Question
For many years, I've kept a chamaedorea (bamboo palm) indoors in my NYC apartment in a 12" pot. The older stalks are now 7'+ high, with no foliage until the very top. What is the best way to prune this type of plant?

Answer
Hi Cameron,

Like most palms, the Chamaedorea puts out shoots from the soil and those shoots do not branch. In fact, each shoot has a single growing tip at the top. Once that growing tip is removed, that shoot will stop growing and gradually die.

Bamboo palms do tend to drop their older fronds as they grow taller so they end up with a leggy look. All you can do is cut down the tallest shoots to the soil line. This cutting down of stems will trigger some new growth from the soil. The new stems will have fronds at the bottom, but it will take a while for them to grow in and mature.

So the pruning is not complicated. Just use sharp pruners to cut off as many stems as you can stand and cut them at the soil line.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions. If you would like to e-mail me some photos, I may be able to provide some additional insights.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

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