In the wild, you’ll find this plant growing primarily in Mexico and Guatemala, but it’s been beloved as an indoor plant around the world since Victorian times. For Victorians, the parlour was the best room in the house, where you would receive your fanciest visitors and display your fanciest possessions. This exotic palm in your parlour would suggest you were worldly and sophisticated, hence the name Parlour palm.
We’re all a bit less formal these days, but a Parlour palm still brings simple elegance to any room and it’s really easy to care for. It will tolerate low light and infrequent watering, but as with any plant, you’ll get better results if you treat them well. It will also appreciate a feed with liquid fertiliser once per month in spring and summer.
Did you know?
Parlour palms are one of the slowest growing house plants and can take decades to reach full height.