Deep green fans, divided into narrow oblong lobes, open at the tip of tall upright stems that look uncannily like canes: that is the bamboo palm (Rhapis excelsa), an evergreen grown for the exotic touch it brings to a room or a shaded bed. Keep it warm and away from dry air, and the foliage stays handsome all year.
| Botanical name | Rhapis excelsa |
|---|---|
| Family | palm, Arecaceae |
| Type | Tree, palm |
| Height | 6 to 12 feet (2 to 4 meters) |
| Exposure | part sun |
| Soil | Humus-rich, well-drained |
| Hardiness | 60°F or 15 °C |
| Growth | Slow |
| Foliage | evergreen |
Synonyms – Rhapis flabelliformis, Chamaerops excelsa
Common names – Rhapis, bamboo palm
This species belongs to the vast palm tree family. Rhapis excelsa is a smallish tree with large fan-like evergreen leaves. These are a deep green color, and the slats are divided into narrow, oblong lobes. Each leaf opens up at the tip of long upright stems (stipes), each of which can measure 16 feet (4 meters) long. They look like canes. In summer, bamboo palm occasionally sports small yellow flowers grouped together in clusters called panicles. Rhapis excelsa is a dioecious palm, meaning each specimen is either male or female. It’s quite rare for one to actually bear fruit.
Rhapis excelsa isn’t hardy at all, so it can only survive outdoors in mild-wintered areas. Anywhere else and you’ll have to grow it in pots, as a houseplant, and you’ll have to bring it indoors during the cold season. Outdoors, bamboo palm requires a particular setting:
Indoors, it’s pretty easy to satisfy all these conditions. However, the main enemy of Rhapis excelsa in this case is dry air.
Since bamboo palm fears the cold so much, the best season to plant it is in spring.
Growing outdoors, in the ground:
Once you’ve found the ideal spot, all you need to do is:
Rhapis excelsa in pots:
The most important factor is choosing the container itself. It must be large enough to give the roots a lot of space, and at the same time be very stable, especially if you want to move your top-heavy bamboo palm in the garden during spring, summer and fall.
Another point that’s important: make sure the container or pot has drainage holes for excess water to drain away. Got the right container? Next steps:
Rhapis excelsa can be settled in the ground, kept in a pot that travels with the seasons, or simply left indoors. Here is what each option asks of you, and what is most likely to go wrong.
| Situation | Who it suits | Key requirement | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the ground, outdoors | Mild-wintered areas only | Humus-rich, well-draining soil in part shade | Winter cold, as the palm is not hardy |
| In a pot, outdoors in the warm months | Gardens with cold winters | A large, very stable container with drainage holes | Being caught out by the first frosts |
| Indoors, as a houseplant | Most homes | Soil mix with clay pebbles or perlite | Dry air from heating, plus mites and scale insects |
| In a shrub bed under a taller tree | Gardens wanting an exotic look | Shelter from wind, summer heat and winter cold | Too much exposure without an overhead canopy |
Indoors is the easiest of the four, because the growing environment is the simplest to get right.
There’s no need to prune or trim bamboo palm. Simply remove dead leaves when they’re all dried up, slicing them off at the trunk.
During the growing phase, from spring until the end of summer, be particularly diligent when watering: frequent with only little water is better than deep soakings. Reduce your watering in fall, and nearly stop watering during winter. When in pots, bring outdoor specimens inside long before the first frosts hit.
Indoors, Rhapis excelsa is vulnerable to lack of air moisture, usually brought upon by the various heating elements in the house. The solution? Spray leaves with rainwater from time to time. Avoid using tap water: as it dries off, tiny calcium deposits appear and block the pores on leaves. Best, again, is either rainwater or demineralized water.
Because this plant is a slow grower, re-potting only needs take place more or less every 3 years. In the meantime, whether your bamboo palm is in the ground or in a pot, go ahead and topdress every year with fresh soil mix.
Since it’s difficult to get seeds through fruits, sowing isn’t the quickest propagation method. Better is to separate offshoots that pop up around the base of the plant, and transplant them into new pots.
Another option is to divide the clump once you’ve got several stems growing together. Do this at a time when you’d normally repot to minimize stress.
Though it is not vulnerable to disease, Rhapis excelsa nonetheless is the target of many pests such as mites (red spider mite in particular) and scale insects. This is even more the case if the palm is grown indoors.
As you’ve seen, it’s probably easiest to just place your bamboo palm inside the house. The growing environment is easier to get right. However, in the garden, it will definitely bring on a wonderful exotic touch to a shrub bed if you place it under a taller tree that will protect it and give it shelter.
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