The leaves often brown tip, for a variety of reasons, and landscapers will often keep cutting the tips back a bit with pinking shears to maintain the wonderful jagged look of the leaflets. For safe cultivation normal temperatures should not go below 5°. Winter hardy to USDA Zones 9-11. R. excelsa is quite cold hardy, tolerating temperatures as low as -5 degrees C and can be grown outdoors in subtropical or warm temperate climates. Inflorescence characters are more noticeably different. The nomenclatural and taxonomic history of R. excelsa is inextricably linked with that of R. humilis and so these aspects of the two species are discussed together here. Keep it at temperatures exceeding 70 Fahrenheit in summer, but you should be careful to keep it below 55 Fahrenheit during winter. Moisture: Adaptable to most soils. comm.). Lady palm or Rhapis is a plant that is native to Asia, Japan and China. Root rots can be avoided through proper cultural practices such as choosing healthy plants in the first place and watering only when necessary. Low light and humidity requirements make this an excellent container plant for homes, offices and shopping malls. Scale can be easily controlled by physical removal, wash off with high pressure jet of water, or scrape off with cotton wool buds, or by chemical control with White Oil, or a systemic insecticide such as Rogor or Metasystox. Cooperative Extension, which staffs local offices in all 100 counties and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Mealybug can be removed physically but it usually requires chemical control. Solander’s description of R. flabelliformis (Pages 317–321, Solander boxes BM) was located and when translated from the Latin indicates that the specimen on which R. flabelliformis was based was collected from a plant growing in Dr. James Gordon’s garden at Mile End, London, in 1776. Photo by Roy Foster. Indoor plants are best sited in bright indirect light near a … Three fruiting branches on a female Rhapis excelsa I noticed in Ybor City - Tampa, Fl. As an indoor plant Rhapis excelsa has no palm rival. Palms 47(2) 62-78. These delicate, deeply split fan leaves droop from very thin petioles along most of the stem length making these palms look luxuriously bushy. But if, despite great care, root rot symptoms do develop, such as wilting, excessive browning of leaf tips and loss of vigour, firstly remove the plant from the soil it is in, wash roots bare of soil, inspect roots for fungus problems, remove black roots or reddish brown roots and replant into a raised bed of well drained soils. Rhapis excelsa is very adaptable to soil types although neutral to slightly acid soils with good drainage and organic matter is recommended for best results. The large amounts of water leach out accumulated salts, toxins and carry oxygen to the roots. It can tolerate full sun, but is happier and greener with some shade. Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions. Scientific name: Rhapis excelsa Pronunciation: RAY-piss eck-SELL-suh Common name(s): Lady Palm Family: Palmae Plant type: palm USDA hardiness zones: 8B through 11 (Fig. Native to southern China and Taiwan, these plants are not found in the wild; all known plants come from cultivated groups. Conservatory of Flowers, San Francisco. Native to southern China, they are petite, clumping and moderate to slow growing. Special thanks to Palmweb.org, Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos. Rhapis excelsa is fairly cold hardy and can tolerate tropical and subtropical temperatures, handling both humid and dry climates. 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