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Saturday, February 15, 2003
Palms in the parlor
Of all the members of the plant kingdom suitable for use as houseplants, none evokes a feeling of the tropics like the palms. With their large, architectural leaves and strong outlines, palms can help create an indoor Garden of Eden wherever you live.
During the Victorian era, indoor palms were all the rage in England, the U.S., and other countries. No house was complete without at least one kentia palm, Howea forsteriana.
Since then the popularity of palms has waxed and waned-and waxed again; today it is rare to enter a restaurant or shopping mall without seeing at least a few palms, even if they’re not always tastefully arranged. Fortunately, there is a wide selection of palms that can be grown successfully indoors.
Growing palms
With their bold forms, palms add an architectural framework to the apartment conservatory. Apartments and houses can be very inhospitable environments to most plants. Many people prefer a very dry indoor climate. To the degree that you can, try to make your home friendly to palms. In general, this means keeping things as bright and moist as you can.
If you have no real desire to recreate a tropical rainforest in your apartment, you’re still in luck. Many of the palms suitable as houseplants are native to tropical understory environments, where there is keen competition for light and water. So they are quite at home in the extreme conditions of a house or apartment.
How much light you need to provide for your palms depends on the species. South- or east-facing windows are ideal. Light-loving species such as European fan palm, Chamaerops humilis, and Bismarck palm, Bismarckia nobilis, should be placed close to the windows. Those requiring less light, such as the many parlor palms, Chamaedorea species, and lady palms, Rhapis species, prefer broken or filtered light, but will tolerate indirect light.
And the huge popularity of the kentia palm in the 19th century was due partially to its ability to grow in practically no light at all. If you live on the dim north side of your building and want to grow sun-loving palms, you will need to provide artificial light.
Most palms need abundant water but only a few tolerate soggy soil. Treat palms as you would other houseplants, watering them evenly and only when the soil is dry to a depth of one inch. If you are able to take your palms outdoors for the summer, you will need to water more frequently, depending on conditions.
Palms appreciate a good-quality potting mix. Look for a mix that provides good drainage. Palms do not mind being root-bound and can be kept in the same container for several years. When repotting, however, take care not to injure or cut the roots.
What container to use depends greatly on your style of decorating, but it’s often best to keep the palm in a plastic container and place this inside the decorative container of choice, as most do not allow for drainage.
Palms require only light fertilizing indoors. The best method is a timed-release fertilizer mixed with the potting soil, but you can use diluted liquid fertilizers at one-third the recommended rate during the growing season.
Remember that palms are basically unprunable and really just want to do one thing: grow up. It’s difficult to shape a palm as you would boxwood, and pruning lower leaves will not make the plant grow faster. Trim off dead leaves only when they are brown and crispy. (From the wires)
(February 15, 2003 issue)
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