So, I live in Denver and obviously there isn't any outdoor palm tree growing here, and I was wondering how to make ideal conditions for my palm trees, how to germinate seeds, etc...

Welcome to the forum! I don't have any palms growing indoors but for seed germinating I got one of those cheap little seed greenhouses. It was 25$ I think and comes with a heat mat for bottom heat. You plop in a litte dried puck and wet it the pop in a seed. Seems to work good.

Humidity in winter is the hard part. I used to have Adonidia merillii and a few other species 2000km north of you. Mist the leaves a lot. I would water in the bathtub so that I could flush salts from the soil.

Seed germination is easy. Use the slightly moist vermiculite / zip baggie method on the top of your hot water tank, assuming it is indoors. Of course be careful if there is a hot exhaust flue. Once the seeds germinate, supplemental full spectrum fluorescent lighting will help you get some size on the seedling if it is winter.

I seem to remember a forum member with a couple thousand palms in his house. Maybe he will chip in

Good luck!

I have a couple of 5 gallon palms indoors and growing pretty well.

The sky light and close proximity to a window and patio sliding door

and ventilation seems to be ok with these guys:

Lytocarium weddelianum

Ravenea glauca

Licuala ramsayi

Kerriodoxa elegans

Areca triandra.

I would alternate them outdoors from time2time

under a N by NW patio awning away from direct sun.

I foliar feed them also with a seaweed/B2 spray to increase humidity.

Ritchy

Alot of Chamadorias <----incorrect spelling .....do great indoors year round. I have found they are the most trouble free small palm.

I'm still learning the hard way, but I agree that humidity is key. I try to mist down everything at least a couple times a week over the winter. (In summer at least they get to go outside.)

Welcome to the Forum!

Welcome to the forum Lilli!

I have also recently started an indoor collection. I decided to only grow the kinds of palms indoors that won't require me to create a special microclimate for them. The ones that could handle low light and dry air and even everyone in the house forgetting to water them from time to time.

So far I have Chamaedorea klotzschiana, Chamaedorea tepejilote and Synechanthus fibrosus. One thing I do though, is I spray water on the leaves from time to time.

Here in Holland, I am growing palms indoors for many years, Howea forsteriana, Chamaedorea elegans, seifrizii and metallica, Rhapis multifinata and excelsa variegata, Chambeyronia macrocarpa, Cocos nucifera, Wodyetia bifurcata, Microcoelum wendellianum, Lemurophoenix and some others. Some of them are taken outside during summer on a sheltered (shaded) position. They all are doing well.

Regards,

Wim.

In my office I have Hyophorbe verschaffelti since10 years and they grew though they don't receive a good treatment: I also have a Bismarckia and Hyophorbe lagenicaulis.

Adonidia is almost dead!

I had Dypsis decaryi but he suffered lack of light

I am very sorry for them, but these Hyophorbe verschaffelti resist nicely. Never outside since my office is in town.

Regards

Philippe

I will second the Chamaedorea idea. Chamaedorea metallic is one of the best indoor plants you can grow period. I water mine once a month or less and it looks perfect.

In my office I have Hyophorbe verschaffelti since10 years and they grew though they don't receive a good treatment: I also have a Bismarckia and Hyophorbe lagenicaulis.

Adonidia is almost dead!

I had Dypsis decaryi but he suffered lack of light

I am very sorry for them, but these Hyophorbe verschaffelti resist nicely. Never outside since my office is in town.

Regards

Philippe

Philippe:

How often do you water Hyophorbe verschaffelti indoors? I just got my seeds put into my incubator 2 weeks ago. Looking forward to these growing up. Scott

I grow a lot of different species indoors, since it's way too cold here to keep them outside year-round. I do, however, move most of them outside to mostly shady areas during the warmer months. Some that have done well for me and are relatively pest-free:

Adonidia merrillii

Areca triandra

Caryota mitis

Chamaedorea adscendens

Chamaedorea cataractarum

Chamaedorea metallica

Chamaedorea radicalis

Howea forsteriana

Ptychosperma waitianum

Rhapis excelsa

Thrinax radiata

Trachycarpus fortunei and Rhapidophyllum hystrix should also do well inside, especially if summered outside. Since these are somewhat cold-hardy, they could be left outside a bit longer than most of those in the above list.

I do spray for pests (scale, spider-mites) before bringing them in for the winter.

Scott,

Actually I bought them as young plants in shopping center, now they are big in big clay pots as you can see in my post "Nemi's friends at the office", I water them once a week. Only!

Regards

Philippe

I grow palms seasonally indoors. Most of the year they are outside. Through about 15 years of trial and error, losing more palms than I currently grow, I have found that moisture is most critical. Moisture in terms of humidity and also in terms of soil moisture. I've found that if you accustom your palms to lower light levels in the fall, they can do quite well with minimum lighting. In fact many of my palms spend the entire winter in the basement which gets filtered light for about 6 hours during the day through 3 windows and has a constant temperature of about 60*F. The basement also stays damp which keeps the humidity levels up. I water once the top 1.5 inches of soil is dry. Too much soil moisture with cool temperatures can lead to death quickly.

For germinating seeds, I have had some luck using perlite, in tupperware containers placed on bottom heat. I'm very new to germinating palm seeds so I'm definitely a novice here.

Btw, Chamaedorea species do the best for me. They are very tough and adapt well to life indoors.

Here in Holland, I am growing palms indoors for many years, Howea forsteriana, Chamaedorea elegans, seifrizii and metallica, Rhapis multifinata and excelsa variegata, Chambeyronia macrocarpa, Cocos nucifera, Wodyetia bifurcata, Microcoelum wendellianum, Lemurophoenix and some others. Some of them are taken outside during summer on a sheltered (shaded) position. They all are doing well.

Regards,

Wim.

BUMP......

Wimmie,

Pls update us on the C. nucifera, Chambeyronia and W. bifurcata grown indoors?

Just curious because I would have never dreamed of growing coconuts indoors.

How long have you grown these and special requirements/set up?

By indoors, do you mean inside the house or greenhouse?

Thank you.

Ritchy