Description
An interesting palm from Madagascar. It forms tall, bamboo-like stems from which light green fronds arch out, usually made up of pairs of opposite leaflets. On the stems of older plants you can see scars left by long-fallen leaf stalks. The plant grows slowly, usually reaching 1.5 m in a pot. It looks best on its own, where its distinctive silhouette can be seen.
It grows slowly. It is a tough plant and can live for many years indoors. This palm removes toxic substances from its surroundings and humidifies the air very well.
Requirements
A bright position, but not in strong sun.
Propagation
When repotting a mature plant, you can separate suckers from its base and plant them in separate pots. The sucker should be about 30 cm long and have roots.
Care
Water regularly during the growing season. In winter, at lower temperatures, water less. To keep the air humid, it is worth misting the leaves daily. During growth feed every two weeks with liquid fertiliser. The minimum growing temperature is 13°C. Repot every two years into a slightly larger container filled with palm compost. Once the container has reached its final size, just replace the top layer of soil. On mature plants, remove old fronds that start to turn brown and wither from the base; removing them encourages the characteristic cane-like stems.
When plants get sick
Spots, a greyish tinge and dry leaves may indicate that spider mites have attacked the plant. Raising the air humidity will limit them.