How to Grow and Care for Cat Palm in Your Home

The cat palm tree isn’t a tree at all. it’s a clustering palm with no trunk whatsoever, just a dense clump of stems covered with feathery fronds.

Cat Palm

Cat palm is a beautiful, fluffy little palm you can grow as an accent, backdrop or short, dense screen.

A cat is similar in looks to an areca palm, except the leaf stems (petioles) are green, whereas the areca’s are golden yellow. This smaller palm works in places where the areca would be too large.

Plant specs

The cat palm tree isn’t a tree at all. it’s a clustering palm with no trunk whatsoever, just a dense clump of stems covered with feathery fronds.

This palm only grows 6 to 8 feet tall in a rounded form. It’s a slow grower that will tolerate sun or shade, though shadier locations are best.

Plant in Zone 10, or in warmer areas of Zone 9B in a well-protected spot.

Plant care

These palms need regular watering, though they don’t like “wet feet.”

Plant with a good amount of organic peat moss or top soil in the hole to help the roots retain moisture.

Planted in full sun, a cat palm will require more frequent irrigation than one in shade.

Fertilize at least three times a year – in spring, summer and autumn – but more (up to once a month) if the palm is in a sunny location.

The fertilization (and additional watering) will help keep this palm’s healthy deep green color.

You may have to trim some fronds occasionally for a nice clean look. Cut the stem off as close to the ground as possible.

Plant spacing

You can place these palms as close as 3 feet apart for a privacy screen or hedge, depending on the density you want.

For a location next to the house or a fence, come out at least 3 feet.

Cats work well in large containers, since their growth rate is slow – just make sure they get watered regularly.

If you plant one in a pool cage planter, remember to keep it away from the water’s edge. because of their low salt tolerance, excessive chlorine from pool water can damage the foliage.

Landscape uses for cat palm

• small screen around the pool cage or patio
• privacy plant in front of windows
• tropical backdrop for smaller plants
• as a hedge along the property line or fence
• lining a raised deck
• as a filler for the corner of the yard
• by the entry
• understory planting for trees and taller palms
• pool cage planter palm
• accent for the corner of the house
• in a “stairstep” planting in front of taller plants and behind smaller ones
• in containers in the pool cage, patio or screened lanai

A.K.A. (also known as): Cascade Palm, Cataract Palm

GOOD SNOWBIRD PLANT? YES (in shade with regular irrigation)

COMPANION PLANT SUGGESTIONS: If planted in a part shade location, try dwarf azalea, ginger, cordyline/dracaena, firespike, pinwheel jasmine, golden shrimp plant, and ferns.

Other palms you might like: Bamboo Palm, Arenga Palm

How to Grow and Care for Cat Palm in Your Home

Alexandra Jones is an avid urban grower and Master Gardener writing about houseplants, gardening, and sustainability from her home in Philadelphia. She has 10 years of gardening experience and five years of professional writing expertise.

Mary has been a Master Gardener for 30+ years and a commercial and residential gardener for 50+ years. She is a former Clemson University Extension Agent.

Cat palm (Chamaedorea cataractarum), also called cascade palm or cataract palm, is known for its elegant fronds that grow from a cluster of slender green stems. This lush tropical houseplant grows best when planted in well-draining soil and kept in a place with bright, indirect light and temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees. Cat palms can take up to 10 years to reach their mature size of around three feet tall when grown indoors.

There are several benefits of growing cat palms in your home. Houseplants like cat palms may help improve air quality, and grouping these plants with other specimens can create a more humid microclimate. Plus, cat palms are low-maintenance houseplants that are easy for beginners to grow.

Light

Cat palms grow best with lots of bright, indirect light. Direct morning sunlight from an east-facing window is generally okay, but harsh direct sun can burn the leaves. Rotate your plant periodically to give all the foliage enough light exposure.

Soil

Cat palms don’t like “wet feet,” so it’s important to plant them in a loose, fast-draining potting mix that will hold moisture while allowing excess water to drain away. You can purchase a pre-made mix specifically created for palms, or make your own by combining potting mix with equal parts pine bark and perlite.

Water

Water your cat palm when the top of the soil has just begun to dry out. One of the most common issues with cat palms is root rot from overwatering, so do not water too often. Check saucers and cache pots to make sure your plant isn’t sitting in excess water after watering.

Temperature and Humidity

Cat palms prefer temperatures between 70 to 80 degrees during the day and in the 60-degree range at night. Temperatures below 50 degrees can damage its foliage. This plant benefits from at least 50 percent humidity.

Fertilizer

Feed cat palms with a balanced liquid houseplant fertilizer diluted to half strength once per month starting in early spring, or when you first see new growth at the start of the season. Stop fertilizing in the fall.

Pruning

Cat palms don’t need regular pruning to look healthy, but they benefit from occasional tidying up. Use clean, sharp, sterilized shears or pruners to cut back yellow, dead, or damaged fronds at the base of the plant as they appear.

Propagating Cat Palm

Cat palms are simple to propagate by dividing mature plants. You’ll need clean, sharp shears or a serrated digging knife, an appropriately sized plant pot for your new divisions, fresh potting mix, and gardening gloves (optional). For very large specimens, a small pruning saw may be helpful. Here’s how to divide a cat palm.

1. Gently remove the mother plant from its container. Examine the root ball and crown of the plant to identify clumps of stems and their roots. You can create multiple divisions from a single plant as long as the leaves on each clump are at least one foot long with the root system connected.
2. Use your fingers to loosen the root ball a bit, then use your shears, serrated knife, or pruning saw to cut away the clumps you’d like to propagate. Make sure to keep clusters of stems and their root systems intact.
3. Repot the divisions with fresh potting mix in appropriately sized containers that have drainage holes. Make sure the soil line hits the same place on the plant as it did in the original pot.
4. Water your divisions well. Allow their root systems to recover for a few weeks before fertilizing the plants.

How to Grow Cat Palm From Seed

Growing cat palms from seed is very slow, with inconsistent results. Leave that to the professionals and try propagating cat palms by dividing a mature plant instead.

Common Pests and Plant Diseases

Cat palms can fall prey to a few common houseplant pests, including mealybugs, scale, and spider mites that suck sap from the leaves.

Leaf spot can also affect cat palms. Prevent it by watering the soil directly or bottom watering to keep the foliage dry and less susceptible to disease. You can treat leaf spot with an organic fungicide according to manufacturer instructions, but this is usually only necessary in severe cases.

How to Get Cat Palm to Bloom

Cat palms can bloom with small spikes of tiny yellow flowers. While it’s unlikely that an indoor plant will bloom, you’ll have the best luck if you recreate the plant’s ideal conditions and fertilize it regularly as soon as you see signs of new growth in late winter or early spring.

Bloom Months

With the proper conditions, cat palms can bloom in late winter or early spring.

How Long Does Cat Palm Bloom?

In nature, cat palm flowers typically last for a couple of weeks before setting fruit. However, a male and a female plant are required for a plant to fruit.

Common Problems With Cat Palm

Cat palms are pretty easy to care for, but you’ll want to keep an eye out for signs of problems. Here are some common issues to watch for and how to save a cat palm that is growing poorly.

Brown Leaf Tips

Underwatering and low-humidity conditions can both cause cat palm leaf tips to turn brown. Water your plant when the soil surface has just begun to dry out and create more humid conditions. Brown tips on lower leaves can be a sign of overfertilizing.

Leaves Turning Yellow

Yellowing leaves are a common sign of overwatering or underwatering in houseplants, including cat palms. If you suspect overwatering is the issue, cut back on watering until the soil dries out completely, then water the plant well. Only water when the top of the soil has just begun to look dry. Yellow spots on translucent leaves may be a sign of potassium deficiency.

Leaves Dropping

Overwatering and underwatering can both cause leaves to fall off. Check the soil moisture and adjust your watering routine accordingly.

Cat palms grow best in bright, indirect light. A few hours of direct sun in the morning is okay, but harsh afternoon sunlight can burn your plant’s leaves.

Cat palms like humidity levels over 50 percent, but misting doesn’t recreate the humid environment many houseplants need and can even create the conditions for plant diseases to take hold. Instead, run a humidifier in the room with your cat palm, or group it with several other humidity-loving plants to create a microclimate with more moisture in the air.

Cat palms are slow-growing plants, especially when kept indoors. They also don’t respond well to having their roots disturbed, so it’s better to let them become slightly potbound before repotting. Plan to repot your cat palm every three years or so.

The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

1. Houseplants for Healthier Indoor Air. Cornell Cooperative Extension.
2. Success with Houseplants – Humidity. Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County.
3. Palm Diseases and Nutritional Problems. Clemson University Extension.
4. Garden Myths. Penn State Cooperative Extension.