Latest Prices for Lady Palm Seeds and a Guide to Planting Them

Lady palm, also known as Guanyin bamboo, tendon-head bamboo, palmetto bamboo and so on, is an evergreen foliage plant of the genus Rhapis in the palm family Arecaceae. Because it tolerates shade and moisture and prefers scattered light, it can be placed for long periods in bright indoor spots, and can even grow normally and keep its deep green leaf color after 3 consecutive months in a dark place with no sunlight. Now let us take a look at the price of lady palm seeds and how to plant them!

How much is a jin of lady palm seeds?

The price of lady palm seeds is about 60 to 80 yuan per jin, but prices vary depending on seed quality, variety, place of origin and the market. Lady palm likes a warm, humid, well-ventilated semi-shaded environment, does not tolerate waterlogging, is extremely shade-tolerant, fears strong sunlight, is slightly cold-tolerant and can withstand low temperatures of around 0°C, prefers loose, fertile, acidic soil, does not tolerate poor soil or saline-alkaline soil, and requires relatively high soil moisture and air temperature. In production it can be propagated by sowing and by division, while home growing is mostly by division.

What varieties of lady palm are there?

1. Rhapis multifida: an evergreen clumping shrub, produced in western Guangxi and southeastern Yunnan, and can be used as garden landscaping material.

2. Rhapis gracilis: produced in western Guangdong, Hainan and southern Guangxi; its tree form is short and graceful, and it can be used as garden landscaping material.

3. Rhapis robusta: produced in southwestern Guangxi; it can be used for garden ornament, and its fibrous roots can be used to set bones.

4. Rhapis humilis: produced from southern to southwestern China, commonly cultivated in various places; its tree form is graceful and it can be used for garden landscaping and ornament.

Sowing methods for lady palm

1. Seedling substrate: For sowing lady palm, use loose, permeable soil as the substrate; generally a mix of leaf mold and river sand is used as the seedling soil.

2. Warm water soaking: Before sowing, treat lady palm seeds by soaking them in warm water (soak in 30-35°C warm water for two days), and sow again when the seeds begin to sprout.

3. Sowing method: Lady palm germinates unevenly, and after sowing the soil covering should be slightly deeper; generally they sprout in 1-2 months, with a germination rate of about 80%.

4. Transplanting seedlings: Lady palm seedlings can be transplanted when the cotyledons are 8-10 cm, and at transplanting they must be planted 3-5 plants per clump to help survival and growth.

How to grow lady palm

1. Soil: Lady palm likes moist, well-drained loam rich in humus, with slightly acidic soil being most suitable. You can choose leaf mold + garden soil + river sand, mix evenly, and add an appropriate amount of base fertilizer to the soil when planting; a fired clay pot is enough for the flowerpot.

2. Temperature: Lady palm likes warmth and is relatively cold-tolerant. The suitable growing temperature is 20-30°C. In winter, as long as it is moved indoors and kept above 0°C, it can overwinter safely; if the temperature is above 10°C, it can keep its leaves green, and after Qingming it can be moved outdoors for care.

3. Light: Lady palm likes an environment with scattered light. In summer it should be placed under a shade shed or in tree shade. In a semi-shaded and humid environment, new branches can grow continuously and old leaves stay emerald green. Scorching sun and dry hot wind are the main causes of leaf scorch and drying in lady palm.

4. Watering: During the growth period from May to September, lady palm should be watered more to keep the soil moist; it is better to keep it wet than dry, but waterlogging must be avoided. During high temperatures, water should also be sprayed frequently on the leaves and ground to increase air humidity, and watering should be appropriately reduced in autumn and winter.

5. Fertilizing: The principle for fertilizing lady palm is frequent but light application, that is, small amounts applied many times, with a combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, with organic fertilizer as the main part and trace fertilizer as a supplement. Apply fertilizer to the roots once every 10-15 days, and spray foliar fertilizer once every 7-10 days.

6. Repotting: For potted small lady palm plants, repot and change the soil once a year; for large plants, repot once every 2-3 years. Repotting is generally done in spring when they are taken out of the shed. The growing soil commonly uses 2 parts garden soil, 1 part barnyard manure soil, and 0.5 part each of leaf mold and rice chaff ash, mixed for use.

7. Pests and diseases: If poorly managed, lady palm can suffer from scale insects, leaf blight, gray leaf spot and brown spot. Scale insects can be killed by spraying 40% omethoate at 1000 times dilution, and leaf blight, gray leaf spot and brown spot can be controlled by spraying thiophanate-methyl at 1000 times dilution.