How to Identify Potted Palm Trees

Potted palm trees are planted indoors in pots, as well as outdoors. They give a room a tropical feel and are a good option for colder climates where the palm would die if planted outdoors. Identifying indoor palm plants is important to understanding proper fertilization, pruning and soil requirements for the tree. Just as with any houseplant, identifying the type of indoor palm plant that you have can take some time and a lot of research.

Examine the Indoor Potted Palm Carefully

Write down a detailed description of the palm tree on a piece of paper. Include descriptions of the color of the fronds, the shape of the fronds and the color and shape of the trunk. In addition, examine the base of the palm tree to see if it grows from a single trunk, or if there are multiple trunks and stems growing from a central location. Feel the fronds carefully with your fingers to see if they feel sharp and make a note of it if they do since this is a distinguishing characteristic.

You may want to take a picture of the indoor palm plant so that you can refer to it as you perform research. Include close ups of the fronds as well as the trunk and print the pictures out. If the palm is light enough, you can skip the pictures and simply move it over to your computer.

Start Researching Potted Palm Varieties

Sit down at a computer and go to a plant database website such as the House Plants Encyclopedia A-Z. There are many others available, so choose one with a layout that is easy for you to understand. You can also purchase a gardening book from a bookstore, or check one out from the library, if preferred.

Compare the description that you wrote down and the pictures of your potted palm to the information in the plant database. Continue searching until you find a palm description and picture that matches your indoor palm perfectly.

You may want to start with the three most common types of indoor palm plants first, which are the Chamaedorea (Bamboo Palm) Howea forsteriana (Kentia Palm) and the Rhapis (Lady Palm).

Label the Potted Palm for Future Reference

Now that you have gone through all the time and effort of identifying your potted palm make sure to label it so that you don’t forget it. Write the Latin and common name of the palm on a plant marker and insert the marker into the soil of the pot to clearly identify it.

In addition, print out the plant descriptions you located for your indoor palm plant variety that includes water amounts, soil references, pruning and fertilizing recommendations. It’s possible that because you didn’t know what type of palm you had that you weren’t caring for it properly.