yellow to orange colors.
Propagation
Propagate through seeds by germinating them in zip-lock bags with moisture or moist soil mix.
Tags: propagation
Facts & Care Sheet
The bamboo palm is a beautiful, commonly kept houseplant that also works as an air purifier. Here is some information on them.
Maximum height: 8 to 10 feet
Maximum width(spread): 3 to 5 feet
Native Range: Rainforests of Central and Southern America.
Scientific Name: Chamaedorea seifrizii
Other common name(s): Reed palm
Growth rate: Moderate
Propagation: By seed, division of clumps, sucker removal.
Hardiness: Not a hardy plant and requires some care.
Leaves: Small to medium sized soft leaves.
Sun: Do not place it at sunny locations as it grows under the shade of thick rainforest trees in its native range, place them in moderate indirect light.
Water: Being a tropical plant, requires the soil to be wet but not soggy. Also, the soil should be well drained so the roots don’t get exposed to standing water.
Soil: well drained, rich soil.
Fertilizer Requirements: Fertilize rarely in summers with a mild fertilizer. If you can, water it with rain-water because it acts as a natural fertilizer and this plant being native to rainforests is used to heavy rains.
Poisonous: Leaves and fruits are poisonous to some pets.
Cold Tolerance: It is a sensitive plant and Will get affected with temperatures under 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Drought tolerence: None at all.
Temperature: moderate, 60 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Propagation
This plant can be propagated in 3 different ways:
- From seeds
- By division of clumps
- By sucker removal
Tags: bamboo palm, propagation