Houseplantfoliage houseplantStraightforward

Kentia palm

Howea forsteriana

The best large indoor palm and the most expensive, because it grows slowly from seed and cannot be shortcut. It tolerates lower light, cooler rooms and more neglect than any other palm of its size, and a good specimen lasts decades.

Position: Moderate light
Water: moderate demand
Drainage: Free-draining
Grows to: 150–300 cm × 90–180 cm
Frost: Frost tender
Difficulty: Straightforward

August

Nothing to do

No sowing, planting, harvesting or pruning window falls in August.

Kentia palm’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

Activity	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Take cuttings					May.	June.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

Conditions it needs

Light: Partial shade, Dappled shade
Frost: Frost tender
Grows best at: 16–24 °C
Soil: Peat-free compost
Soil pH: 6–7
Drainage: Free-draining
Water needs: moderate
Drought: moderate tolerance
Waterlogging: poor tolerance
Heat: moderate tolerance
Wind and exposure: poor tolerance

Where these figures come from

LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Kentia palm — position
Checked 2026-08-13
FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Kentia palm — hardiness
Checked 2026-08-13
Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Kentia palm — temperature
Checked 2026-08-13
SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Kentia palm — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Howea forsteriana — culture
Checked 2026-08-13
DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Kentia palm — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

Soil	Verdict	Why
Heavy clay	Works, with one condition	Kentia palm will crop on heavy clay, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Sandy	Grows well here	Kentia palm grows perfectly well on sandy without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Chalky and alkaline	Works, with one condition	Kentia palm will crop on chalky and alkaline, but one thing has to be dealt with first. The soil is substantially too alkaline for it: it wants pH 6 to 7, and this soil sits around 7.8 to 8.5.The pH is the obstacle. Small shifts are achievable and slow; large ones are not. On chalky and alkaline the dependable answer is a container of the right compost rather than an attempt to change the ground.
Loam	Prefers this soil	Loam suits Kentia palm as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Silty	Prefers this soil	Silty suits Kentia palm as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Peaty and acid	Works, with one condition	Kentia palm will crop on peaty and acid, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Shallow over rock	Grows well here	Kentia palm grows perfectly well on shallow over rock without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Made ground and urban soil	Works, with one condition	Kentia palm will crop on made ground and urban soil, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height: 150–300 cm
Mature spread: 90–180 cm
Rooting depth: 35 cm

Where these figures come from

Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

In a container

Minimum volume: 15 litres or more
Minimum depth: 30 cm

Where the container figures come from

Minimum volumeHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

Method	Suitability	What it needs
Indoor pot	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Container	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13	Indoors, or outdoors in summer only
Windowsill	Marginal source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Hydroponics	Not assessed source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Open ground	Not suitable source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13	Tender: will not survive a British winter outdoors.

Growing it

TransplantingRepot rarely — every three or four years at most. Kentia palms dislike root disturbance and grow better slightly pot-bound, and the fine roots break easily.
ProtectionKeep it away from radiators and cold draughts, and wipe the fronds occasionally. Red spider mite in dry heated air is the main pest and shows first as a dull stippling on the fronds.
WateringGive it a thorough soak once the top three to five centimetres are dry, let it drain right through, and never leave the pot standing in water — a kentia tolerates being dry far better than it tolerates wet roots, and root rot in a cold room is what kills most of them. Reduce noticeably from October. Browning frond tips are the plant's main complaint and are usually dry air or salts rather than thirst, so raise the humidity and flush the compost before reaching for the watering can. Kentias resent root disturbance, so repot rarely and top-dress instead.
FeedingOne half-strength feed a month while it is in growth, and none otherwise. A kentia is slow by nature and feeding will not speed it up appreciably; what it does do, if overdone, is leave salts that brown the frond tips of a plant grown specifically for its foliage. Nothing between October and April. Old lower fronds yellowing and being shed as new ones come from the crown is the normal way a palm grows, not a deficiency.

Where this guidance comes from

TransplantingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Howea — care
Checked 2026-08-13
ProtectionSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Palms indoors
Checked 2026-08-13
WateringSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Howea forsteriana — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13
FeedingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Howea forsteriana — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13

What goes wrong

Start from what you can see

Brown, crisp leaf tips

Safety and edibility

Cats and dogs

Listed as non-toxic to cats and dogs

Kentia palm appears on published non-toxic lists for cats and dogs. That is a statement about the plant's chemistry, not a guarantee: any plant eaten in quantity can upset an animal, so it is still worth discouraging heavy chewing.

source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center — toxic and non-toxic plant list — American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: Howea forsteriana — non-toxic plants list

Checked 2026-08-13

Pets and livestockpets
Not toxic to cats or dogs.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Howea forsteriana
Checked 2026-08-13
No precautions needed.

Sources for this page

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.

If something is wrong with it

Brown, crisp leaf tips — 2 causes GrowingHQ holds for kentia palm

Something else? Work through it with the diagnostic tool.