Family: Arecaceae
Scientific name: Arenga engleri
Common name: Dwarf sugar palm
Origin: Taiwan

The dwarf sugar palm is a small palm from Taiwan that grows up to 3 meters high and is often used to produce sugar, wine and fibres. It’s an attractive species which also performs well as a container- or houseplant, and grows well in a shady spot and dry air (protects the plant against a hot sun; water regularly). The minimum temperature lies around -5 degrees Celsius. The leaves have serrated points and a silver-green underside. The red-orange flowers emit a sweet fragrance and are followed by red-purple, inedible fruits of 3 cm wide.

Sowing instructions: Soak seeds 2-3 days in tepid water and sow in some sowing mix. Constantly keep the ground moist and let the seeds germinate in a worm spot (25-30 degrees Celsius). Germination can vary between some weeks or even months.

Sowing time: All year round
Difficulty: Intermediate
Minimum temperature: -5 degrees Celsius

Photo 1: Keisotyo
Photo 2: Tortie Tude (CCA-1.0 Wikipedia)
Photo 3: JungleMusic.net