CHAPTER XIII 
PALMS 
HE number of palms adapted to house cul- 
ture is very limited but they comprise the 
most elegant of the decorative plants. 
Although popular now, they would be much more 
widely used if their culture were better understood. 
Mistakes made in handling palms are serious in re- 
sults, for they produce for the most part only two or 
three new leaves in a year, and so any injury shows 
for a long time; it is not soon replaced by new 
growth and forgotten, as with many of the more 
rapid growing house plants. 
Nevertheless, if the few cultural requirements of 
palms are carefully attended to, they are as easily 
grown as any plants and yield a solid and lasting 
satisfaction. 
The house palms, as I have said, grow very 
slowly. It is not only useless, but dangerous, to 
try to force them into unnatural growth. 
Palms do best when restricted as to root room. 
When your plant comes from the florist, do not get 
impatient after a month or so and think that a larger 
pot would make it grow faster. Repotting once a 
year while palms are growing, and not so frequently 
103 
