Parlour palm

Sun

Bright, indirect light indoors; partial to full shade outdoors. Protect from strong midday and afternoon sun.

Water

Water when the top 1 in (2.5 cm) of potting mix feels dry, then let excess water drain away. Water less in winter, but do not let the root ball dry out completely.

Soil

A loose, well-drained potting mix that retains some moisture; outdoors, humus-rich soil that drains freely.

Height

2-6 ft (0.6-1.8 m) indoors; up to 12 ft (3.7 m) outdoors in suitable conditions

Spread

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m)

Foliage

Evergreen. Arching, feather-like green fronds with narrow leaflets on slender, ringed stems. Pots usually contain several separate seedlings rather than one branching plant.

Growth

Slow

Care needed

Low

• Heat tolerant

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   4 ft (1.2 m)

   full size

About 32 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Growth rate

Slow

• Keep indoors above 50°F (10°C), away from cold draughts and heating vents.
• Check the potting mix before watering and empty standing water from saucers or decorative pots.
• Feed monthly in spring and summer with a balanced houseplant fertiliser at half the label strength; stop in winter.
• Repot in spring only when roots fill the pot, using a container just one size larger with drainage holes.
• Wipe or gently rinse dusty fronds, and move outdoor summer containers into shade gradually.

Pruning. Remove fully brown fronds at their base whenever needed, leaving green fronds intact. Never cut the growing tip or shorten a stem: that stem cannot regrow its crown.

Spring

Check whether roots have filled the container and repot only if necessary.

Spring

Resume light feeding as new growth develops.

Summer

Check moisture more often and protect outdoor plants from direct afternoon sun.

Early autumn

In cooler climates, bring summer containers indoors before nights fall below 50°F (10°C); inspect for pests first.

Winter

Stop feeding and allow the surface of the mix to dry between waterings.

Year-round

Inspect leaflet undersides for mites and scale, and clean dusty foliage.

• Use a container-grown plant in a bright, shaded room to add fine-textured foliage without taking much floor space.
• Group with broad-leaved houseplants such as cast-iron plant for contrasting leaf shapes.
• Plant beneath taller trees in frost-free gardens for a low, layered tropical understorey.
• Place containers in sheltered, shaded courtyards or on summer patios for soft screening at seating height.

Garden styles it suits: Victorian, Tropical, Modern tropical, Urban city garden, Small-space and Green on green.

Plant it with: Cast-iron plant, Bird's nest fern, Boston fern, Prayer plant and Peperomia.

Wildlife: Offers little wildlife value indoors. In its native habitat, its small flowers and fruits contribute to forest food webs.

• Spider mites cause pale stippling and fine webbing, especially in dry rooms. Rinse foliage thoroughly and treat persistent infestations with insecticidal soap labelled for indoor plants.
• Scale insects and mealybugs leave bumps, cottony deposits or sticky residue. Isolate the plant, wipe off visible pests and repeat an appropriate labelled treatment.
• Yellowing fronds and soft roots can indicate waterlogging. Empty saucers, improve drainage and let the surface dry before watering again.
• Brown tips or scorched patches can follow drying out, fertiliser salt buildup or direct sun. Check moisture, flush the mix occasionally and move the plant out of strong sunlight.

Not known to be toxic to cats, dogs, horses or people. No part is recognised as poisonous, although chewing foliage can still cause mild digestive upset; it is not a food plant.

• Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)

  Usually taller, with more conspicuous bamboo-like canes and new shoots arising from the base to form a true clump.

• Areca palm (Dypsis lutescens)

  Has larger, fuller fronds and clustering yellow-green canes; mature plants are much larger.

• Kentia palm (Howea forsteriana)

  Has larger, more widely spaced, drooping leaflets and develops a much taller, single trunk.

The common name recalls its popularity in Victorian parlours, while the Latin species name elegans means elegant.

Propagation. Grow from fresh seed in a warm, consistently moist propagating mix; germination can take several months. It does not root from stem cuttings or produce a naturally dividing clump, so do not cut apart the stems expecting them to resprout.

Accepted botanical name

Chamaedorea elegans

Native range

Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast and Mexico Southwest.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0) and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.