How to Grow and Care for Lady Plant Indoors

The lady palm (Rhapis excelsa) is a small palm species that grows in dense clumps of slender upright green stems. On the stems are fan-shaped, glossy green fronds that each have between five
and eight narrow, lance-shaped segments. This palm is tolerant of low-light conditions, which makes it a popular houseplant. Indoors, it grows much smaller than outdoors where it grows 6 to 15 feet tall. 

This palm has a fairly slow growth rate, gaining less than a foot in height per year. 

Lady Palm Care

Here are the main care requirements for growing lady palm as a houseplant:

• Place it in a location with bright, indirect light.
• Use a potting mix formulated for palms to ensure excellent drainage.
• Water when the top inch of soil feels dry in the summer and the top 2 inches feel dry in the winter.
• Protect the palm from cold drafts and provide a consistent humidity level of 50% or more.
• In the spring and summer, fertilize it monthly with a liquid houseplant fertilizer diluted to half strength. 

Light

Place the lady palm near a window where it receives bright indirect light. A north- or east-facing window is ideal. A south- and west-facing window should have shades or curtains because unfiltered direct sunlight can cause leaf burn.

Soil

Soil with excellent drainage is essential for lady palms. Using a potting mix made especially for palms works well. African violet potting mix also is suitable.

Water

Lady palms have average water needs. In the spring and summer, when most of the palm’s active growth is taking place, water whenever the top inch of soil feels dry. In the fall and winter, reduce
watering to whenever the top 2 inches of soil feel dry.

Temperature and Humidity

Lady palms thrive in typical room temperatures between 60 and 80 degrees F. In the colder months, be sure the temperature does not drop below 55 degrees F, as anything colder damages the plant. Protect your plant from cold drafts, as well as from blowing hot air (such as air from a heating vent) that will dry it out.

This palm prefers a humidity level of 50% or higher. Brown leaf tips are often a sign that the humidity is too low for the plant. To boost the humidity, regularly mist your palm with water from a spray bottle. Or place its pot on a tray of pebbles filled with water, making sure the pot isn’t sitting directly in the water as this can cause root rot.

Fertilizer

Lady palms only need fertilization during the growing season. From around April to September, feed your palm monthly with liquid houseplant fertilizer diluted to half strength. 

Types of Lady Palm

There are several varieties of the lady palm available, including:

• R. excelsa ‘Koban’: This variety has notably wide leaf segments and tends to spread outward.
• R. excelsa ‘Daruma’: This variety features narrow leaves and an upright growth habit.
• R. excelsa ‘Tenzan’: The leaves on this fast-growing variety have a bit of a curl.
• R. excelsa ‘Kodaruma’: This is a miniature variety with an especially slow growth rate.
• R. excelsa ‘Zuikonishiki’: This variety sports green and white striped leaves.

Pruning

Lady palms don’t need a lot of pruning. Avoid removing fronds that have just a little browning (a fairly common sight on lady palms often due to inadequate water or light), as the plant still uses nutrients from those fronds. However, if an entire frond is discolored or dead, you may prune it off.

If there are lots of offsets or pups growing at the base of the plant, it is usually a good idea to remove them, even if you don’t use them for propagation. If you let them grow, the plant is likely to get too crowded, the new shoots will compete for water and nutrients, and air circulation will be poor.

Propagating Lady Palm

Lady palm can be propagated from seeds or by division, which is the preferred method because it is faster and allows you to produce a plant that is true to the parent. Mature lady palms grow clusters or offsets at the base of the plant. Here’s how to use them to propagate the plant:

1. In the early spring or late fall, remove the offsets with a knife, or scissors. Sterilize the tools with an alcohol- or bleach-based solution before use.
2. Place the offsets on a tray for a few days in a well-ventilated indoor space away from direct sunlight. Letting the offsets callus over increases the survival rate because the wounded plant tissue is less likely to get diseases.
3. Partially fill a pot with well-draining potting mix for palms. The pot should only be about 2 inches wider than the offset and there should be about 2 inches of space at the bottom. Place the offset in the center of the pot and fill the pot with potting mix
4. Water slowly and deeply right after planting. Let the top inch of soil dry out before watering again.
5. Place the pot in a location with bright, indirect light (just like the mother plant).

Potting and Repotting Lady Palm

The lady palm doesn’t mind being a bit cramped in its pot. Initially, choose a pot that’s slightly larger than the size of the root ball. Make sure it has ample drainage holes.

Plan to repot your palm every other year in the spring into a slightly larger container. To do so, gently lift the roots out of the container, aiming to disturb them as little as possible and keep the root ball intact. Then, place the palm into its new container, and fill around it with fresh potting mix. Pack down the soil, and water it well.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

These plants generally don’t have any serious pest or disease problems. But watch out for scale, spider mites, and mealy bugs. Signs of an infestation include wilting or yellowing leaves, a sticky substance or webbing on the leaves, and tiny light or dark dots along the plant.

Lady palm is also susceptible to leaf spot diseases.

Common Problems

Iron deficiency is a common problem when lady ferns are grown as potted plants. The youngest leaves might be light greenish yellow, sometimes there are additional, dark green, pea-sized blotches. If the iron deficiency is severe, the entire plant will turn a light greenish-yellow color. This iron deficiency is not caused by an actual lack of nutrients but by poor soil aeration, which prevents the plant roots from properly absorbing the micronutrient iron. The best remedy is to repot the plant with fresh potting mix. When repotting, remove as much of the old potting mix from around the plant roots as possible. Fertilize the plant as described under Fertilizer above.