Phoenix roebelenii Seeds | Pygmy Date Palm
LATIN NAME: Phoenix roebelenii
COMMON NAME: Pygmy Date Palm
Plant Profile
Phoenix roebelenii is the small date palm of the houseplant trade, and it is more useful than most. It grows to about two metres with a slender trunk that is usually solitary but sometimes suckers, and a crown of fine, arching pinnate leaves that stay green to the base. The leaflets are soft and closely set, which gives the crown a feathery look.
The species is native to the banks of the Mekong and its tributaries in Laos, Vietnam and southern China, where it grows on rock and sand at the edge of seasonal water. It is dioecious, and the small brown fruit on a female plant is edible but thin-fleshed. Old plants in gardens carry a skirt of dead leaves, which can be removed or left, depending on the look wanted.
Science & Biotechnology
The palm is one of the few in the genus that tolerates low light, which is why it survives in a room. Its leaves are thinner and its cuticle lighter than those of the date palm, and it can maintain a positive carbon balance at light levels that would starve a Phoenix dactylifera. That tolerance has limits: in deep shade the new leaves come out long, pale and weak.
The genus is old and has been moved around by people for so long that the boundaries between species are blurred. Phoenix roebelenii hybridises with P. canariensis and with P. reclinata in gardens, and some plants sold as roebelenii are hybrids. The species is also susceptible to lethal yellowing, a phytoplasma disease spread by planthoppers, which has killed palms in the Caribbean and in Florida.
Uses & Benefits
The plant is grown as an indoor palm, as a patio specimen and as a landscape plant in warm climates, where it is used in beds, in planters and around swimming pools. The fruit is edible but not worth eating, and the sap is not tapped.
In Laos the leaf is used for thatching and for wrapping food, and the stem is used for fencing and for light construction. The palm appears in local medicine as a treatment for intestinal worms and for skin complaints, though the uses are local and not supported by trials. It is not a commercial crop beyond the nursery trade.
Growing from Seed
Seed germinates in six to ten weeks at 25 to 30 degrees, and it should be sown in a deep pot, since the seedling sends down a long root before the shoot appears. Soak the seed for a day first, and keep the mix moist but not wet, since the seed rots in stagnant water.
The palm wants bright light with some shelter from the hottest sun, and a well-drained soil that is kept evenly moist. Indoors it needs a bright window and a summer outside, and it resents cold draughts and dry air, which brown the leaflet tips. It is hardy to about minus three, so in a cold climate it must be moved under cover before the first frost.
Our Take
The best small palm for a pot, tolerant of indoor light and slow enough to stay in scale. Give it bright light and even moisture.
Related Reading
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