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This green plant is an excellent palm to use as an office plant or as an indoor houseplant, hardier and less floppy than
the areca palm, more compact and much less expensive than the kentia palm. Bamboo palms like bright indirect light but will survive in medium to low light if you’re
careful with the water. NASA has listed this potted plant as one that can clean the air of benzene, formaldehyde, and carbon
monoxide.
Houseplant 411 for the iPhone & i Pod Touch
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CARE OF BAMBOO PALMS
Light: Although a bamboo palm grows faster in bright indirect light, it is a houseplant or office plant that
will do fine in medium to low light if you are careful with your water and fertilizer.
Water: Bamboo palms like to be moist but never soggy. Always allow the top 1/3 of the soil in the container to
dry out before watering and never allow this indoor plant to sit in water. Do not use water that has passed through a softener,
it contains too much salt and it will damage the leaves. Signs of over watering are: leaf tips turning pale and green leaves
falling. Signs of under watering are new growth and leaf tips turning brown.
Fertilizer:
Fertilize with a houseplant food high in nitrogen when the plant is actively growing in the spring and summer, but never when
the plant is dormant or when the soil is very dry. Palms are very sensitive to salts. Fertilizers have a high salt content,
so use your plant food at 50% strength.
Pests: These indoor palms are very
susceptible to spider mites. Keep your plant clean by spaying it often with a solution made of biodegradable liquid soap and
water. If the mites persist, spray the palm with Safer Insecticidal soap.
Propagation: Bamboo palms are propagated from seeds, taking 2-5 years
to reach a decent size. Leave propagating these tropical houseplants to the professionals!
Pruning: Ugly leaf tips can be cut off with a wet scissors, and bare stalks should be removed. Always clean your
tools in alcohol after using them in case your palm has spider mites; you don’t want to spread the mites to other plants.
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BAMBOO PALM FAQ’S
1. There is fine webbing all over the palm I have in my office, and my plant looks faded.Your palm has spider mites. Spray it really well with a soapy (biodegradable) water solution. If this doesn’t solve
the problem, spray it with Safer Insecticidal Soap. 2. There is a brown edge around the leaves of my indoor bamboo palm and the lower
leaves turn brown & die. Too much salt has accumulated in the soil of this tropical plant, either from your
fertilizer or from the water you are using. Take the plant outside and flush out the soil 8-10 times with salt free water. 3. The tips of the leaves are turning brown & the new green plant leaves never
open.Check the soil; if it is dry start giving your palm more water. 4.
Green leaves keep falling off of a palm I have in a container in my house. Check the soil, if it is quite wet,
cut back on the amount of water you are giving your plant 5. My plant never seems
to grow. It’s not dying but it’s not growing.Move this tropical plant to a brighter location; it
needs more light.
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