PlantFiles: Bamboo Palm, Reed Palm, Seifriz's Bamboo Palm
Chamaedorea seifrizii

I have one clump planted under a huge 'Barbara Karst' Bougainvillea...despite the fact I couldn't dig a hole as deep as the container..too many roots from a Magnolia close by, I planted it and mounded soil around it. That was years ago...and its thrived. Often on very little water,deep shade to full sun (after the Bougy is pruned back) it keeps ticking.
I would add more..but it seems like the "cat palm" has made the reed palm almost extinct at the local nursery and box stores. The "cat palms" are not anywhere as tough a palm..needing much more water and easy prey to snails.

I recently purchased 10 large bamboo palms for a shady area of our garden. They are arranged to form a privacy screen and we love the tropical look that they give.

I have read that spider mites are the major pest of these plants and that controlling or eliminating them is difficult. I understand that spider mites do best in low humidity conditions and I am hoping that since these plants are next (about 25 feet) to a canal that they won't be a problem. Does anyone have experience dealing with spider mites on these plants?

For more than 30 years this plant has thrived at my residence. The first 15 years inside and the last 15 years outside. Wow what a cold hardy palm, the only help it has had was that I covered it in last years freeze 2010-2011 19 degrees and over 17 recorded days below freezing. Great container plant and protected against the house from the north wind. Survived the 2009-2010 blizzard without a wrap and still is approx 8' tall. Zone 9a north of Houston the Chamaedorea seifrizii (Bamboo Palm) is exceptionally hardy and very gracefull at the same time.

I just purchased a nice-looking bamboo reed palm at Lowe's. Although I live in SoCal and these plants are hardy here, I wanted a houseplant. Palmbob's article about indoor palms on this website was a great help. CHECK IT OUT BEFORE BUYING ANY PALM AS A HOUSEPLANT! Lowe's had a whole cluster of Majesty palms for $9.99 (Palmbob says Majesties make horrible houseplants) but there was one chamaedorea seifrizii hiding in the middle of the crowd and I dug it out. It cost $20 and is about 4 feet high. They also were selling Kentia palms (howea) for $120 and Lady palms (rhapis) for $160. Needless to say, I didn't buy those. I've placed my chamaedorea in my living room which has an 18' ceiling with skylights and am crossing my fingers. I've learned that a lot of the big box stores sell palms which are almost guaranteed to fail as houseplants because they're cheap to propagate and quick to grow. Thanks, Palmbob, for warning us. You rule!

Survived the Central Florida freezes this past winter without showing a single sign that they even knew it was in the 20s. Even 7 year Chrysalidocarpus lutescens nearby froze completely to the ground. The abundant seedlings were not aware of the cold. While they arent picky about pretty much anything, their year round growth makes hygiene a constant concern, not to mention that they are the strongest mealybug attractors that I have.

This palm is listed as a Category II Invasive Exotic by the state of Florida. Does that tell you how easy it is to grow? It is being watched to see if the escapees are altering natural habitats.

Very common Chamaedorea, probably one of the most common in cultivation and the nursery trade. This species is also commonly used as an indoor palm and it does quite well as one. Just watch for mealy bugs. It is a suckering palm with bamboo-like stems. THe stems sucker below ground and tend to be straight up out of the ground, making it different from a lot of other Chamaedorea suckering species which either have curved stems or sucker above ground. This species is also highly variable either having fine, feather lealets with lancelote leaves, to having ovoid, wide leaflets- so different you would never know the two were the same species. The wide leaf form is the one called Chamaedorea erumpens. Variegated forms of this species are not uncommon, either. It does well outdoors in most Southern California climates, except the desert ones, and I have seen it do well as an outdoor plant in the southern half of Florida. Easy to grow, takes drought pretty well, and handles low light well, though there are Chamaedorea which perform much better in low light.