Phoenix palms have been cherished for thousands of years and as they are originally native to the Canary Islands the conditions they require make them durable, easy to care for plants. There are a few different varieties but the best one for growing indoors as a houseplant is the pygmy date palm.
For top tips and advice read our phoenix palm care guide and keep your indoor palms happy, healthy and thriving.
How to Care for Phoenix Palms
The gorgeous, bushy growth on the phoenix palm is what makes it such a popular house plant. The long arching fronds have spiky, feathery leaves and the stems have spines like a cactus.
This is a relatively slow variety and will stay under 6ft in height when grown indoors which means you don’t have to worry about it outgrowing your space.
Phoenix palms are air purifying plants and can help improve the quality of the air in your home. They are known to filter out many dangerous toxins including formaldehyde, benzene and carbon monoxide.
Phoenix Palm Water and Humidity
Keep the compost of your phoenix palm moist but not wet. Water sparingly when the soil starts to feel dry at the top. Palm trees don’t tolerate sitting in water and may experience root rot if the soil is left wet for too long.
Increase watering in the summer while your palm is growing and reduce in winter. If your potted plant is sat in a tray or decorative pot make sure you pour away any excess water. Remember that under watering is always less damaging that over watering and your palm will do better when slightly on the dry side.
Phoenix Palm Temperature and Humidity
Phoenix palms are hardy indoor plants and can stand a wide range of temperatures from -5c to 30c.
The palm is also used to quite dry conditions so does not need misting that often, if you do mist your plants you can always mist this variety in the summer when conditions are a little warmer in the home.
Phoenix Palm Soil and Feeding
For a happy, healthy phoenix palm grow in a nutrient-rich compost with good drainage. Heavy soil mixes may result in too much moisture retention leading to root rot.
Any standard potting mix will do, if you still feel like it’s too heavy then lighten the mix with added organic matter, perlite or coarse grit.
Only feed your phoenix palm a couple of times during the growing season and not at all during the winter. Half strength house plant feed should tide your plant over, however, if you notice yellowing leaves ensure to add a fertiliser to remedy deficiencies in magnesium, potassium, and manganese.
Too much fertiliser too late in the season can result in leggy growth so stop feeding around 2 weeks before the autumn.
Phoenix Palm Location and Light
Phoenix palms love bright filtered light, even some full sun. Place in a location that receives bright indirect light during the day with morning or evening sun.
Phoenix Palm Repotting
As these palms are slow growing they don’t require frequent repotting and in fact do a little better when they are slightly pot bound.
Some phoenix palms actually break out of their pots when they outgrow them so if yours is in need of repotting then follow these steps:
To repot you should do the following things:
- Choose a larger pot, opt for a pot size round 2-3 inches bigger than its current pot
- Add a layer of compost to the base of the pot and remove your palm carefully from its current pot.
- Loosen the roots slightly before placing the rootball into the new pot.
- Fill in the edges with extra compost and firm the plant down.
- Give the soil a good water to allow the root system to establish into the new soil.
Be wary of the spines, we recommend wearing gloves to protect your hands and arms.
Phoenix Palm Toxicity
Just like our parlour palm, the phoenix palm makes up a part of the Arecaceae family which are classed as non toxic to animals meaning they are a great option if you have pets.
Although not toxic to animals, they do have wicked spines that grow up and down the trunk so place out of the way of any curious paws or hands.
Extra Care Tips for your Phoenix Palm
As your palm matures, it will start to lose some of its lower leaves but these will regrow over time. Remove any brown dried leaves as they happen to keep your plant in top health. As leaves are removed it will start to create the trunk of the tree.
Phoenix Palm Pests
Phoenix palms can be susceptible to a few pests including spider mites, mealy bugs, aphids, whitefly and scale. Try to identify any pests as soon as you can and treat accordingly with a natural, organic treatment.
Spraying a neem oil mixture is a great natural alternative to other commercial pesticides.
Send a Phoenix Palm as a Gift
Our Phoenix Palm gift makes up a part of our large indoor plants range, it stands at a substantial height of 3ft and will be a gift cherished by plant lovers. It’ll brighten up any room, bringing lush greenery year round.
