Nothing screams “tropical indoor plant” quite like palm plants. If you want to create an indoor jungle, then you’ll definitely need to add a few of these beauties to your collection. There are lots of different varieties that are commonly sold as houseplants, but don’t worry. Keeping these elegant plants thriving is easy with these basic indoor palm plant care tips.
Palms make excellent houseplants because they are very tolerant of neglect, but they will grow their best when given the proper indoor palm plant care.
They make ideal houseplants because they don’t like a lot of light, and will easily adapt to growing indoors.
Palm plants can live for many years when they’re cared for properly, and some varieties can grow into huge palm trees in containers indoors.
You can even move your palm plant outside (in a shady spot) during the summer to give it a boost if you want.
Ponytail palm plant
Different Indoor Palm Plant Types
Like I mentioned above, there are tons of different palm plants that make excellent houseplants.
They don’t all look exactly the same, and some of them don’t even look like what you would imagine. So, keep that in mind while you’re out shopping for new indoor tropical plants.
Here are a few of the most common types of palms for indoors that you might find.
- Areca palm tree
- Ponytail plant
- Parlor palm
- Majesty palm tree
- Fan palm
- Cateracterum palm
- Sentry palm
- Yucca palm
- Butterfly palm
Different palm plants for sale
Tips For Indoor Palm Plant Care
Even though there are tons of different varieties of indoor palm plants, they all require the same basic conditions to grow their best.
That’s great news, and makes indoor palm plant care so much easier!! Here are some basic tips for caring for a palm plant indoors.
Water
Palm plants are tolerant of being under watered, but they will grow their best when watered on a regular basis.
Ideally, palm plants prefer it when their soil is kept evenly moist, especially during the summer months (their active growing season).
Allow the soil to dry out only slightly between waterings in the summer. During the winter, you can let the soil dry out a bit more between waterings.
Be very careful not to overwater though, this is the number one killer of palm plants.
If you struggle with giving your plants the right amount of water, I recommend getting an inexpensive soil moisture gauge to help you get it just right.
Dwarf parlor palm indoor palm plant
Light
One of the reasons palm plants are such common houseplants is that they can easily adapt to low light conditions indoors.
In fact palms prefer the shade, and will suffer if they get any direct sunlight. This is perfect, since most of us don’t have a ton of direct sunlight in our homes anyway!
Palm plants prefer bright indirect light, but will tolerate less light, especially during the winter.
If you put your palm plant outside during the summer, make sure to keep it in the shade.
Soil
When it comes to soil, palm plants aren’t super picky. Ideally, they prefer a loose, porous soil mix, such as a combo of peat moss, leaf mold, and shredded bark. But, they will grow just fine in a general purpose potting soil.
If you’re one of those people who tends to forget to water your plants (ehem, not that I would know anything about that), then you can mix some peat moss and/or vermiculite into the general purpose potting soil to help retain moisture.
Keep in mind that palm plants don’t like to be repotted, and can be grown in the same pot for several years. So, it’s best to wait to repot your palm plant until it’s pot-bound.
Super healthy palm plant leaf
Fertilizer
Indoor palm plants don’t really need to be fertilized, but of course the plants will benefit from being fed.
However, they are very sensitive to chemical houseplant fertilizer, and using synthetic fertilizers can do more harm than good.
It’s best to stick with using an organic plant fertilizer to feed your indoor palm plants.
The good news is that there are organic palm fertilizers on the market that are specifically made for palm plants, which make feeding them super easy! My favorite brands of organic palm fertilizers are Jobe’s, Espoma, and Dr. Earth.
Whatever you decide to use, only fertilize your palm plants during their active growing period. Don’t fertilize your indoor palm plants during the fall and winter.
Indoor palm trees in containers
Palm Houseplant Pests
Spider mites are the most common pest that can attack indoor palm plants. Keeping the humidity level high in the air around the plant will help to fend off spider mites, and will also benefit the plant. Houseplant scale and mealy bugs can also be a problem, but are much less common.
If you find that your palm plant has bugs, begin treatment immediately. Don’t use chemical pesticides on houseplant pests though, they aren’t very effective (plus they’re harmful to us and our pets!).
I recommend using organic neem oil, which is a natural pesticide. I also like to use a mixture of 1 tsp Dr. Bronner’s Baby-mild Liquid Soap per 1 liter of water to help control houseplant pests. Insecticidal soap or horticultural oil also work great.
Related Post: How To Control Houseplant Pests
Common Indoor Palm Plant Care Problems
One of the most common problems that indoor palm plants have is brown leafs and tips. There are a few things that can cause a palm plant to start turning brown…
- Lack of water
- Overuse of chemical fertilizers
- Spider mites
Keep in mind that if you just brought the plant home from the garden center, it will take some time for the chemical fertilizers to wash out of the soil (but it doesn’t hurt to check to make sure you’re watering it enough, and that it’s not infested with spider mites).
If you’ve had the plant for a while and don’t use chemical fertilizer, then take a close look to see if the plant has spider mites. If the plant is clean, then check the soil and make sure it’s not too dry.
To keep your indoor palm plants looking nice, simply trim off the brown tips.
Brown tips on indoor palm plant
Indoor palm trees and plants are very low maintenance, easy to grow houseplants that will thrive for years when you give them the proper care. Indoor palm plants are also beneficial to us because they are one of the best houseplants that help to purify the air in our homes! If you ask me, they might just be the perfect houseplant.
Products I Recommend
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- How To Care For A Phalaenopsis Orchid Plant
Do you grow palm plants in your home? Share your indoor palm plant care tips and advice in the comments below.
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so much great info! thanks for sharing with Monday Funday xo
Thanks for stopping by!
Amy, thanks for the wealth of information on the palm plant. We had one that we kept indoors but the leaves began to brown and dry over time. Did it happen because we watered too much? – my son had a habit of leaving too much water on the soil.
Sorry to hear your palm plant died. If your son was overwatering it then yes, I would guess that’s why it ended up dying. Who knows though, maybe it was spider mites, or the air was just too dry. You’ll know for next time. 😉
I love the parlor palm,i have three of them my son bought them for me about three years ago.They are doing great. They spend the winter indoors i don’t have to water them very often in the winter only about every two weeks.They are pretty and green,no brown tips.When the weather warms i take them out to my sunny deck,These are lovely plants and easy to care for.
Wonderful, thanks for sharing your experience!! Sounds like you’re doing everything right, that’s awesome!
I put sunny deck,i ment to say shady deck!I’m deck is shaded.
I have a Indoor palm that is 25 yrs old,it’s beaufiful.I bought 3 small plants in 1993 and now it huge!!
Wow, wonderful!
hi amy! i have an indoor palm and it is doing quite well but i think it could be doingbetter! i was just wondering on average how much would you think i should water it? at the moment i probably water it like once a week? should i just check to see if the soil is moist and if not water it a bit? thank you 🙂
Yes, the best thing to do is check the soil every time you water your palm plant. Stick your finger at least an inch into the soil. If it feels wet, then don’t water the plant. A soil moisture gauge comes in handy to make sure you’re watering properly.
Please am from Ghana,and my question is can I bring out my palm plant out for while, because they always have brown tips and also grow lean as u know African weather is hot.
Yes, I move many of my tropical houseplant outside during the summer months and the love it. Just be sure to keep it in a shady location or the sun will burn the leaves.
I am looking for information on an uot palm. I have one that is shooting very long, strange looking spires but I cannot find any information on this specific palm. Can you help or tell me where to look? Than you.
I’ve never heard of a “uot palm” before, sorry! Was that the name on the plant tag? Is “uot” an acronym of some sort?
As for the growth you describe, it sounds like your palm plant is flowering, how fun!
What fertilizer do you use for indoor palm tree
Scroll up to the section that says “Fertilizer” for more details. My favorite brands of organic palm fertilizers are Jobe’s, Espoma, and Dr. Earth.