Rhapis excelsa 'Taiwan'

This is the lady palm offered as 'Taiwan'. Rhapis excelsa is a small clustering fan palm from southern China and Vietnam that spreads into thickets of thin, bamboo-like canes wrapped in dark fibre, each carrying glossy, deep green leaves split into broad, ribbed segments with blunt, finely toothed ends.

Grown in Japan since around 1600, where one of the traditional cultivar groups came from Taiwan, it is now planted widely in shady gardens, containers and indoor rooms. The notes below describe the species.

At a glance

• Native range: southern China and Vietnam
• Mature size: usually 1.5–3 m
• Growth rate: slow
• Light: shade or part shade; full sun turns the leaves yellowish
• Water: evenly moist, well-drained soil
• Cold hardiness: about −5 °C without damage; stems killed near −7 °C but regrow from the rhizome
• Indoors / outdoors: excellent indoors, even in low light; outdoors in shady, mild gardens

Care

It does best in slightly acid, well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Water when the top few centimetres have dried. Feed sparingly. Indoors, check occasionally for scale insects, mealybugs and spider mites, and avoid overwatering, which leads to root rot.

Why Palmpedia: Greenhouse-grown by us in Almeirim, Portugal, and supplied in 15 L to 35 L pots.