Chamaedora elegans

CHAMAEDORA ELEGANS OR PARLOUR PALM
The Parlour Palm, or Parlor Palm in America, or by its Latin name of Neanthe bella is one of the most sought after indoor palms around today.
The reasons for this couldn’t be more straight forward – It thrives in our homes and workplaces where other species may struggle and it’s also one of the cheapest palms you can buy.

Popular since Victorian times it has kept hold of this prestige through its easy going adaptive attitude to low light and humidity levels, all the while being effective at improving air quality and making it on to NASA’s list of 50 Indoor plants that clean the air. This is an equally great plant to start with for the beginner or the seasoned houseplant collector.

The beautiful, attractive and delicate appearance of the Parlour Palm is made up of light green fronds about 8in / 20cm long that have a dainty like texture which are loved by interior designers.

Whilst a slow grower it should reach a respectable indoor height of 2ft / 60cm after a number of years, and you may (with good light) receive regular clusters of flowers which for a palm kept indoors is pretty rare.

Light
Low light will be tolerated but like all houseplants deep shade will not go down well (unless it’s only for a short period). Some sun will be helpful, but harsh sunshine will scorch the leaves.

The perfect spot for your Parlour Palm therefore should be bright with a little sun in early morning or late afternoon.

Watering
Underwatering a Parlour Palm is better than overwatering. Water well then wait until the surface of the soil has dried out, at which point water well again. Limit the amount of water given when light or temperature levels are low simply because in those conditions plants don’t need as much water.

Limit the amount of water when light or temperaturelevels are low

Feeding
There are often several plants in a single pot all fighting for the limited number of nutrients in the soil, you should look to feed on a semi regular basis. That said, these palms are still relatively small and don’t need masses of feed to do well. A general feed once every couple of months will be enough.