Rhea

Rhapis excelsa

Bamboo palm, Fern Rhapis, Japanese Peace palm, Broadleaf Lady palm

• Rhea likes...
  • 
    Feeding

    Add some plant food to your watering can at least once a month throughout the growing season.

  • 
    Medium light

    Rhea will happily grow in filtered light or a shadier spot. She’s not a fan of bright light.

  • 
    Regular watering

    Give Rhea a good drink on a weekly basis in summer but cut back in winter when she’s not growing as much.

• Quick facts

  Botanical name

  Rhapis excelsa

  Nickname

  Bamboo palm, Fern Rhapis, Japanese Peace palm, Broadleaf Lady palm

  Plant type

  Palm, indoor

  Plant height (including pot)

  140-150cm

  Pet/baby safe

  Yes

  Nursery pot size

  27cm

• About Rhapis excelsa

  One of the fan palm family, Rhapis excelsa is one of the most architectural of indoor plants. It’s also one of the most easy-going, happy in low to high humidity, and medium to low light. Because it’s on the tender side – hailing from southern China and northern Vietnam – the only thing it won’t tolerate is cooler temps, so be sure to keep it somewhere that doesn’t get colder than ten degrees in winter. 

  Even though, because of its temperature intolerance, it’s an indoor palm, you can move yours outside over summer. Just be sure to place it in a spot with some shade so that it doesn’t burn in bright light; Rhea is an understory palm that grows naturally in the dappled light of taller trees. As such, it’s a slow growing palm that will keep its shape. If you want it to grow a bit bigger, repot it into a larger pot every two to three years. 

  Rhapis excelsa grows in clusters, sending up new shoots from soil level. These emerge wrapped in a coarse dark brown fibre that protects the new growth. As the palm matures, this fibre will fall away to reveal strong bamboo-like stems topped by fan-like fronds. If you’re lucky, you may be rewarded with tiny yellow flowers in summer. 

  Did you know?

  It’s been shown that Rhapis excelsa is good at absorbing pollutants from the air – a bonus for city dwellers.