How to use palms in your home

Try these ideas to show off your palms from homestolove.com.au.

• Plant two or three single-stemmed palms in one planting hole. Their stems will curve outwards – a dramatic effect.
• Use palms as bold accents and landmarks for entrances and gateways.
• Create an avenue of palms. Plant just one species or alternate clumping palms with a single-stemmed palm.
• Use clumping palms as a lush screen for privacy or to create windbreaks.
• Create a verdant, layered effect by planting three contrasting forms as one group. Try one clumping, one erect and one ground-hugging species, such as chamaerops, rhapis and howea, to accentuate each other’s forms.
• Some slow-growing palms, such as kentia and Chinese fan palms, can take many years to form a stem and look wonderful used as an understorey plant.
• Plant a whole palm grove. A complex canopy creates varied patterns of sun and shade – ideal conditions for a mixed understorey of plants.
• Take care when planting palms near swimming pools. If planted too close they may cause it to crack. Plant in containers to avoid this problem.
• If your palms overhang water, prune any flower spikes before they open. Falling debris can foul water and block swimming-pool filters.
• Use slow-growing palms as house plants.