Good living room palm?

[Dave-Vero]

Now that I've got a bunch of orchids and young potted palms and cycads indoors for the cold snap, I'm half wondering whether it would be good to put something in the living room permanently.  

The room has a high ceiling and two skylights, so afternoon light is pretty good.  So I might be be able to do something fairly tall.  Then again, a young Archontophoenix cunninghamiana (from Leu Gardens) looks cute indoors.  So does a little Carpentaria.

[quaman58]

Dave,

I've been amazed at how well a Hyophorbe lagenicaulis has done in the year & a half since I put it in the living room. Slower to be sure, but deep green, no brown tips, no pests. Just my two cents...

Bret

[Dave-Vero]

Of all things!  I was thinking of species that like shade when young.   In that direction, I have two Archontophoenix and a Sygrus romanzoffiana that emerged from the shelter of a Callicarpa bush.

[JakeK]

Dave,

I grow my entire collection indoors for 5-6 months of the year. I have a D. pembana that looks great indoors now that it is about 3' tall. It's got another 4.5' to go before it hits the ceiling.

[Dave-Vero]

Hmm.  Probably need a dypsis that lives in the understory of a somewhat dry forest.  I suspect D. lutescens, D. saintelucei or lots of others would do.

[BS Man about Palms]

One of the most striking indoor palms I saw was an indoor Chambeyronia. The leaves will be big, thick and dark green, THEN it gets a red leaf!!!

[SunnyFl]

(Dave-Vero @ Jan. 01 2008,20:42)

QUOTE

Hmm.  Probably need a dypsis that lives in the understory of a somewhat dry forest.  I suspect D. lutescens, D. saintelucei or lots of others would do.

Hey Dave,

What about an areca, especially the shorter ones like guppyana?  They are so beautiful, and are understory palms.  (I wanted to keep mine in the house, but for some unknown reason, plants don’t survive in here.  I don’t know why - it isn’t lack of humidity, so I have no clue.)  When I had the guppies in here temporarily, they looked so nice.

How about actinokentia divaricata - if you can find one.  They are real gems - sometimes likened to a miniature chambey.

[deezpalms]

Adonidia merrillii does great!

[Dave-Vero]

Humidity's a problem--I imagine that South Pacific palms would like it soggy.  I think it's understandable that I like to keep indoors pretty low-humidity.

[BigFrond]

Howea would be very good indoor.  Since you have high ceiling and light, I would vote for Lodoicea.

[deezpalms]

(Dave-Vero @ Jan. 03 2008,08:44)

QUOTE

Humidity's a problem--I imagine that South Pacific palms would like it soggy.  I think it's understandable that I like to keep indoors pretty low-humidity.

Mine does great in my house with low humidity.

[MattyB]

I've had great luck with Chamaedorea alternans and Chamaedorea tepijilote for nice tall house plants.  They don't mind the dry air or being in pots.

[JimR]

I have seen old pictures of Vicctorian/Edwardian living rooms with large potted palms that look suspiciously like Archontophoenix.  Has anyone tried any of them indoors?

[Breadfruit Bill]

I second Lodoicea.

[oppalm]

You would probably be surprised what can survive indoors.   (notice I did not say thrive)  Everything I own survives inside for 4-5 months per year.  Some do better than others but they all seem to make it each year.  Its all worth it to me.    Moving stuff around, misting,  tending to my indoor ranch (I have no ranch hands, so I do it all  :: ).  

a short list of stuff that performs well for me inside;  adonidia merrilli, chamaedorea seifrizii, hyophorbe lagenicaulis, chamaedorea hooperiana, livistonia chinensis, caryota mitis, wodyetia bifurcata, archontophoenix alexandrae, chamaerops humilis,syragus romanzoffiana hyophorbe verschaffeltii, wash robusta and filifera, to name a few.

[Dave-Vero]

One of the nice things about being in nearly-south Florida is that so many palms can be sent out to the yard or passed on to others after they've stopped being indoor-sized.  

On the Chamaedorea front, I planted a half-dozen C. metallica outdoors in 2003, in the shade of a tree that landed on them the next year.  They looked awful until a thicket of heliconias grew up around them--which means they're thriving but nearly invisible.  So they're pretty tough!

A plain 'ol coconut could do nicely, but lethal yellowing is starting to show up.

Chamaedorea tepejilote looks like a beauty.  I just might get to see one while at the cycad conference.

[Breadfruit Bill]

Chamaedorea tepejilote is a great palm for indoors...  It seems to love low light and it has cool aerial root things on it that look unusual...  Nabbed a root bound 3g at Palm Beach Palm Societies last sale in Boynton for 8 bucks!!  :cool:

[sonoranfans]

(deezpalms @ Jan. 03 2008,11:39)

QUOTE

Adonidia merrillii does great!

My 5-6' tall Adonidia merilli triple has also been the best for me so far, deep green color, fastest grower inside with a new spear on each palm every two months so far.  I do spritz it every night and maintain at least 35% relative humidity in the house.  In AZ, low humidity takes on another meaning, most any palm will need more than our indoor winter humidity levels.  The archontophoenix alexandre seedlings have not been quite as good, but they look very well also as indoor palms.  My archontophoenix maxima are slow as seedlings( I have them both inside and outside), and dont look as lush or colorful as the alexandre.

[Dave-Vero]

William, I probably walked right past that Chamaedorea tepejilote.  My big buy was a Zamia loddigesii.  

sonoranfans, humidity is indeed a whole different game here.  I do have a little Archontophoenix cunninghamiana (and a Carpentaria) that would likely be happy indoors.  Outdoors, a trio of A. tuckeri (Peach River Palm) really took off this summer, as did a couple of Carpies.  The possibility of losing some of them to rare severe freezes is really mitigated by the low cost of youngsters and their rapid growth.

[Phil]

I am always intrigued by discussions of indoor grown palms because there's always one that someone is growing that surprises me.  Historically, Archontophoenix are thought to be a poor choice.  Chamaedoreas, Howea, and Rhapis are the classic indoor grown species.  Chambeyronia is a real winner.  But others have reported success with Sabal, Hyophorbe, Licuala and others.  Whatever you grow, give us feedback because the list keeps lengthening.

Phil

[MattyB]

I remember one day Palmgrover told us about a house he was doing work on.  He walked into the bedroom and the lady had a nice large Licuala elegans (peltata sumwongii) looking perfect in a pot with no drain holes.  If I remember correctly, he said that she only watered it very sparingly and she'd had it for like 15 years.  Ever since then I've tried to let my Licuala elegans dry out before watering it.  It's still a small plant but looks perfect, something we rarely see here in SoCAl.

[paulgila]

chameadorea metallica is a good indoor palm.

[sonoranfans]

(Phil @ Jan. 04 2008,09:14)

QUOTE

I am always intrigued by discussions of indoor grown palms because there's always one that someone is growing that surprises me.  Historically, Archontophoenix are thought to be a poor choice.  Chamaedoreas, Howea, and Rhapis are the classic indoor grown species.  Chambeyronia is a real winner.  But others have reported success with Sabal, Hyophorbe, Licuala and others.  Whatever you grow, give us feedback because the list keeps lengthening.

Phil

I cant verify the archrontophoenix as good indoors, Phil.  Then again, my indoor area has alot of indirect sunlight, about 300 sq ft of windows in my great room where I like to grow things, only 50 sq ft with direct sun.  the low humidity, dry heat here makes archrontophoenix very difficult outdoors, except in the shadehouse I made.  When they get bigger, I have prepared a warm, wet, wind blocked, shaded area for them, we shall see.  The adonidia grows better than just about all of my house plants.  It isnt as bushy as those I saw on Kauai, but it is more dark green, darker than my L chinesis.

[Neofolis]

I think in our house, other than the kids destroying everything, the biggest problem would be tobacco smoke, rather than low light or low humidity.  If I were to try palms indoors, I would want to try mostly Calyptrocalyx and Iguanura species, as well as smaller Areca, Heterospathe and Dypsis.  Most would probably require higher humidity, but then I wouldn't put it past me to have a full misting system set up indoors.

[Kathryn]

I have a Chamaedorea oblongata that has been growing well indoors for over a year. I tried a Chamaedorea microspadix a few years ago, but it seemed to suffer so I put it outside and brought a different microspadix in and it did fine - I think the first one may have been a hybrid.

This Chamaedorea hooperiana has been inside for over a year, but recently spent a month on my back porch while construction was underway inside. I didn’t think about it being a clumping palm when I planted three in the pot. I think I might separate them soon.

I’ve seen many A merrillii doing well in airports and malls - often with a layer of dust. I’ve wanted to get a Howea for inside, but haven’t seen one locally.

After reading some of the other posts, I think I will try C tepejilote, C metallica and Carpentaria indoors. I have at least one of each of these in pots on the side of my garage, so now I’m off to Home Depot for some nice pots to transplant them into.

[MattyB]

(pohonkelapa @ Jan. 04 2008,09:06)

QUOTE

chameadorea metallica is a good indoor palm.

no it's not....it's a great indoor palm!

[JimR]

Here is a 1902 photograph of a London drawing room.  If you look in both back corners you can make out large potted palms.  This appears to have been a popular Edwardian/late Victorian style.  What do you think the palms are?

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/image.a....bid=297

[Dave-Vero]

Wasn't Howea the parlour palm of the day?

That particular photo reminds me a bit of how the Corps of Engineers remodelled the big room in the White House during President Grant's term.  Bet there were ferns.

[JakeK]

(Phil @ Jan. 04 2008,09:14)

QUOTE

I am always intrigued by discussions of indoor grown palms because there's always one that someone is growing that surprises me.  Historically, Archontophoenix are thought to be a poor choice.  Chamaedoreas, Howea, and Rhapis are the classic indoor grown species.  Chambeyronia is a real winner.  But others have reported success with Sabal, Hyophorbe, Licuala and others.  Whatever you grow, give us feedback because the list keeps lengthening.

Phil

Here's a list of what I'm currently growing indoors (seasonally). The best performers have asterisks.

Actinokentia divaricata*

Adonidia merrillii

Alloschmidia glabrata

Areca vestiaria 'Maroon'*

Arenga micrantha*

Burretiokentia halapa*

Calyptrocalyx albertisianus*

Calyptrocalyx polyphyllus*

Ceroxylon quindiuense*

Chamaedorea seifrizii

Chambeyronia hookeri

Dictyosperma album var. 'Rubrum'

Drymophloeus oliviformis

Dypsis decaryi*

Dypsis lastelliana 'Highland Redneck'

Dypsis marojejyi*

Dypsis pembana*

Kentiopsis magnifica

Kentiopsis oliviformis*

Kentiopsis pyriformis

Licuala ramsayi*

Pinanga coronata*

Pinanga sp. 'Thai Mottled'

Ponapea ledermanniana

Wodyetia bifurcata*

[Dave-Vero]

Quite a list.  Dypsis decaryi??  Here in Florida, you plop a triangle into the ground in sun, and it just grows.

[MattyB]

The palms in the pic appear to be Howea forsteriana.

[Walter John]

For those who can remember, this is the best indoor palm I've ever come across. It's a Pritchardia going up two levels or more.

[Walter John]

and again

[xerophyte_nyc]

How 'bout a good bedroom palm?

[Walter John]

(xerophyte_nyc @ Jan. 05 2008,12:27)

QUOTE

How 'bout a good bedroom palm?

a Licuala or Dictyosperma perhaps  

[palmdudetx]

My experience has been very good with Adonidia Merrillii I have two of them in my home, both of them grown from seed. They do very well with medium lighting from picture windows. Both have been around for about 10 years now, so far no problems.

Marvin

Waller County,Texas palm lover.

[Dave-Vero]

Here's a sort of living room palm:

[xerophyte_nyc]

All kidding aside...almost any cycad will tolerate low light and minimal watering if indoors while not in active growth.  Mine are in the house all winter/ early spring.

[cobra2326]

Anyone experience fungal/rot problems with their palms indoors?  I've had some serious issues with bud rot on my indoor palms, even with a fan circulating the air.

[cobra2326]

Oh, almost forgot.  Has anyone had any luck with Pinanga coronata indoors?  I'm thinking about putting a clump in my bedroom.