WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Rhapis excelsa, WUCOLS IV

How often to water slender lady palm in California

In July on the north-central coast, established slender lady palm in loam needs a deep watering about every 13 days: about 8.8 gallons each time under a 4 foot canopy, about 4.6 gallons a week. Slender lady palm forms dense clumps of thin, fiber-covered stems up to about 12 feet tall. Each stem carries fans of broad, ribbed leaflets with saw-toothed tips. It grows best in light shade and spreads slowly from underground rhizomes. Regular water keeps it full, though established clumps in coastal gardens are fairly tough.

ShrubPalm or cycadRated for 4 of 6 zones

How often to water slender lady palm, month by month

Your city
Canopy width
4 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for slender lady palm and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area under the branches, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure canopy width

A tree with its canopy width marked across the widest branches and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the branches, from the tips of the outer leaves on one side to the tips on the other. A tape works, or pace it out.

Water the whole circle under the branches, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that circle.

A wider canopy means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While the tree is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry 2 inches down at the edge of the clump in summer means slender lady palm is ready for water
  • Leaf segments folding inward and looking dull can indicate thirst
  • Brown, crisp leaf tips across new fans can follow a dry root zone or too much direct sun
  • Yellowing fronds and soft stem bases with soggy soil point to overwatering
  • Fine stippling and webbing under leaves suggest mites rather than a water problem

How to water it

  • Water around the clump with drip or a slow hose so moisture reaches all the stems
  • Soak about a foot down, then let the top inch or two dry before the next soak
  • Plant in light shade, with only morning sun inland, in well-drained soil
  • Mulch the root zone to keep the soil evenly moist and cool
  • Add emitters as rhizomes send up new stems around the clump

Through the seasons

Water a new clump regularly through its first summer while roots spread. Established clumps in coastal gardens tolerate some dryness, but steady water keeps the fans full. It is evergreen and grows slowly through the year, with less need in winter. It has come through about 18 degrees F unharmed. WUCOLS rates slender lady palm moderate water on the north-central coast, the south coast, in South Inland and in the low desert. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the Central Valley or the high desert.

In pots

Slender lady palm is a favorite container palm for shady patios and indoor rooms. Use well-drained mix and water when the top inch dries, letting water flow out the bottom. Outdoors in summer, a pot may need checking every few days. Indoors, it dries much slower. Empty the saucer each time. In winter, cut back on water as growth slows, and bring tender potted plants in on cold nights.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
Not ratedWUCOLS does not rate Slender Lady Palm for the Central Valley zone
A year
no figure
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses

WUCOLS lists Slender Lady Palm as not evaluated for the Central Valley zone, so no monthly figure is computed here.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Slender Lady Palm: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.37–0.780.78–0.78
Feb0.53–0.810.87–0.93
Mar0.87–1.151.3–1.52
Apr1.18–1.41.61–1.95
May1.46–1.611.95–2.45
Jun1.61–1.742.29–2.79
Jul1.61–1.982.51–2.85
Aug1.49–1.862.33–2.6
Sep1.24–1.491.86–2.08
Oct0.87–1.151.33–1.49
Nov0.47–0.840.9–0.96
Dec0.31–0.650.68–0.68
Year12–15.518.41–21.08

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated not evaluated in the Central Valley, like slender lady palm. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Everglades PalmAcoelorraphe wrightiinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingFormosa Sugar PalmArenga englerinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBismarck PalmBismarckia nobilisnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingChilean Feather BambooChusquea culeou (C. breviglumis)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBlackbrushColeogyne ramosissimanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingGlaucous Scorpion VetchCoronilla valentina glaucanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingWillowleaf CotoneasterCotoneaster salicifoliusnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMadagascar SagoCycas thouarsii (SHADE)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingIrish HeathDaboecia cantabricanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingButterfly PalmDypsis lutescens (Areca)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingUmbrella BambooFargesia murielaenot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBlue Fountain BambooFargesia nitida (Sinarundinaria nitida) (BAMBOO)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPrickly HeathGaultheria mucronata (Pernettya mucronata)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingOtterbossieGossypium harknessiinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBox-leaved HollyIlex crenatanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBellyache BushJatropha gossypiifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes slender lady palm, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How often should I water slender lady palm in summer?

In July, established slender lady palm in loam needs a deep watering about every 11 days on the south coast and about every 9 days in the South Inland zone. Sandy soil holds less water, so waterings come closer together. Clay stretches them. Check the soil before each watering and skip one after a soaking rain.

How much water does slender lady palm need per day?

In July on the north-central coast, established slender lady palm needs about 0.7 gallons a day under a 4 foot canopy and about 2.6 gallons a day under a 8 foot canopy. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for slender lady palm change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates slender lady palm separately for each of the six California climate zones: moderate water in the North-Central Coastal zone, not evaluated in the Central Valley zone, moderate water in the South Coastal zone, moderate water in the South Inland zone, not evaluated in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, moderate water in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Can slender lady palm take full sun?

It does best in light shade. It tolerates some direct sun near the coast. Inland, give it shade through the afternoon.

How cold can slender lady palm get?

Plants have come through about 18 degrees F undamaged. Potted plants are easier to protect.

Is slender lady palm good indoors?

Yes, it handles low light and low humidity, so it is a popular indoor palm. Indoors, water only when the top of the mix dries. It rarely flowers inside.

How do I propagate lady palm?

Divide the rhizome clump into sections with several stems each. Water divisions well and keep them shaded until they root.

What pests bother lady palm?

Mites, mealybugs and scale can attack it, especially indoors. Mild leaf spots may also appear. Check the leaf undersides before changing the watering.

More plant watering guides

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Sources