Chinese fan palm
Also called Fountain palm.
| Light | bright indirect light |
|---|---|
| Water | Every 8 days in the growing season, every 18 in winter |
| Humidity | medium |
| Difficulty | easy |
| Height | Up to 200 cm (79 in) tall |
| Pets | Cats not known, dogs not known |
Source: ASPCA Animal Poison Control, toxic and non-toxic plants, no entry for Livistona chinensis.
A fan palm rather than a feather palm, which means each frond is a pleated circle held on a long stalk, splitting at the edge into fingers that droop at the tips and give the plant its fountain shape. It is one of the slower palms and one of the more tolerant, taking cooler rooms, drier air and lower light than most, which is why it turns up in hotel lobbies. Give it a deep pot, because it makes a long tap root and resents being moved, and repot only every third year. The frond stalks carry small sharp teeth along the edges, so it is worth wearing gloves when you tidy it up.
Ailments observed
| Brown tips on otherwise healthy leaves | Dry air or hard water, which every indoor palm complains about. Raise the humidity and use rainwater. Trim the brown at an angle rather than removing whole fronds. |
|---|---|
| Fine webbing between the leaves | Red spider mite in dry heated air. Rinse the fronds thoroughly, undersides included, and raise the humidity. Check weekly through the winter. |
Filed underPlants that forgive a beginner, Statement plants, Plants for a balcony or a small space
Neighbouring entries
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Dypsis lutescensAreca palm care that keeps the fronds green, with how often to water, what browns the tips, why spider mites arrive, and how big it really gets.
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Chamaedorea elegansParlour palm care for a shaded room, with how often to water, why the tips go brown, and why you must never cut the growing tip off a stem.
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