Howea forsteriana - Kentia Palm
Sprouts of BristolThese majestic palms look great as a statement plant in your living room, office or hallway. Popularised in the Victorian era, it's easy to see why these plants caught on. Not too high maintenance whilst being showy and impressive, these are the quintessential standing houseplant. The Kentia Palm can take a little more light than a Parlour Palm, but still prefers mostly indirect light, and it will appreciate not being left to dry out entirely. These plants can happily grow inside for years; they reach maturity after about 25 years and can reach 3m (9ft) tall!
Scientific Name
Howea forsteriana (Howe's plant, Forster's species)
This plant has also been named Kentia forsteriana, but has had its current name, H. forsteriana, since 1877.
Common Name
Kentia Palm, Thatch Palm, Palm Court Palm
Origin
This plant is endemic to (only grows wild in) Lord Howe Island, Australia.
Light
Keep this plant out of strong sunlight, but it will appreciate a bright spot and can take a few hours of morning or evening sun. In summer, watch out for it looking washed out as this will suggest it's getting too much light!
Water
Kentia Palms love not being thirsty. They only want the top third of the soil to dry out between waters, and also don't like cold water - so make sure you water them with lukewarm water rather than freezing cold!
Humidity
These palms do love humidity, but will be fine in most household situations. Make sure they aren't next to a radiator or in a draught that'll dry them out, and keep an eye out for brown, crispy leaf tips which hint to you that they are too dry.
Soil
Use a loose, well-draining but moisture retentive soil. A mix with added coir, perlite and bark, such as a mix designed for Ficus pants, will work well here. Repot every few years in spring as the plant grows.
Food
Feed every four waters in the growing season, reduce to every six in autumn and winter.
Temperature
Ideal temperature is anywhere between 15-30°C (aim for the middle of this!); make sure it does not drop below 13°C in winter.
Pet-safe
Yes, but too much nibbling won't be good for pets, small humans or the plant!
Sprouts Top Tips
More shade = less water; more light = more water. This means if your plant is in a shady spot, you will have to water less frequently. If the plant is not growing and is rapidly losing older leaves, you may be drowning it. In a brighter spot, you might have the opposite issue; look out for crispy, brown and droopy leaves as a sign to give it more water. Take care when repotting as these plants may be prone to transplant shock; if your plant is leaning towards the light, it is probably not getting enough light, so if you want it to grow straighter, move it into the light!
Important Information
If you have any questions, please check out the below or get in touch via our contact formWe're devoted to sending our customers quality plants with the best service around. Every plant is backed by our 7-day guarantee, so they arrive in good health.
Our team takes extra steps when prepping plants for transportation, but they're still sensitive to changes, so there may be minor cosmetic issues. We always aim to photograph and disclose any flaws before shipping, but a living creature travelling across the country in a box can take a hot minute to adjust to its new life.
If you have any issues within 7 days of receiving your order, holler at our customer support team on our contact form with your order details and some pics of the issue. After the guarantee has expired, though, we can't refund as we can't guarantee care and environmental factors. If you repot the plant during the 7 days, the guarantee is void.
We have been sending plants up and down the country for many year now and we like to think we have our way down to an art.
We protect the plant from falling out of the soil with tissue paper and tape if needed, then we wrap the plant in corrugated cardboard, and sometimes we protect the leaves with extra tissue paper if required. This is then placed into a box and if there is any empty space, we fill this with void fill to stop the plants moving around inside the box. Sometimes we will write a note on your packing slip to water the plant on arrival, so please look out for this. This is due a freshly watered plant going in a box will not only be soggy, but as the plant is in darkness this can sometimes make the plant unhappy when just freshly watered.
If your plant arrives to you unhappy, please send us a photo of the plant and packaging if relevant straight away, so we can advise you.
Online orders are packed and dispatched within a few days. Usually depending on volumes, we aim to get your order dispatched within 1 working day. We have collections from Royal Mail 6 days a week so deliveries tend to be speedy.
Our standard parcel delivery service is £4.99 for Royal Mail Tracked48, you can upgrade to Tracked24 for £2.50.
We do offer a Tracked48 Large Letter option for £2.99, and Tracked24 for £1 extra, but this only applies to products less than 2.5cm thick.
*Deliveries 7 days a week only included Tracked24 parcels.
Link to your shipping policy
We get a lot of boxes, packaging and whatnot at Sprouts from all our various supplier's deliveries. We re-use this packaging material where possible, plus we take in donations from local businesses and customers to our shop to avoid excess packaging going to landfill. Sometimes your delivery might look a little different, or come in a branded box from another company, but rest assured the items inside are carefully packed with love and attention inside. We use paper tape and all our branded materials included are fully recyclable. Sometimes we use polystyrene, bubble wrap or plastic wrap in the packaging, all these items are not new and where possible, please use them again.
We have partnered with Zedify to offer low-carbon deliveries in Central Bristol for £6.99.
Zedify collect and deliver orders from us Monday - Friday and will usually deliver your order the same day its collected. If you place your order before 11am, we will aim to get it collected the same day but this isnt always possible. When you have received your dispatch email, Zedify should be delivering your order the same day, anytime before 6pm.
We cannot give an idea of time, but if you would prefer delivery on a certain date (Monday - Friday) please get in touch or leave a note at check out with your preferred delivery date and we will do our best to accommodate your request.
Zedify deliver to the following postcodes BS1, BS2, BS3, BS4, BS5, BS6, BS7, BS8 (1, 2, 3A - 3N, 4), BS9 (1,3,4).
Select click and collect at checkout to collect your order from our Bristol shop.
You will get an email when your order is ready to collect, where possible please come and collect your order the same day as we have limited space. If you are going to collect your order at a later date, please let us know in the message box at check out so we know when to expect you. Some items such as gift sets, kits and pre-order items may not be ready to collect the same day, again please let us know what day you would like to collect and we will let you know if there's any issues.
We do not offer free returns, but if you are unhappy with your delivery, please get in touch. If your parcel or order has been damaged, please take photos and send these over to our team so we can look into this for you.
If you have ordered an item and you would like to exchange it, we should be able to do this for you. There may be an extra charge for delivery, but get in touch to discuss. For plants there is a 7 day return policy and 30 days for everything else, apart from sale items which are none returnable.
You can return or exchange in our Bristol shop for free.
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