Exotic Plants in Our Homes

Exotic Plants in Our Homes

Since ancient times, palms have been considered special and exotic plants. As early as the 18th century, palms were classified into a separate class named Principes by Swedish botanist, naturalist, and founder of systematic botany Carl Linnaeus. Thanks to this, palms were designated as very elegant plants of noble stature that are characterized by beautiful, lush green leaves, and many have an imposing appearance. Palms are exclusive members of the plant kingdom, and their exceptionality is fully captured.

Palms lend the space an exotic picturesque quality when standing alone, and they themselves exude a special charm. Today, palms form a separate group in the plant system, and their beauty is known throughout the world, along with their picturesqueness and unique striking appearance. Since the palm is so diverse, we can find a location for it in every room of the interior or in outdoor gardens, winter gardens, and other locations. Palms grow in many areas on Earth, in dense rainforests, we encounter them on coastlines, but also in high mountain regions of the tropics and subtropics. They are cultivated with pleasure artificially in greenhouses and flower window alcoves and display cases, in indoor spaces of homes, where, however, they face strong competition from other houseplants.

If we decide to grow palms at home as houseplants, we must never forget that we cannot provide them with the same favorable conditions as they have in their homeland, where they grow in the wild or as ornamental or useful plants. Here, proper watering of palms is very important, because in nature palms are watered by rain, and only rarely after such watering does the soil remain overwatered and waterlogged, because in this case moisture usually absorbs into the depths of the earth. In fact, excessive waterlogging harms palms, because then air cannot reach their roots and the roots suffocate. As a result, they die or rot.

Substrate is very important for palms and we must follow several fundamental rules. One of the most important is that the substrate must secure the palm in the pot, furthermore it must allow access of air to the roots and provide sufficient nutrients and water necessary for the palm's life. However, not all palms like the same substrate, but generally palms are not particularly demanding and have almost no special requirements. Lighter soils are sufficient for them, as palms, with few exceptions, are very sensitive to waterlogging and standing water around the roots. Palms thrive best in pre-prepared palm substrate, which you can find in any good garden supply shop. It is slightly more expensive than ordinary soil, but we have the assurance that the substrate's composition meets the requirements of palms and we don't need to add any other fertiliser. However, we can also add a little sand, farmyard manure or mature compost to the substrate.

The containers in which we place palms must also meet certain criteria. They must have good water permeability and a sufficiently large drainage hole. The top opening of the pot or container and its shape and size must correspond to the age and size of the palm. For containers that we take outside, ceramic, clay, stoneware or even wooden ones are recommended, while plastic containers are not recommended. We can also have several types of pots. A typical palm pot is narrow and tall, designed for palms with long taproot systems. Pots with a top rim as wide as they are tall are recommended for palms that have surface roots spreading horizontally. Wide containers are required by those palms that produce an abundance of shoots from buds. And this is just the beginning of what awaits us when growing palms.