How to Plant, Grow, and Care For Bamboo Palms Indoors

Palms have a long history of adorning interior spaces, from ancient palaces to Victorian-era parlors. Capturing the exotic and appreciating it in an indoor oasis was a marvel. Bamboo palms invite tropical lushness indoors with their fine, leafy fronds and tall canes. They’re a manageable palm that grows easily as a houseplant, adapting to life indoors by meeting a few primary growing conditions.

Bamboo palms make a statement, filling a space with deep green, soft elegance. They grow tall in their happiest settings, but are unfussy and require little maintenance. With low-light adaptability, they’re versatile in interior spaces. 

What Are Bamboo Palms?

Chamaedorea seifrizii is in the palm family, Arecaceae, which holds over 2500 species. The tropical and subtropical family houses tall, stately, single-trunked trees and feathery fronded, multitrunked specimens like bamboo palms. 

The bamboo palm (formerly C. erumpens) is popular among the genus for its indoor growth and tall, full fronds that slightly arch from slender stems. Bamboo shares its genus with another favorite, the parlor palm. Similar in attributes and growing requirements, the parlor palm is smaller in stature. C. elegans generally reaches only two to three feet tall as a houseplant and is graceful with a compact form.

In warm, tropical climates, bamboo palms grow outside year-round as a specimen, accent, or foundation plant. For the rest of us, it moves easily inside to delight and embellish our homes and offices.

Characteristics

Bamboo palms reach up to 25 feet tall in their native range, but in pots indoors, six to seven feet is more likely. They have a clumping growth habit with multiple smooth, slender trunks. The cane-like stems have prominent nodes that resemble bamboo and stay small, at less than one inch in diameter. The clustered stems are upright and spreading, expanding slowly from the center. The outer fronds lean or arch outward for a full canopy.

The real draw of these elegant palms is their glossy, papery, and feathery (pinnate) foliage that reaches 18 to 20 inches long. The fronds hold narrow leaflets that measure 8 to 10 inches each.

In a flourishing mature palm, you may see rare panicles of yellow flowers. The whole bloom structure (rachis) turns golden-orange and leads to small blue-black berries.

Bamboo palms are nontoxic and safe to have around children and pets. However, the fruits contain oxalic acid and can cause contact dermatitis for those with sensitivities. You may never get the fruits with a houseplant, but they are a possibility with healthy, happy palms.

Native Area

Chamaedorea seifrizii is native to southeast Mexico, Honduras, Belize, and Guatemala, where it grows in seasonally dry forests. The warm environment experiences regular spring and summer rainfall, followed by a drier, cool season. Bamboo palms grow beneath the canopy of taller forest trees, experiencing dappled light to open shade. Warm days follow cooler nights, where temperatures infrequently drop below 60°F (16°C).

Planting

Bring home a bamboo palm and choose a container two sizes larger than its nursery pot. Good drainage holes are essential. Employ a high-quality potting mix like one formulated for houseplants or palms. These are porous and provide good aeration, moisture retention, nutrition, and drainage.

The potted palms enjoy spending summers outdoors where they thrive in warmth and seasonal moisture. Access to breezes and beneficial insects helps manage pests. They can grow indoors year-round, but moving them to a shady spot in early summer only adds to their lushness. Bring them in before temperatures drop in early fall.

Repotting

The slow-growing tropicals prefer to be slightly potbound and seldom need repotting. Refresh the potting soil or move them to bigger quarters every few years. 

Plan to repot in spring or early summer as active growth resumes. Choose a container two sizes larger than the current situation to give it room and time to grow before the next round of refreshing or potting up. 

Palms are sensitive to disturbance when repotting. Only repot when you see signs of a need, like roots popping up through the soil surface or drainage holes. Water will run off quickly when there’s little soil aeration left. Stems and shoots may become paler and less vigorous as root space and nutrition decrease. Additionally, potting soil breaks down over time, resulting in reduced oxygen availability for the roots. Refreshing it every few years keeps it healthy.

How to Grow

In the right situation, bamboo palms are low-maintenance, easy houseplants. Specific cultural requirements like regular moisture, medium light, and average humidity are best for optimal health.

Light

The tropical palms prefer medium light, which mimics their natural understory environment. Indoors, provide medium, indirect light as the best growing situation. The palms tolerate lower light conditions and brighten up dim corners, but a brighter spot is best. 

Because of their low-light adaptability, they’re a good fit for offices and spaces where some tropicals won’t thrive. Even so, at least some natural light in the room is necessary. Placing them near a south- or east-facing window with filtered sun (like through a curtain) is optimal.

If moving them outside for the summer months, place them in dappled light or open shade. Avoid direct sun, which can scorch the leaves. Gradually acclimate them to outdoor life when temperatures warm in late spring to early summer.

Water

Bamboo palms prefer even moisture and consistent watering. Growing as potted houseplants, they withstand drying out slightly between sessions (but not completely). Indoors, water thoroughly when the top two inches of potting medium feel dry to the touch. Empty saucers after each watering session so the pots don’t sit in water and so the soil won’t absorb excessive moisture. 

Stress during dry spells causes leaves to brown and invites pests like spider mites. But, overly wet soils can lead to root rot, and bamboo palms indoors wither in saturated situations. Check the pots weekly to assess soil surface moisture and ensure the pots are well-draining.

Check on container moisture often during the warm season when they dry out more quickly. Reduce watering sessions in the fall when the active growth slows, temperatures cool, and containers move back inside. Water in the winter only when the soil feels dry to the touch to a couple of inches deep (every three weeks or so, depending on container, plant size, and environment).

Soil

Bamboo palms grow best indoors in organically rich, well-draining potting mixes. Use a formula for palms or tropical houseplants for easy potting.

Temperature and Humidity

Temperate, averagely moist environments offer the best conditions for indoor bamboo palms. Temperatures between 70-80°F (21-27°C) are ideal and in line with warm-to-average room temperature. At night, keep the temperature above 60°F (16°C). Fronds risk cold damage below 45°F (7°C), where they turn reddish brown and dry.

Heated or cooled drafts cause problems for the soft fronds. Draft exposure leads to excess drying and causes the leaves to turn yellow and brown. Low humidity also has a drying effect that results in frond dieback. 

Average household levels are usually fine to match their mid-level humidity preference. Ideal humidity is around 30-50 percent. Winter can be especially drying indoors as we turn on the heat and enjoy fireplaces. Increase the ambient humidity if needed with a humidifier, or place pots on a tray filled with pebbles and water. Keep the base of the pot raised on the pebbles, rather than in the water, to avoid excess soil moisture.

Fertilizing

Bamboo palms generally don’t suffer the same nutrient deficiencies other palms incur (namely, manganese loss), but they do benefit from fertilizer when growing as houseplants. Palm fertilizers with micronutrients like manganese, copper, boron, and iron are tailored to the group.

During the active growing seasons of spring and summer, offer a foliar boost with two to three applications of a balanced liquid feed. Alternatively, use a slow-release granular at the start of the season to dispense nutrients gradually. These last about two months. Hold off on fertilizing by late summer to avoid encouraging new growth as the cool season approaches. 

These palms aren’t heavy feeders. Avoid too much fertilizer as it can lead to weak stems and stunted overall vigor.

Maintenance

Growing bamboo palms indoors is a low-maintenance endeavor. Prune away aged fronds that naturally brown. They remain attached to the reeds and need clipping to highlight the green, tidy form.

You can also prune to manage size, keeping in mind that older green outer fronds send nutrients to younger interior fronds. Avoid pruning green fronds whenever possible. Leave yellowing fronds in place until they turn completely yellow or brown. They continue to absorb nutrients and photosynthesize for the core as long as the green (chlorophyll) remains.

Propagation

Division is an option to propagate the clumping tropicals at home, though it can cause stress. Divide mature palms in the spring or early summer to give both the parent and the new plants time to establish during the active growing season. Division disturbs the sensitive roots of the palm, so be sure you have moist, fresh potting mix ready at repotting.

Division

To divide the mother plant for transplanting and propagation, unpot it in spring or summer. Water deeply the day before for water-filled roots and stems.

With a sharp blade and pulling by hand, separate the clumping stems sections, starting with the perimeter. Capture a few stems and keep the roots attached (these are the new plants). Pot up the new divisions and water them in. Maintain even soil moisture as roots establish and recover.

Common Problems

In addition to being stately and low maintenance, bamboo palms also have few pests and disease problems. Common houseplant pests like scale, mealybugs, and spider mites may be occasional visitors. Root or stem rot can happen through overwatering or poorly draining soils. The best control is prevention through maintaining optimal cultural requirements.

Fortunately, the most common sap-sucking pests that affect bamboo palms growing indoors are treatable. The treatment is the same for mealybugs, scale, and spidermites. Spray leaves and stems with water or wipe them with a damp cloth to displace the pests. Follow up with a cotton swab treatment. Dip the swab in isopropyl alcohol and wipe the stems and leaves. This treatment is effective at instantly reducing early numbers and small populations. Horticultural oils like neem are options for more severe outbreaks.

Mealybugs

Mealybugs are soft-bodied and look like tiny tufts of white cotton or dust on leaves and stems. In an infestation, you’ll see the insect accompanied by yellowing, wilting, stunted leaves, and decline. They feed on sap and lay eggs in cellular tissues. Mealybugs also leave behind a signature sticky honeydew that can lead to unattractive black, sooty mold.

To prevent mealybugs, aim for consistent moisture. Avoid overfertilizing, as many pests enjoy tender new growth and high nitrogen levels, and excess fertilizer promotes both. Pop these off your tree with a cotton swab soaked in 70% or less rubbing alcohol.

Spider Mites

Spider mites are tiny sap-suckers that live on the undersides of leaves. You may not see the tiny insects, but you will notice their fine webbing on stems and leaves.

With spider mites, foliage shows pale spots, light yellowing, and white stippling on surfaces. Leaves become stiff and curl, leading to early drop. 

Spider mites occur most often in warm, dry, and dusty conditions. Specimens that experience drought stress from underwatering are most susceptible.

Scale

Scale joins their fellow common pests in piercing leaves and stems to feed on sap. They usually appear on the undersides of leaves and stems as black, gray, or silvery dots.

In scale outbreaks, leaves may turn yellow and drop, with stems dying back in heavy infestations. New growth may stunt or show deformities. Remove affected growth where feasible in severe cases to reduce numbers.

To prevent scale, keep fronds dust-free. Give them an occasional rinse during a regular watering session or wipe the fronds with a damp cloth. Moving them outdoors in summer helps keep foliage fresh.

Root Rot

Root rot is a common fungal disease that causes the roots to turn brown and mushy; as they decay, they can’t uptake moisture or nutrients to support growth.

Plants in waterlogged media with poor airflow may show yellowing and wilting leaves. If you suspect rot, slip the palm out of the pot to inspect the roots. Clip off any that are brown or damaged. 

Replant using fresh media and water thoroughly, starting a regimen that prevents prolonged oversaturation. If caught early, growth may rebound, but time will tell regarding root health.

Frequently Asked Questions