( photo / image / picture from cassiejo's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from cassiejo's Garden )
It reminds of the Chamaedorea elegans (Neanthe Bella Palm, Parlor Palm, Table Palm) Check out the photos and see what you think.
I think that you are right!! Where do I find information on how to take care of it good? Im new to house plants and have no idea what to do. Any info will help!...like re-potting and watering.
Here you go cassiejo: http://www.ehow.com/how_6181185_care-parlor-palm.html I hope this is what you were looking for.
Mine is still rather small but I have been looking up info about re-potting. The recommendations I found are to re-pot only every 2-3 years and then into a pot only 1 or 2 inches larger. You can divide the plant to make smaller plants that are easy to handle but they appear to be very picky about whether they want to live after that or not. I usually just stick my finger into the soil and if it's dry more than two knuckles down then I water it really well. If you have an east window that would be good, it can take morning sun but afternoon sun needs to be filtered (like through a thin curtain or blinds) I have to keep mine on top the fridge during the summer since the only window available for plants is west facing and our summer afternoons are brutal. Now that the sun is further south it doesn't directly hit that window so I will be moving it back there for the winter.
I've had one of these for decades and disagree with a couple things on the ehow page. Like, "These typically need to be watered only twice a week" Water when dry, not by schedule. And, "...if the top inch is dry, water the plant." This makes huge assumptions about the size of the pot. My big one is in a pot that's about 18" tall, and the top inch of soil is always dry unless I've just watered it. When the pot feels much lighter, then add water. This passage is very disturbing: "Water evenly, making sure it reaches down to the plant's base. The soil should be completely moist, but do not overwater. If there is water sitting on top of the soil, it's too much. Water slowly and stop when it begins to rise above the soil." It sounds like they're giving advice for growing a plant in a pot with no drain hole, which I would not advise at all. But even if one were using a pot like that, if water is rising above the soil, one should have stopped adding water long before that point. If one feels the need to fertilize parlor palm, no special fertilizer is needed, just a weak application of whatever fertilizer is used for other house plants. I rarely fertilize mine, a few times per summer maybe. It's bloomed every spring that I've thought to look for the past decade or so. Spider mites do not eat plants, they suck the juices. With palms the primary pest concern is usually scale. If you don't know what those guys look like, you may want to do an image search of them so you'll know if you see any. Toni, good advice. There's one spot on my front porch that only gets the very first and last rays of the day and this huge plant takes priority over that spot to make sure it doesn't get burned. I think you should repot your plant if the pot is full of roots. I have let mine go as long as 3 years but try to do it every year. It's actually a clump of about a dozen individuals and sometimes I separate and remove one when repotting. Trim the roots well and use as big of a pot as you need so it won't blow over if you put it out in the rain. Trees like lots of room for roots.
