10 Pretty Indoor Palm Plants To Make Your Home Feel Like Paradise
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Palm trees have long been a fun indoor plant to add to your houseplant collection. Since Victorian times, people have collected and displayed palms as a low-maintenance tropical houseplant. It’s easy to understand why: Indoor palm plants add a splash of color, style, and glamour to every room.
When choosing a palm plant for an indoor plant, make sure you have the right location. Most need bright, indirect light or they tend to get scraggly-looking. If you don’t have a bright east, west, or south-facing window to place it near, an LED grow light works just as well.
Palms often are large floor plants, so make sure you have enough space for them. Another thing to know is that palms typically are slow-growing, so the size you buy is the size you’ll have for many years.
Also, don’t overwater! Although many varieties like to stay slightly moist, they won’t tolerate soggy soil. Always poke your finger in the soil to test the moisture level before watering. A dose of fertilizer every now and then also keeps your plant healthy.
Finally, heads up to pet parents: Some palm, such as Sago and ponytail palm, are toxic to pets if ingested, so keep your furry family members away from these plants. If your fur baby is a nibbler, you may be better off choosing a houseplant that is safe for cats and dogs.
Ahead, our favorite indoor palm plants for every room of the house:
Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea elegans)
Parlor palm is a great plant for beginners. Its thin stems with lush fronds offer a tropical vibe to any room, and they’re actually one of the best pet-safe plants you can grow. It’s a slow grower, reaching up to 6 feet tall
Light: Bright, indirect but will tolerate moderate light levels
Water: Keep slightly moist, but do not overwater because it’s sensitive to soggy soil
Cat Palm (Chamaedorea cataractarum)
Cat palms are one of the easier types to grow. With its loose form and wispy fronds, it fills any bright corner nicely. It reaches 8 feet tall in time.
Light: Bright, indirect light
Water: Water when top inch or two of soil feels dry
Areca Palm (Dypsis lutescens)
This handsome palm has arching, feathery fronds and an airy feel that looks equally nice in both formal and informal settings. It’s fairly forgiving of lower light conditions.
Light: Bright, indirect light but will tolerate moderate light levels
Water: Keep slightly moist
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Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata)
This whimsical palm is an ideal for tabletops, and, yes, it does look like a giant messy ponytail! It has a bulbous shape at the base, where it stores water, so it’s perfect if you’re forgetful about watering. Outdoors, it reaches 20 feet tall, but indoors, it’s a very slow grower, reaching a foot tall after many years.
Light: Bright, indirect
Water: When the top few inches of soil feels dry
Majesty Palm (Ravenea rivularis)
With its mostly upright form, this slow-grower is an elegant addition to most rooms. It tends to need more humidity than other varieties, so group it with other houseplants or run a small humidifier nearby (FYI, misting doesn’t increase humidity levels, no matter what you’ve read). It reaches 10 feet tall in time.
Light: Bright, indirect
Water: Keep slightly moist
Kentia Palm (Howea forsteriana)
This easy-care palm is more tolerant of lower light conditions than others, though it still needs at least moderate light to look good. It also prefers higher humidity levels indoors, so group with other houseplants or run a small humidifier. It typically reaches 10 feet tall indoors.
Light: Bright, indirect
Water: Keep slightly moist
Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta)
Although this handsome plant is actually not a palm, it’s lumped in with this category because of its palm-like appearance. It’s a very slow grower with stiff fronds and a pineapple-like appearance. It can grow (slowly!) to 3 feet tall.
Light: Bright, indirect
Water: Keep slightly moist
Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)
This is one of the easiest types of palms to grow, so it’s a good choice if you’re a first-time palm plant parent. The stems resemble bamboo as the plant matures, and it will reach 7 feet tall indoors.
Light: Bright, indirect
Water: Keep slightly moist
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Lady Palm
Lady palm has clumps of upright fronds with lance-shaped segments. It’s more tolerant of lower light levels than many others, so consider it if you have limited bright light in your space. It reaches about 6 feet tall indoors.
Light: Moderate to bright, indirect
Water: Water when top inch or two of soil feels dry
Chinese fan palm (Livistona chinensis)
Chinese fan palms do resemble an open fan! It's a striking indoor palm for brightly-lit rooms. It reaches 10 feet tall, though, like most palms, it's a slow grower.
Light: Bright, indirect
Water: Water when top of the soil feels dry
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