Best indoor palms and online guide

[Stethoscope]

I came across a great article by Geoff Stein on indoor palms and I thought it was great enough to share. Most importantly, he names specific palms that can thrive indoors along with common pitfalls and marginal/poor indoor palms. 

Enjoy:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/303#b

[Pando]

Phil has also written a good article on indoor palms on his Jungle Music website:

http://www.junglemusic.net/palmadvice/palms-houseplants1.htm

It's interesting to learn from Phil's article that Chambeyronia is doing great indoors, but not so according to Dave's Garden. Has anyone grown Chamby successfully inside?

[Palm Tree Jim]

Interesting articles from both.....

[Stethoscope]

18 hours ago, Pando said:

Phil has also written a good article on indoor palms on his Jungle Music website:

http://www.junglemusic.net/palmadvice/palms-houseplants1.htm

It's interesting to learn from Phil's article that Chambeyronia is doing great indoors, but not so according to Dave's Garden. Has anyone grown Chamby successfully inside?

Thanks for posting Pando. Betrock's also claims that Chambeyronia is a good indoor palm, however, I have not had success with that species. Anyone have any success or failure stories? It would be such a beautiful palm to grow indoors!

[Stethoscope]

What would be great is if we can compile an updated list of "solid" and "likely" palms that would grow well indoors for us who are not blessed with warm, hot weather....It could be like a copy and past list that would be updated as the thread evolves.

[maxum2610]

Chambeyronia is pretty easy in my experience. This one's been inside in the winter for about 8 years. During the summer it gets moved to the greenhouse. It's one of six grown from seed. The others rotted early on due to badly draining soil.

 

[sashaeffer]

I've been growing quite few palms indoors with success and will list what I have here. ALL of them have been indoors for at least 1 year and that is my criteria for success is to live through the various seasons of sunlight as well as heating and cooling the inside of the house.

 

All Chamaedoreas except tuerckheimii but I've only tried it once.  Regardless of what any book says when keeping Chams indoors I keep mine on the dry side. I've killed them easily by keeping them on the damp side. (I have 19 different species)

Euterpe edulis

Licuala aurantiaca

Licuala distans

Licuala peltata var peltata

Dypsis cabadae

Kerriodoxa elegans

Latania species(all three colors, and fast growers too)

Aiphanes horrida

Lytocaryum weddellianum

Joey altifons

Chuniophoenix nana

There are some others I'm sure but it hasn't been a year yet that I've had them but strong candidates are...

 

*Hyophorbe indica (red form)

*Dypsis leptocheilos (steady grower, but not super fast)

*dictyospema album (fast inside or out)

Dypsis robusta

Ravenea hildebrandtii (fast grower)

Dypsis saintelucei

 

*inside just for the winter

 

 

 

 

 

[Kai]

I've been growing allmost all of my palms indoors and most of them I grew from seed. So according to Scot's standards I think most of them are well established. Here's my list as complete as possible:

Lytocaryum weddellianum, hoehnei, insigne and itapebiense, Allagoptera caudescens and leucocalyx, J. altifrons and magnifica, Attalea maripa and one to be identified, Licuala terrenguanensis, peltata var sumawongi, Phoenix rupicola, Ceroxilon quindense, Syagrus botryophora, schizophylla, russchiana, schizo x roman and campylospatha, Beccariophoenix alfredii and madagascariensis, Jubaeopsis caffra, Parajubaea cocoides and sunkha, Jubaea chilensis, Archontophoenix tuckeri, Chamaedorea radicalis, metallica, tuerckheimii, tepejilote, microspadix and some to be identified, Gastrococos crispa, Reinhardtia gracilis, Dypsis poivreana, Loxococcus rupicola, Phoenicophorium borsignianum, Oraniopsis apendiculata, Cyrtostachys renda.

And this is what it looks like:

It's the top floor of my house which is not heated but stays always above 18C in wintertime. The windows are south facing. On the other side of the room is another row of windows letting in some additional indirect light.

About half a year ago I carefully repotted all my palms into Pal Meir's excellent draining mix. This allows me to water the plants much more frequently and I had to think of something for draining the excess water coming out of the pots after watering. I came up with this:

Large IKEA boxes (Sweden 2nd for sure!) with each 2 small holes drilled in 2 corners. Aquarium hoses were attached and they lead the excess water into a bucket. It works fantastically.

I have allready seen significant growth and health progress since 1: placing my plants in this light and unwarmed room, 2: using Pal's mix, 3: ensuring excellent drainage.

Cheers,

Kai

[sashaeffer]

^^^^^^THAT is impressive and total dedication!

[Stethoscope]

Kai this is a very successful science project...goood for you. 

[Kai]

1 hour ago, Stethoscope said:

Kai this is a very successful science project...goood for you. 

Thanks! But it's no rocket science. Just doing some watermanagement. The Dutch have to keep up with what they're famous for right? Next maybe building a dike around it

[Pal Meir]

@Kai And I can see N°1405 is very happy on its 3rd birthday today. 

[Kai]

35 minutes ago, Pal Meir said:

@Kai And I can see N°1405 is very happy on its 3rd birthday today. 

Yes Pal, it is very happy. Even though it didn't get any presents.

[Pal Meir]

10 minutes ago, Kai said:

Yes Pal, it is very happy. Even though it didn't get any presents.

Better than lots of presents is growing together with sooo many other palmy friends!

[Pal Meir]

22 hours ago, Kai said:

I've been growing allmost all of my palms indoors and most of them I grew from seed. So according to Scot's standards I think most of them are well established. Here's my list as complete as possible:

Lytocaryum weddellianum, hoehnei, insigne and itapebiense, Allagoptera caudescens and leucocalyx, J. altifrons and magnifica, Attalea maripa and one to be identified, Licuala terrenguanensis, peltata var sumawongi, Phoenix rupicola, Ceroxilon quindense, Syagrus botryophora, schizophylla, russchiana, schizo x roman and campylospatha, Beccariophoenix alfredii and madagascariensis, Jubaeopsis caffra, Parajubaea cocoides and sunkha, Jubaea chilensis, Archontophoenix tuckeri, Chamaedorea radicalis, metallica, tuerckheimii, tepejilote, microspadix and some to be identified, Gastrococos crispa, Reinhardtia gracilis, Dypsis poivreana, Loxococcus rupicola, Phoenicophorium borsignianum, Oraniopsis apendiculata, Cyrtostachys renda.

Kai, I’m missing in your list the magnifique Sabinaria.

[Stethoscope]

@Pal Meir List your palms that you keep indoors...we would really appreciate it!

[Kai]

6 hours ago, Pal Meir said:

Kai, I’m missing in your list the magnifique Sabinaria.

Oh yes, I forgot that one, it's still thriving don't worry. Also forgot Mauritia flexuosa, Astrocaryum aculaetissimum and alatum and Licuala ramsayi.

[Coco sapiens]

Which cocosoid palms (apart from lytocaryums) would be best suited to indoor light conditions in your experience?

From what I've gathered syagrus schizophylla could be a promising candidate, being a small understory plant and all. Syagrus botryophora and even s. romanzoffiana 'Santa Catarina' can withstand partial shade according to some sources. Can anyone concur?

[Pal Meir]

10 hours ago, Coco sapiens said:

Which cocosoid palms (apart from lytocaryums) would be best suited to indoor light conditions in your experience?

From what I've gathered syagrus schizophylla could be a promising candidate, being a small understory plant and all. Syagrus botryophora and even s. romanzoffiana 'Santa Catarina' can withstand partial shade according to some sources. Can anyone concur?

Not all Lyto spp are good indoor growers, only L weddellianum and L itapebiense.

Better than the Syagrus spp you mentioned are all Cocos nucifera var. (S romanzoffiana gets too fast too tall, S botryophora as most other spp is too slow.)

[Coco sapiens]

37 minutes ago, Pal Meir said:

Not all Lyto spp are good indoor growers, only L weddellianum and L itapebiense.

Better than the Syagrus spp you mentioned are all Cocos nucifera var. (S romanzoffiana gets too fast too tall, S botryophora as most other spp is too slow.)

Hmmm, the reason why S. botryophora got my attention in the first place was the supposedly faster growth rate compared to romanzoffiana. Strange if it's reversed indoors I wouldn't mind a fast grower for a change, that's a criteria. I have a Cocos nucifera but I was lead to believe they're picky when it comes to light and especially temperature. It is my first winter growing these so it's a bit confusing still. I think I at least got the soil mix right, the cocos was planted in seramis / pine bark and looks happy enough.

I still like the idea of having a syagrus around, I'm just not sure which one of the three species mentioned to go for. The way I see it they'd all need extra light, schizophylla would be the easiest to keep in check but I'm radiating towards botryophora or romanzoffiana because of their size potential. Which ever is faster indoors would take priority. I do have a couple of kentias in case my other choices turn out impossible to maintain, but I welcome a good challenge!

[Pal Meir]

Here a 2 years 9 months old S botryophora:

Why don’t you try Chamaedorea spp, e.g. Ch seifrizii, a clustering rocket?

[Pal Meir]

For comparison the 4 Lyto spp after 2 years 6 months (all in the same container Ø 14.8 cm H 17.4 cm):

[cristi]

Kai, what is the average temperature in your growing room? especially during winter? How about humidity levels.

Thank you.

Edited November 20, 2018 by cristi

[Jan Jo]

On 2/18/2017 at 1:18 AM, Stethoscope said:

Thanks for posting Pando. Betrock's also claims that Chambeyronia is a good indoor palm, however, I have not had success with that species. Anyone have any success or failure stories? It would be such a beautiful palm to grow indoors!

Replying to an old thread, just thought I'd let you know Chambeyronia has done well for me indoors, with enough light.... no problems with any kind of mites, etc... only trouble is each new leaf is much, much larger than the previous, you need plenty of space!

[Jan Jo]

On 4/6/2019 at 11:41 PM, Jan Jo said:

Replying to an old thread, just thought I'd let you know Chambeyronia has done well for me indoors, with enough light.... no problems with any kind of mites, etc... only trouble is each new leaf is much, much larger than the previous, you need plenty of space!

Quick update on my indoor Chambeyronia... A year and a half later, it's only pushed one new spear (soon to be two), so very slow,  but the increase in size is exponential... 

So much so, I've had to move it to another area of the lounge where it's less in the way. Still gets in the way though.. I personally don't mind a palm leaf leaning over me on the sofa, but apparently it's not for everyone... 

[JohnAndSancho]

Jan Jo, how old is that chambeyronia? It's gorgeous! 

[Jan Jo]

Thanks! I've had it for about 4 years, it was smaller but not tiny when I got it. I'd say I've had about 6 new fronds over those 4 years, but each new frond is much bigger than the one before.

I recommend it.. if you have the space! 

On 11/26/2020 at 5:25 PM, JohnAndSancho said:

Jan Jo, how old is that chambeyronia? It's gorgeous! 

 

[JohnAndSancho]

43 minutes ago, Jan Jo said:

Thanks! I've had it for about 4 years, it was smaller but not tiny when I got it. I'd say I've had about 6 new fronds over those 4 years, but each new frond is much bigger than the one before.

I recommend it.. if you have the space! 

 

I live in a studio apartment  Maybe I'll buy a seedling 

[sashaeffer]

Disagree totally on the Kentia.  I have tried SEVERAL. Small ones, larger ones and of all the many palms that I have it's the quickest to die when inside. Doesn't make a difference on what kind of water I use or schedule. First the fronds start to discolor, then one by one each frond dies until the entire palm dies.  These are all palms that were potted when bought so same soil.

Have no idea what the issues in about being indoors.