no way to get it home as I didn't have my truck

Lots of big palms bend easily for the ride home.

Heck, I brought my biggest Foxtail and Bottle Palms home in my little Oldsmobile.
Kinda hard to see the road, or the other lane, or the traffic lights, or out the rear window... 😆 😆

I know what you mean Barb, I'v got some real looks dragging my "finds" home. It's amazing really they don't always look that big in a store till you get them out to the car or truck.

Stopped at Lowe's to get some plant trays and saw this Cat Palm in the 50% off cart...then marked down yet again to just $2.00 Couldn't pass it up since I didn't have one yet.

Won't pot it till I know it will survive, and will have a Pencil Cactus as a neighbor over the winter.

You got THAT Cataractarum for TWO DOLLARS?

Holy moly, what a bargain.

Cat palms like to be consistently moist, never let 'em go bone dry.
I know....I've killed one twice that size 😥

Cool cactus!

Barb

Yes, Lowe's is pretty good about keeping the sadder looking plants thinned out of the group and selling them dirt cheap. They had a small Majesty as well for $2 but already have one of those and remarkably doing well since I've read their almost impossible to keep alive in the house.

Barb, how much shade in your experience can Cat Palms tolerate?

Eh Scott

CHaaedorea cataractarum has turned into one of my favorite palms. They are near impossible to over water (they grow on the edges of waterfalls and fast moving water in the wild), and require shade for the most part outside. Mine adapted to almost full sun in the porch. Inside, its away from any windows, in a bright room with high humidity (my bathroom) and it loves it. They do not like full sun. Put it in a super bright room, with no real direct sunlight ( mine does get direct sun,. but its 10 feet from a waindow)

Also, expect the nice tall parts to die down. Ive had 2 of them, and they always have lost the biggest plants (they sucker like mad, so dont get to discouraged.) From what ive read, they like to be root bound ( like ficus), and need really good soil. Like most people here i recommend sunshine mix. That stuff is the best soil I have ever used. I would ad a but of perlite to make the medium a bit faster draining, but again, its REALLY hard to over water them. Some websites suggest putting them in an inch of moving water for the summer (like in a pond), since the roots LOVE oxygenated water. IF i remember right, their native habitat floods seasonally.... that should give you a good idea about how much water they can take!

Barb is right, they HATE drying out. That seems to be the main cause of mine loosing some of the larger parts. Now i dont even check the soil. IT gets water every 3 or 4 days in the winter, and almost every day in the summer.

Great deal dude!

Lucky for me I have 3 ponds I made here at my house, one with a stream! problem is, there is a lot of sunlight that would shine down.

I have HUGE basement, but only two north facing windows with shades that my wife prefers to be down all the time. I would love a palm to be down there and was hoping I could move this palm down there, but I don't think it would be humid enough, or warm enough especially now as it stays pretty much in the mid 60's all the time down there. BUT....it's $2 so can afford to experiment. Right now, I have it in my kitchen which faces the East....and it looks good there so may see how it does. How can I tell if it's getting too much sunlight? does it turn a lighter green? right now it's a pretty deep green color.

In the basement now I have

Cast Iron Plant
ZZ Plant
2 Snake plants

I bought a trio of Metal Palm plants to put down there, but found a perfect spot upstairs in a hallway where it looks good at, so will keep here where it won't get direct light.

Plant-Care.com recommends them for very low light rooms so we'll see

Lucky for me I have 3 ponds I made here at my house, one with a stream! problem is, there is a lot of sunlight that would shine down.

I have HUGE basement, but only two north facing windows with shades that my wife prefers to be down all the time. I would love a palm to be down there and was hoping I could move this palm down there, but I don't think it would be humid enough, or warm enough especially now as it stays pretty much in the mid 60's all the time down there. BUT....it's $2 so can afford to experiment. Right now, I have it in my kitchen which faces the East....and it looks good there so may see how it does. How can I tell if it's getting too much sunlight? does it turn a lighter green? right now it's a pretty deep green color.

In the basement now I have

Cast Iron Plant
ZZ Plant
2 Snake plants

I bought a trio of Metal Palm plants to put down there, but found a perfect spot upstairs in a hallway where it looks good at, so will keep here where it won't get direct light.

Plant-Care.com recommends them for very low light rooms so we'll see

As long as its 20C (60s) it should be fine. All of my plants get hit one time or another of the low single digits C. A winter in 60F is good. As for the humidity, you can get away with misting it once or twice a day.

Trust me when I can say they can take bright light indoors. As long as it isnt direct southern sun, it should be fine. OUtdoors they DO NOT need any sunlight, aside from some heavy dappled light, under a shade tree. Also, they hate, i stress, HATE wind. I almost lost this one due to having it exposed to wind.

In calgary,. mine was in a south facing window, but shaded by some taller palms, and it did VERY WELL (until the majesty palm I bought gave it scale). IF your really worried about the sun, put it behind another plant, or put up light shade. Youll know if there is too much sun. The leaves will go yellow and crispy from the tips, and itll just look horrible. In my experience, they decline fast, and if you catch it can recover pretty good. If your really up to it, give it a "fortnightly shower". They seem to like their leaves clean.

Canadianplant.

I think I will leave it where it's at for the time being to keep closer watch on it and then maybe move it down stairs.

I worry about bugs too, but any new plant I bring home I spray heavy with insecticide meant for inside homes. I spray it in the garage, let it dry and bring inside. So far (knock on wood) I've only had to deal with those little black gnats, but not very many of them. Barb on here told me to put sand on top of the dirt and I've done that, and now use Neem Oil as a spray and so far have watered them all with that as well. I also mix some Hydrogen peroxide in my water spray and spray all plants at least twice a day.

Can you tell me if Bamboo palms need similar water/light requirements? I have one that I bought a few weeks ago, transplanted into slightly larger pot with good well draining soil. It seems to be growing fine as far as new spears growing taller, but noticed some leaves turning a little yellow, a couple to the point where they become dry and crispy and they fall off on their own. They are usually always lower leaves. I think I'm giving it enough water, moisture meeter says "wet" so don't want to over water.

Scott

Canadianplant.

I think I will leave it where it's at for the time being to keep closer watch on it and then maybe move it down stairs.

I worry about bugs too, but any new plant I bring home I spray heavy with insecticide meant for inside homes. I spray it in the garage, let it dry and bring inside. So far (knock on wood) I've only had to deal with those little black gnats, but not very many of them. Barb on here told me to put sand on top of the dirt and I've done that, and now use Neem Oil as a spray and so far have watered them all with that as well. I also mix some Hydrogen peroxide in my water spray and spray all plants at least twice a day.

Can you tell me if Bamboo palms need similar water/light requirements? I have one that I bought a few weeks ago, transplanted into slightly larger pot with good well draining soil. It seems to be growing fine as far as new spears growing taller, but noticed some leaves turning a little yellow, a couple to the point where they become dry and crispy and they fall off on their own. They are usually always lower leaves. I think I'm giving it enough water, moisture meeter says "wet" so don't want to over water.

Scott

I would too. Only move it if its distressed.

Also, i really dont bother with bugs. Either way I spray every few days with a mild dish soap water mix (a tiny drop to a liter of water). Most bugs only attack hosueplants cause they dont get rained on, and no wind or predators to off em or control them. I rarely use insecticide, and when I do I use safers soap (which is basically a stronger dish soap solution). 90% of any pests are done with in a week of them being outside for me.

As for the Bamboo palm... I actually dont have one! (yet, i have some seeds waiting to sprout!), but from all my reading, it can take some pertty nasty shade, BUT, it can eventually be acclimatized to full sun for a portion of the day with enough water. They grow faster given some sun. From what ive read, the only reason why Cat palms arent more popular, is because they are supposedly a magnet for spidermites and scale, and dont like dry air nearly as much as Bamboo palm. In reality, what houseplant IS NOT a magnet for spidermites, and 90% of our houseplants would prefer more humid conditions.

Hi Scott and Jesse,
good info there Jesse! Sounded like you were describing Nypa palm's preferences; maybe they need the same habitat!

Yes they do like water but that was my dilemma too, Scott: wherever I have a pond, there's blistering hot summer sun and not a minute of shade.
So I had to decide.
Roots in water, head in the sun?
or manual watering and situate it in the shade.
I kept it indoors, east facing is good but the inevitable forgetting to water occurred a couple of times.

The leaves are really cool up close...see below how they curve near the...what is it called? rachis?
Whatever...they bend where they attach, very cool.

<a href=" http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/2285779377/" title="DSC00992 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src=" " width="480" height="640" alt="DSC00992"></a>

And, yes, Scott, these palms are very similar to Bamboo palm's requirements.
Look quite similar actually (except bamboo palm's cane sections get that "woody appearance").
My bamboo palm is in the cold barely-heated building, gets very little water in winter, right up against an east window.

Barb

Is it safe to assume that All/most clumping plams like Bamboo, Cat, Fish Tail, Majesty, Kentia prefer more water than solitary trunked palms?

Also, if a frond/leaf turns brown dry and crispy it is in need of more water??

Scott

Is it safe to assume that All/most clumping plams like Bamboo, Cat, Fish Tail, Majesty, Kentia prefer more water than solitary trunked palms?

Also, if a frond/leaf turns brown dry and crispy it is in need of more water??

Scott

Thats a good question. I think it depends on the mass of the palm, and the climate. A clumping palm like Chamerops, is from a mediterranian climate, and therefore would need less water, then a tropical/subtropical palm such as C mitis, or Chamedorea. Majesty palms are, for lack of a better word, a bitch to grow. High water, high light and high humidity needs make it hard to grow indoors, without special care.

Also, you need to watch for furnace vents. My Dreacena "Janet Craig", does fine right in front of the vent, but the Cat palm HATES it. THis will dry the leaves out fast...

The dried leaf tips are usually from lack of water, lack of humidity, or could also be transplant shock. Since they like being root bound, I dont see then really enjoying being repotted.

The thing is drying leaves can mean a bunch of things. Keep it wet, and spray it down once a day, and it should be fine!

THANKS! I have a Majesty palm that I had outside in the summer and brought it inside in the fall, not holding out much hope it would do well from everything I've read so accepted the fact it would probably just die...but not only hasn't it, but it's growing faster inside than when out! Sits in East facing window and I tend to over water it...which it seems to like. It, like all the rest of the plants get misted twice a day.

safe to assume that All/most clumping plams like Bamboo, Cat, Fish Tail, Majesty, Kentia prefer more water than solitary trunked palms

Agree with Jesse...very good Q.
But like all generalizations, it's safer NOT to generalize (as with most things) 😆

The small bit of experience I have with clumping palms (Cat, Bamboo, and to some extent, PDP) seems to point to more watering as a rule.
But light and warmth are just as important IMO...without those, persistently cold soil won't benefit.

Speaking of light, I just beefed up my foyer light for the Foxtail, Spindle, Bottle, PDP, and Bird of Paradise.
I think I could suntan under this thing.

<a href=" http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/6661628007/" title="DSC05239 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src=" " width="480" height="640" alt="DSC05239"></a>

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It's rare to get shadows in the foyer: 8)

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Barb