Parlor Palm

The Parlor Palm is a small, elegant palm that has been a popular houseplant since the Victorian era, when it graced parlors, hence its name. Its dainty, arching fronds and tolerance of low light and average humidity make it one of the easiest true palms to grow indoors.

It grows slowly into a clumping tuft of fine-textured green fronds, usually staying under 1.2 m indoors. It is also a recognized air-purifying plant and is safe for households with pets.

Recognize it by clumps of slender stems bearing soft, feathery, arching green fronds.

• Fronds: pinnate (feather-like) with many narrow leaflets, light to medium green
• Stems: thin, reed-like, clustered; no thick woody trunk
• Habit: clumping, slow-growing, typically 0.6 to 1.2 m indoors
• Flowers: sprays of tiny yellow ball-like flowers on mature plants

Thrives in low to medium indirect light; avoid direct sun, which scorches the fronds.

• Water: when the top inch of soil dries; do not let it sit in water, as it is prone to root rot
• Soil: well-draining potting mix
• Humidity: average is fine, though higher humidity reduces brown tips
• Temperature: 18 to 27 C; keep above 10 C
• Feeding: light feeding once or twice in spring and summer
• Propagation: from seed; it is usually grown in clumps rather than divided

Native to the rainforests of southern Mexico and Guatemala, where it grows as an understory palm in deep, humid shade. That low-light forest-floor origin is exactly why it does so well in dim indoor spots. It is one of the most widely sold indoor palms in the world.

Grown almost entirely as an ornamental houseplant for low-light interiors, and its cut fronds are used in floristry and (historically) in Palm Sunday displays. It is valued for being non-toxic and pet-safe as well as a NASA-listed air-purifying plant.