Desktop Palm

[Colin1110082]

Hello. I live in Massachusetts and we’ve already had some snow and 10 degree days. (Fahrenheit) I was wondering if there is a trunked palm tree that can grow in a smaller pot maybe about 8 inches or below in diameter. I was hoping to see if there was a good trunked palm species that is easy to care for and is not poisonous to dogs that can go on a desk. Maybe even on the cold hardier side. I also heard that some palm trees like buying from Home Depot or a large store that has them can bring bugs into the house. I’ve so far only seen pony tail palm trees. Completely off topic but my favorite palm tree is the sabal palm that grows in Virginia Beach or Myrtle beach. My favorite tree of all time is balsam fir which I have one growing outside my house. Thank you for taking the time to read

[Palmy Pal]

46 minutes ago, Colin1110082 said:

Hello. I live in Massachusetts and we’ve already had some snow and 10 degree days. (Fahrenheit) I was wondering if there is a trunked palm tree that can grow in a smaller pot maybe about 8 inches or below in diameter. I was hoping to see if there was a good trunked palm species that is easy to care for and is not poisonous to dogs that can go on a desk. Maybe even on the cold hardier side. I also heard that some palm trees like buying from Home Depot or a large store that has them can bring bugs into the house. I’ve so far only seen pony tail palm trees. Completely off topic but my favorite palm tree is the sabal palm that grows in Virginia Beach or Myrtle beach. My favorite tree of all time is balsam fir which I have one growing outside my house. Thank you for taking the time to read

Hello Colin, from what you have described it seems like a chamaedorea palm might be what you’re looking for. Chamaedorea microspadix is one of the most cold hardy out of the genus but still probably not something you would be able to plant outside. Chamaedorea elegans is not cold hardy but is easier to find and provides a similar look. However this species will take a long time to trunk. And to my knowledge any palm in this genus will take a good while to start trunking. But it’s possible to find more mature specimens for sale. Hope that helps your palm search! 🌴😀

[Colin1110082]

26 minutes ago, Palmy Pal said:

Hello Colin, from what you have described it seems like a chamaedorea palm might be what you’re looking for. Chamaedorea microspadix is one of the most cold hardy out of the genus but still probably not something you would be able to plant outside. Chamaedorea elegans is not cold hardy but is easier to find and provides a similar look. However this species will take a long time to trunk. And to my knowledge any palm in this genus will take a good while to start trunking. But it’s possible to find more mature specimens for sale. Hope that helps your palm search! 🌴😀

Thank you! I looked up that palm species and it looks like it has different stems, I’m after something with one single trunk. Do these eventually merge into one trunk? There was a palm I saw called sago palm but it’s poisonous for animals yet that one is a style I’m after something that looks like that but small. If I can’t find anything I will probably use the palm you mentioned. Thank you again!

[JohnAndSancho]

I kept a Chamaedorea Cataractum (aka Cat Palm) in my apartment and it had a couple rings of trunk on it. Wish I kept it - those are usually sold as multiples and mine was a single. It flowered a few times too. 

 

This one would probably be a bit much for a desktop, but... I bought it as a $20 orange apron big box store plant and this was after a couple years of growth. 

[Palmy Pal]

4 hours ago, Colin1110082 said:

Thank you! I looked up that palm species and it looks like it has different stems, I’m after something with one single trunk. Do these eventually merge into one trunk? There was a palm I saw called sago palm but it’s poisonous for animals yet that one is a style I’m after something that looks like that but small. If I can’t find anything I will probably use the palm you mentioned. Thank you again!

No problem! And the reason you see the palms with multiple stems is because they are typically sold in clumps and generally are kept that way when people grow them. However you absolutely can grow it as a single trunk palm. Just have to separate it from the clump at a young age and it should grow just fine. It also gives you extras! 

[Fusca]

@Colin1110082, just to clarify what @Palmy Pal said, Chamaedorea elegans is a single-trunked palm that is often sold in multiples due to multiple seeds growing up in a single container.  Chamaedorea microspadix and cataractarum are clumping palms that grow multiple stems from a single plant.  All 3 are good candidates for growing indoors but elegans seems to be more tolerant of low light conditions.  It's very easy to find for sale and it's often called "Parlor Palm" or even "Neanthe Bella."  If you buy one with multiples you can separate them easily into multiple individual palms.  As long as your soil is well draining, you don't over water them and keep spider mites away from them they are nearly indestructible. 

[Colin1110082]

Would it be possible to grow a Sabal palm or a Chinese fan palm in a small indoor pot? I just don’t want them to grow big I want them to stay small forever

Thank you all for responses

[Palmy Pal]

25 minutes ago, Colin1110082 said:

Would it be possible to grow a Sabal palm or a Chinese fan palm in a small indoor pot? I just don’t want them to grow big I want them to stay small forever

Thank you all for responses

Unfortunately not, sabals in general do not do well indoors unless in a proper setup. They can be pretty picky and will eventually get very large. A few other palms I can suggest is lady palms, and needle palms. Both will be still a bit bigger than a desktop palm but will stay small and can be good indoor palms. Also pygmy date palms can be a good choice for growing in pots. But this one does best outside and can get rather large. But unfortunately there is not a way to keep palms small or “bonsai” a palm. That would be cool though 😜

[Colin1110082]

Oh, okay then.

Has anyone here tried this? It is something I would like to try palm tree growing kit if its possible

https://sequoiatrees.com/products/palm-tree-seed-grow-kit?variant=30969759498303

[Philly J]

 

[Philly J]

 

[Philly J]

Here is the trunking palm that you want as a 3 gallon or smaller, my Verschaffeltii is slow slow slow 

 

[Philly J]

3 gallon, also slow as hell.  Get a bulb on it though 

 

[Philly J]

1-2 gallon Waggie is desktop ready 🫡 

 

[JohnAndSancho]

1 hour ago, Colin1110082 said:

Would it be possible to grow a Sabal palm or a Chinese fan palm in a small indoor pot? I just don’t want them to grow big I want them to stay small forever

Thank you all for responses

Chinese fan palm would work out great. They do eventually get big, but indoors, it'll take an eternity. Lady palms would work too. They grow at a glacial pace so no worries for years on them outgrowing a desktop size. The C. Elegans mentioned earlier would work, too - and you can find those dirt dirt dirt cheap. They're on Etsy for as little as $4 in a 2 or 3 inch pot. 

[Fishinsteeg234]

Chamaedorea metallica makes for a nice desktop palm. 

@Colin1110082 if you’re interested I can mail you some free Sabal palmetto seeds to try germinating? 

[Pal Meir]

12 hours ago, Colin1110082 said:

Would it be possible to grow a Sabal palm or a Chinese fan palm in a small indoor pot? I just don’t want them to grow big I want them to stay small forever

Thank you all for responses

Both species will become bigger. — An alternative would be Trachycarpus fortunei var. wagnerianus kept small by root pruning as bonsai:

[BeyondTheGarden]

15 hours ago, Colin1110082 said:

Oh, okay then.

Has anyone here tried this? It is something I would like to try palm tree growing kit if its possible

https://sequoiatrees.com/products/palm-tree-seed-grow-kit?variant=30969759498303

Growing palms from seed is fun for hobbyist palm nuts who don't have social lives (myself), but if you want to have a palm anytime in the near future (the next 3 or 4 years), I think most would prefer buying a small palm that's already showing character leaves.  Chamaedorea elegans (parlor palm, neantha bella), is very popular at big box stores for good reason.  Cat palms are great too.  My personal favorite potted-palm/indoor-palm is Phoenix roebelenii or the pygmy date.  It's probably bigger than what you're talking about, but it is a dwarf palm that is amazingly resilient, doesn't seem to harbor pests or infection, and doesn't need much sunlight.  

I would advise staying away from the very commonly available "majesty palms", Ravenea rivularis.  Maybe others have better experience than myself, but they are tempermental, look like garbage when they're not happy, and they harbor pests like they're going out of style. 

[Colin1110082]

Thank you all for the response. Bella Palm, or parlor palms seem like bamboo to me which I know some of you said you could separate it but then it’s just a green stem with a few leaves. A bonsai trachy palm which some of you mentioned would be nice but that seems like a lot of work. I am searching for a unified trunked palm which is pretty small and looks like a normal adult palm just in micro scale. The sago palm looks amazing but it is poisonous to dogs 😔 my local home depot has ponytail palms which I might settle on but I am afraid of buying from home depot because they have a reputation for bugs in their plants which is the last thing I need. The root pruning and branch trimming trachy looks cool just like i said seems like a lot of work. I’ll wait until a nursery near me might have one we’ll see.  Lady palm also looks like bamboo but it looks like the trunk of that seems more unified. Lady palm isn’t bad. To the person who asked if I wanted sabal palmetto seeds i’m alright but thank you for asking. Would be cool but I don’t have the space or climate. Eventually it would be cool to have maybe a windmill or needle tucked beside my house but I would need to build a bastion around it to protect it from massachusetts winters. I have seen a palm tree in cape cod before and online I have seen them as far north as Long Island and Jersey shore.

Thank you for all the responses! 😊 

[Colin1110082]

Also, any online houseplant or tree stores that don’t sell me dead or diseased palms? Thank you!

[JohnAndSancho]

1 hour ago, Colin1110082 said:

Also, any online houseplant or tree stores that don’t sell me dead or diseased palms? Thank you!

I've never had any issues with HD. There's also an entire forum on seller ratings on here which will be useful. Check seller's feedback on eBay and Etsy. Plantvine does free shipping on orders over $50 and I love them. Jungle Music is wonderful but pricey. Also keep weather in mind, you don't want a pricey plant sitting on your frigid patio. 

[Colin1110082]

Alright, one more question (sorry!) if I were to plant a windmill palm outside, (there are some areas protected by my house) is there a way I can limit the growth so it doesn’t grow over a height of maybe 5 feet?

[Colin1110082]

If I kept a windmill palm in a pot would that slow or stop growth if I kept it in a pot?

[PalmsandLiszt]

On 12/10/2023 at 4:16 AM, Colin1110082 said:

Oh, okay then.

Has anyone here tried this? It is something I would like to try palm tree growing kit if its possible

https://sequoiatrees.com/products/palm-tree-seed-grow-kit?variant=30969759498303

That looks like an extremely expensive way to buy some tiny number of very common seeds, a tablespoon of perlite and a plastic jar. If you want to grow any of those from seed you could get orders of magnitude more seeds for the same money with a little more effort finding a private seller on here or elsewhere. Both Sabals and Washingtonias need a lot of light and won't make good house plants (although they'd do better in a conservatory or similar). And they will look like blades of grass for a quite some time from seed.
@BeyondTheGarden's suggestions are all good; I'd add Hyophorbe lagenicaulis makes a good house plant when small. And Kentias will do well, too, and are tried and tested and readily available. Desert/scrub fan palms will not do well; ones like Rhapis will do better, but they tend to be clustering.

 

20 hours ago, Colin1110082 said:

The sago palm looks amazing but it is poisonous to dogs

Does your dog actually try to eat random plant leaves in a determined fashion? If not, I doubt this would be a problem. Sago palm leaves are really quite tough and spiky. They are not going to be accidentally consumed. I have cats which nibble grass from time to time, but never attempt to eat my cycads. Cycads in general are very good at being very unappetizing to most things.

[Colin1110082]

I am just afraid there will be a mishap and she ends up getting a mouthful of sago palm frawns. I might try germinating a few windmill palm seeds in the spring and excrement in my backyard we have a few protected areas just like I said gonna have to build a huge fort around it to protect it. This palm will probably have to be covered mid October to mid April unless there is a way I could make it so the protection is easy on easy off I could take it off on warmer days. Snow season is usually mid November to early April and we have frost into may on rare occasions 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Online-Orchards-1-Gal-Windmill-Cold-Hardy-Palm-Tree-2-Pack-SBPM001/322669103?g_store=&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D28O-028_008_LIVE_GOODS-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-PMAXONECLICK&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D28O-028_008_LIVE_GOODS-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-PMAXONECLICK-71700000113044696--&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UfpeLjT2d0W9houdcU8vIegO&gclid=CjwKCAiAg9urBhB_EiwAgw88mbH5doem-0fqcOEb2zlOgqZFySdE2Z6JDOte5QnNrndJnxrHHHz7bhoCvjMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
might buy this springtime 

[Philly J]

22 hours ago, BeyondTheGarden said:

 

I would advise staying away from the very commonly available "majesty palms", Ravenea rivularis.  Maybe others have better experience than myself, but they are tempermental, look like garbage when they're not happy, and they harbor pests like they're going out of style. 

Gallons through them daily.  This is 6 years from a tiny 2 gallon ❤️.  

 

[Philly J]

1 hour ago, PalmsandLiszt said:

Desert/scrub fan palms will not do well;

 

They do great just takes palm obsessed crazies like me to treat them with kid gloves 😆👍🏻❤️ 

 

[Philly J]

16 hours ago, Colin1110082 said:

If I kept a windmill palm in a pot would that slow or stop growth if I kept it in a pot?

No it would want up to a 25 gallon like my indoor one here.  After that you can stop for a long time while it fills the container with the root system. 👍🏻❤️ 

 

[Philly J]

22 hours ago, Colin1110082 said:

 I am searching for a unified trunked palm which is pretty small and looks like a normal adult palm just in micro scale. 

3 gallon Verschaffeltii has taken FOREVER for me.  Everything else has almost doubled while it’s been slow slow slow but healthy ❤️ 

 

[Colin1110082]

How about those windmills I posted the link to Home Depot’s do you recommend planting them in spring time if I can figure a shelter situation out?

[Philly J]

2 hours ago, Colin1110082 said:

How about those windmills I posted the link to Home Depot’s do you recommend planting them in spring time if I can figure a shelter situation out?

sure you arent in zone 2 like me so lots of palms could go in the ground for you.

[Colin1110082]

I ended up getting a parlor palm tree. When it arrives I’m splitting the branches up to create a few individual stems. I don’t really like them bunched up like that . I found a few tutorials on how to propagate or separate the stems. Ordered from houseplants.com someone suggested it in this thread

[Colin1110082]

https://houseplantshop.com/products/parlor-palm
here but I got the next size up 

[PalmsandLiszt]

20 hours ago, Philly J said:

They do great just takes palm obsessed crazies like me to treat them with kid gloves 😆👍🏻❤️ 

I take it that's with artificial light? I was assuming the OP meant something that would grow in ambient light without growlights. But I salute your determination and success at growing palms in completely the wrong part of the planet. I've never heard of anyone else growing Nannorrhops inside.

[Philly J]

30 minutes ago, PalmsandLiszt said:

I take it that's with artificial light? I was assuming the OP meant something that would grow in ambient light without growlights. But I salute your determination and success at growing palms in completely the wrong part of the planet. I've never heard of anyone else growing Nannorrhops inside.

yes absolutely essential with grow bulbs.  The only 5 out of 22 species in my collection that dont require them are R.Excelsa/C.Seifrizii/C.Metallica/C.Elegans/H.Forsteriana

[Colin1110082]

I have a windowsill and I have a desk light that gets really hot 

[Colin1110082]

So basically I plan on planting it in my bedroom. I have two windows one facing south one facing west. The southern window is where my desk is which had plenty of space in my opinion so it will go there. It also has a lamp which gets dangerously hot 😂 

we’ll see how this goes they aren’t that expensive here and I guess these palms are very ‘forgiving’

[SeanK]

On 12/9/2023 at 10:30 PM, Colin1110082 said:

Would it be possible to grow a Sabal palm or a Chinese fan palm in a small indoor pot? I just don’t want them to grow big I want them to stay small forever

Thank you all for responses

No

[SeanK]

Chamedorea radicalis (or microspadix) should take some cooler indoor temps. The genus as a whole is a good choice. Also Rhapis excelsa. You say an 8" por or less, correct? 

Look on Etsy or eBay 

[steve617]

On 12/12/2023 at 12:30 PM, Colin1110082 said:

So basically I plan on planting it in my bedroom. I have two windows one facing south one facing west. The southern window is where my desk is which had plenty of space in my opinion so it will go there. It also has a lamp which gets dangerously hot 😂 

we’ll see how this goes they aren’t that expensive here and I guess these palms are very ‘forgiving’

I think you mentioned once you wasn't interested in in Waggys but you should at least look into them. Their one of the most beautiful smaller palms. Not as cold hardy as the windmill but close. I raise a lot of palms from seeds.  Anyway I'm going to attach a pic on 3 pure waggys I'm raising. I have probably close to trachycarpus seedlings I'm raising. Waggys, waggy x windmill hybrids and windmills. They are a lot of good dealers out there.  Anyway just sharing 3 of my older waggy seedlings. These I'm planning on keeping for myself. Good your asking questions and learning. Another to look into are European Fan Palm. The waggys and European Fan palm though still can get good size and will probably outgrow the small pot you mentioned and may not suit what your wanting.

Edited December 16, 2023 by steve617