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These elegant palms will live in most environments except full sun.PalmsThese plants will put up with dry air and a shortage of light, surviving when other plants might not. The cheaper plants can be bought singly in pots but the bushiest and best plants contain 3 or 5 plants to each pot. 
Growth of these plants is slow, so buy the size that you need and not one that has to grow to obtain the correct height.
The most popular of the smaller varieties is the Parlour Palm (Chamaedora elegans) which is a pretty and elegant plant that grows naturally in shady places. Compact in shape, it rarely grows more than 1m (3ft)high. Others are Chamaedora eliatior which has larger leaves and is more vigorous. Chamaedora oblongata has a solitary stem which makes it look fragile, though it is as robust as the rest of the other varieties. Chamaedora fragrans has long unfringed leaves and many stems arising from the base. All these can be used as specimen plants on their own. The Parlour Palm is elegant and because of its size, not too intimidating.
The Kentia palm (Howea fosteriana) is the largest of the indoor varieties, going from 1m (3ft) up to 3m (10ft) or more. The average for any room being 1.5 - 1.8m (5-6ft).
They are good for filling in large empty corners or anywhere there is a larger space that requires a point of interest. General Care Plants are easy to care for provided that they are not over-potted and over-watered. Apply a diluted fertilizer every fortnight, but do not overfeed. For healthy growth place in bright but indirect light, very hot or direct sunlight will scorch the leaves and the plant will cease to grow. Palms are on sale all the year round, but reject any that have signs of red spider mite, (minute brown spots on the leaves and webbing in the leaf joints).
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