Chamaedorea costaricana

Chamaedorea costaricana
Costa Rica Bamboo Palm

This moderate-sized palm forms dense clusters of thin, green, cane-like stems that can reach up to 6 m (20 ft.) tall but usually stay much shorter. The crowns hold many dark, glossy green, pinnate leaves. While generally similar to the more commonly seen Bamboo Palm, Chamadorea seifrizii, it grows larger, with longer leaves and has a much more luxuriant appearance. It is native to rainforests from Panama north to Honduras where it grows from tropical 600 m (2000 ft.) to decidedly chilly altitudes at 2300 m (7500 ft.). In cultivation it does great in the tropics as well as in most warm temperate areas where it has no trouble with an occasional light freeze. It also does exceedingly well indoors and can cope admirably well with low humidity and lack of light.

germination comments by our visitors
For general germination instructions click here.

Also see plant cultivation comments below.

Seeds from this species ...

... are very easy to germinate and need up to 3 months to sprout.
I placed 12 seeds in a bed of coco peat above normal compost in a one gallon pot with no pre-soaking. The pot was watered until water appeared through the drainage holes, then wrapped in stretch film and put inside a clear plastic bag to retain moisture. The pot was put inside my heated polytunnel at 23/32°C day/night extremes and 8 seeds had germinated within 6-8 weeks.
Submitted on 01/11/2006 by Corey Lucas-Divers corey@palm-trees.org


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plant cultivation comments by our visitors
Also see germination commnets above.

Plants from this species ...

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	• • • Write a plant cultivation comment and enter to win Euro (€) 50 worth of seeds • • • Please note: These comments are on how to cultivate the PLANTS once the seeds have germinated.

If you wish to read more on palm cultivation, we highly recommend Ornamental Palm Horticulture by Timothy K. Broschat and Alan W. Meerow, available in our bookshop.

Ratings and comments reflect individual experiences and the views of our visitors. They do not necessarily describe the most appropriate methods, nor are they necessarily valid for all seeds or plants of this species. Germination and plant cultivation success depends on many different factors; nevertheless, these experiences will hopefully aid you in your effort to get the best germination results from our seeds and the best growth results from your plants.

We recommend:

The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms
by Robert Lee Riffle, Paul Craft, Scott Zona

2nd edition
Completely revised and updated
Hardcover - 528 pages
11 x 8.5 inches

Our rating:

Suitable for: all

The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms is the definitive account of all palms that can be grown for ornamental and economic use. Palms are often underutilized as a result of their unfamiliarity—even to tropical gardeners. To help introduce these valuable plants to a new audience, the authors have exhaustively documented every genus in the palm family.
825 species are described in detail, including cold hardiness, water needs, height, and any special requirements. Generously illustrated with more than 900 photos, including photos of several palm species that have never before appeared in a general encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms is as valuable as an identification guide as it is a practical handbook. Interesting snippets of history, ethnobotany, and biology inform the text and make this a lively catalog of these remarkable plants.

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