Neanthe Bella Palm, Parlor Palm – Chamaedorea elegans

$37.50 – $125.00

Pot Size	Average Planted Height (From soil to the top of the plant)
3 gallon/10″	1 – 2 ft.
7 gallon/14″	2 – 3 ft.

SKU: N/A Categories: Accent Plant, Container, Exotic, Indoor, Loam, Low, Low, Low, Moderate, Moderate, Palm, Part Sun, Seed, Shade, Shrub, Slow, Small, Spring, Well-Drained, Winter Tag: Yellow

General Landscape Uses: Indoor, accent, container, understory grouping

Ecological Restoration Notes: Not suitable for ecological restoration projects outside its native range. It is primarily an ornamental crop cultivated for indoor and landscape horticulture.

Description: Feather-like (pinnate), arching fronds made of delicate, deep-green, lanceolate leaflets. Solitary, slow-growing palm with a slender, ringed green trunk resembling bamboo (often potted in clusters of multiple seedlings to create a fuller, bushy look).

Dimensions: Height 8 – 10 ft.; Spread 2 – 4 ft.

Growth Rate: Very slow

Native Range: Dense rainforests and wet tropical slopes of Southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize.

Native Habitats: Understory of dense, moist to wet tropical rainforests, frequently growing on limestone soils beneath thick forest canopies.

Soils: Loamy, rich, well-draining soil mix with high organic matter content.

Nutritional Requirements: Low to moderate. Benefits from a light application of a balanced, slow-release palm fertilizer or liquid houseplant fertilizer once or twice during the spring and summer growing season.

Salt Water Tolerance: Low

Salt Wind Tolerance: Low. Fronds are soft and easily damaged by coastal aerosol salt spray and harsh ocean winds.

Drought Tolerance: Moderate once established. Prefers consistently moist soil during active growth, but tolerates brief periods of drying far better than most other tropical palms.

Light Requirements: Part sun to shade

Flower Color: Pale yellow to cream-colored.

Flower Characteristics: Small, globose flowers arranged on branching, stalked inflorescences that emerge from lower leaf bases.

Flowering Season: Late winter to spring (can bloom sporadically throughout the year under warm indoor conditions).

Fruit: Small, round, pea-sized dark black berries (drupes) following successful pollination (dioecious species requiring separate male and female plants).

Wildlife and Ecology: In its native understory habitat, its fruit provides food for small rainforest birds and fruit-eating mammals. In cultivation, it serves primarily as non-toxic cover for small garden fauna.

Horticultural Notes: Grown from seed

Comments: First popularized as an indoor ornamental during the Victorian era, earning its common name “Parlor Palm” because it was frequently featured in Victorian parlors.