Mastering The Art Of Indoor Palms

Although indoor palms have a reputation for being fickle creatures, providing the right type of care is key when it comes to keeping them happy in your home.

Palm trees are arguably amongst some of the best known and most extensively cultivated varieties of flora families in the world. While many modern day products and foods are derived from the humble palm tree, their relationship with humans as a resource goes back for hundreds of years. In many historical cultures, palms were often used as symbols for victory, peace, and fertility thanks to their importance as food.

Palm trees as we know them are members of the Arecaceae plant family. While there are over 2,600 known species, most of these are restricted to tropical and subtropical climates, and not all of them are ideally suited to be grown indoors – particularly given how large they can grow. However, if the idea of turning your house or apartment into a tropical oasis is particularly appealing, the good news is that there are plenty of indoor palms that can comfortably share your residence with you. 

Your Guide To Growing Indoor Palms

Like most other plants, indoor palms require the right balance of moisture, light, warmth and fertiliser in order for them to not just survive, but thrive. Soggy soil conditions should be avoided at all costs, and indoor palm enthusiasts should instead aim for rich, well drained and moist soil with a mix of sand and loam. 

Indoor palms tend to like humidity, but not direct exposure to heat. Move them away from windows in the peak of summer to avoid burning their leaves, and if you use a heater or an air conditioner, consider adding a bowl of water near them as a means to create a humid microclimate that’s in line with their temperature preferences. 

In terms of the types of indoor palms on offer for house plant enthusiasts, the good news is that there’s a wide variety available. Some of the most popular species that do well in Australia include the following varieties. 

Areca Palm – Also known as the bamboo palm, the areca palm is a popular option as an indoor species thanks to its soft fronds and tolerance for low light. It grows at it’s best in bright but indirect sunlight, but does prefer a moderate amount of water when compared to other varieties. To keep it looking lush, aim to fertilise your Areca around once a month. 

Sago Palm – Visually striking, the Sago palm looks quite different when compared to other species of indoor palms. Although technically more closely related to conifers, it’s stiff fronds grow in an upright habit from a short, shaggy trunk that resembles something like a pineapple. This guy loves the sun, and is more tolerant of dry soil conditions than others. 

Majestic Palm – As it’s a variety that’s extremely shade tolerant as well as a slow grower, the Majestic Palm plant is popping up in households all across Australia. It’s known to grow quite slowly, which can be either a pro or a con depending on your own personal taste. While they do need a reasonably moist and humid climate, it makes them a great choice for bathrooms. 

Yucca Palm – As another extremely popular variety of indoor palm, the Yucca plant is easily recognisable thanks to it’s tough, strappy and spikey green leaves emerging from a relatively attractive looking trunk. It’s suitable for either full sun or part shade conditions, and also requires less watering when compared to other indoor palms. 

Bamboo Palm – Originally native to Mexico and Central America, the Bamboo Palm gets its name from the plant’s long, bamboo-like canes. Growing together in dense clusters and producing green, feathery fronds, Bamboo Palms are ideal house plants as they’re slow growing and tolerate low light and low humidity quite well.

In order to keep your palm trees healthy and requiring little to no maintenance, try to embrace forward thinking and proactive measures instead of reactive ones, especially when it comes to things like watering, weeding, fertilising and tackling pests. As such, one of the most effective means to do so is to ensure that the soil your indoor palms reside in is at its best. 

Caring For Your Indoor Palms Chemical Free

While there is a wide range of solutions available on the market for outdoor plants and gardens, our indoor varieties can suffer due to poor soil health that stems from living in a confined space. As a unique liquid soil conditioner, Indoor Plant Booster is a plant food that’s perfect to keep your indoor and potted plants in tip top shape, including those that reside in pots, hanging baskets, and even those nestled on the verandah. 

An organic, natural product like Indoor Plant Booster has the unique ability to increase your soils cation exchange capacity (CEC). This is what we refer to as the soil’s ability to hold on to the nutrients that are vital for your plant’s growth and overall health. Indoor Plant Booster is able to kickstart your plant’s CEC, as it’s packed full of nutrients like humic acids, fulvic acids and seaweed extract. 

If you’re ready to give Indoor Plant Booster a try and introduce it to the flora that you share your home with, be sure to water your plants thoroughly beforehand to assist with absorption. For best results, simply pour the recommended amount directly onto the soil, ideally around the base of the plant.

At Bioweed, we specialise in organic solutions to ensure that your garden reaches its full potential the natural way. Our range of products, such as Indoor Plant Booster, are all natural, and are providing Australians with safer products to use both in their gardens and in their homes. Based on the Sunshine Coast, our range has been embraced by people from all walks of life, and are backed with twenty years of research and industry knowledge.