Chamaedorea tepejilote

pacaya palm
Mini palm tree with lush, apple-green fronds. Place in a warm spot. Good in pots. Inflorescence eaten as (bitter) pickled vegetable.
height 8–12ft
width 2–3ft
tolerates Heat
water
needs		 Moderate
water
info		 This palm should be watered deeply every week or two once it’s established. It doesn’t want to ever dry out completely.
hardy
to		 30F
exposure Full Shade – Part Sun
indoor
outdoor		 Outdoor
drainage In Ground: Cactus Mix, In Pots: Cactus Mix, Tolerates Sandy Soil
origin Central America
california
native		 No
sunset
zones		 16, 21–24

Sunset Zones Map

Outdoor Exposure Guide

Growing Notes

Palms are generally heavy feeders, so if you want them growing quickly and looking their best, they should be fertilized at least three times a year. Fertilizing at spring equinox, summer solstice and fall equinox will allow for a winter rest. Be sure to feed your palm with a fertilizer that contains micronutrients, especially if you see yellowing leaves or yellow spots on the leaves. Be sure your palm fertilizer contains micronutrients, particularly magnesium.
This solitary palm will grow only one trunk during its lifetime. If you have a pot with multiple trunks in it, that’s because multiple separate palm trees were germinated in the pot. The good news is that you won’t need to thin out suckers over time to maintain the number of trunks you started out with.
You can prune off older chamaedorea leaves when they start to look ratty, or wait until they are completely dried up. Either way, once the leaf sheath (the part of the leaf that wraps around the trunk of the palm) dries up, you can just pull it right off, exposing the green trunk. Once this is done, your palm trunks will resemble bamboo canes.
With leaves growing in a single plane along most of the rachis, the feather palm has an elegant look to it.

Special Interest

This palm’s juicy lush look is an absolute must-have when creating a tropical garden in a temperate climate. Mix it with other broad-leafed flowering plants like cannas, hedychiums, philodendrons, or monsteras.