Bamboo Palm Chamaedorea seifrizii Florida Form

Florida Form is the fuller selection of bamboo palm, a clumping Chamaedorea from the shaded limestone forests of Mexico and Central America. The canes carry the same bamboo like rings, but the leaflets are noticeably broader and the clump packs in more of them, so it reads as a solid green mass rather than a scatter of fine leaves. That density is the whole reason to specify it: it screens a shaded fence line, a side passage or an under eave bed, instead of merely decorating one.

Density needs dim light to hold

Subtropical and warm temperate gardens suit it, and frost damages the canes, so cold inland gardens need a wall sheltered position or a tub that can be moved. Light is shade to part shade only. Direct sun turns those broad leaflets a bleached yellow within a season and the density you paid for disappears. Soil wants organic matter, mulch and free drainage, with moderate water and regular summer watering to keep the clump pushing new canes. Growth is slow, so plant at the spacing you want the screen to sit at rather than expecting fast spread; setting clumps so the outer canes just touch gives a continuous face without crowding. The failure mode is pruning by height. People trim the canes back to tidy a screen or hold it under a window line, and a shortened cane never grows a new tip; it just stands there as a bare stick and the clump looks worse every year. Height is managed by removing whole canes at ground level, never by cutting them short.

Fuller than the standard form

Against plain Chamaedorea seifrizii, this is the one to choose when the planting has to block a view or soften a hard boundary, while the standard form suits interior pots and a lighter, more open look. If you want broader leaflets again and more height over time, Chamaedorea hooperiana goes further in that direction but is offered in a single size here. Florida Form is the middle option: dense, mid height, and easy to source across three pot sizes. Where the screen runs along a shaded fence, work out the length before you order, because a clump that fills sideways this slowly needs more plants at the start than most buyers expect, and stretching the spacing leaves gaps that take years to close.

Yearly thinning and a measured feed

Thin the oldest canes out at the base each spring so light reaches the centre and new suckers come away. Remove browned fronds at the stalk. Feed twice through the warm months with a palm fertiliser containing magnesium and potassium and keep applications light, because a shade palm shows over feeding as brown leaflet tips. Indoors and under eaves, check leaf undersides for mite through dry weather and hose or wipe the foliage. Keep mulch thick over the root zone and clear of the cane bases. Browse the wider range in palm trees.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 3 sizes, from 250mm up to 400mm, priced from $129.00 to $229.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to when to plant in Australia.