18” Chamaedora elegans (Parlour Palm)

Bios

If you’re looking to add a tropical vibe to your garden, nothing beats a well-grown Parlour Palm. They’re widely available, easy to grow, need very little care and their lush foliage even helps remove some toxins from the air. It’s no wonder they’re popular! If you’re ready to grow your own piece of tropics, here are the basics.

Adopting and caring for Chamaedorea elegans

Adopting: Parlour Palms easily crowd out their pots and become an unweildy plant. So look for compact, well managed plants that look like they have been cared for. While Areca Palm are not prone to pests, it’s best to look at the leaves and stems for any signs of insect and pest damage.

Locating: Continuous strong, direct sun will scorch the leaves of an Areca Palm. So these plants do best in brighter areas which offer filtered light. Too little light can make these plants dull and listless. So if you are setting them up in an area with low light it’s best to rotate them to a brighter area once every two or three weeks.

Potting: Like all tropical plants Areca Palms need rich, well drained soils that has been fortified with organic material. So it is ideal to mix good quantities of compost to the potting mix. A blend of coco-peat, compost and river sand in a 30:50:20 ratio should help your plant to do well.

Watering: Parlour Palms like regular watering, especially if they are growing in pots, even though they can’t stand waterlogged conditions, a good, well draining potting mixture is ideal to keep your plant happy

Fertilising: If you have provided your Parlour Palm with a good quality potting mix, there is little else you need to do. However if you are keen on feeding them, use an organic liquid fertiliser. If you are using a chemical mix, dilute them to have the prescribed strength and fertilise them once in a few months. Do ensure that the chemicals don’t come in contact with the base of the plam or its leaves.

Parlour Palm are extremely easy to grow. Their ability to endure some time in low light settings make them very popular indoor plants. Any garden or home space looking to add a modern, tropical vibe to it could do well with a few palms thrown in.

Did you know

Did you know: The now common and easily available Parlour Palm was once on the verge of extinction.