How to Plant, Grow and Care for an Indoor Potted Sago Palm Tree

While a fresh coat of paint, repolished tiles, or new furniture can give your house a new life, none of these renovations or improvements come cheap.

If you live in the USA and are currently finding it hard to make expensive financial decisions, you might find cheap and equally effective ways to give your living space a new and fully revamped look.

If you are wondering how to make a lasting impression on your family, friends, in-laws, or office colleagues when they visit your home for the first time this holiday season, take our advice and invest in an aesthetically pleasing, lush-green indoor potted plant.

Not only is investing in a potted house plant significantly cheaper than redoing the paints or furniture, but knowing your stunning renovation will be entirely done in under a day just makes this option even more attractive.

If you are just starting on your journey of becoming a plant parent, have no previous experience with taking care of a house plant, or simply do not have the time and resources to give a new plant too much attention, you need to get yourself the beautiful Sago Palm Tree.

Known for its exceptional tolerance and remarkable resistance, the Sago Palm Tree is the one indoor planter that can even outlive you.

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Why Are Indoor Potted House Plants a Popular Purchase Worldwide?

When someone looks to revamp their home, bedroom, bathroom, or office space, one of the most effective, budget-friendly, and quick renovation ideas is investing in a range of different indoor house plants.

These plants not only complement one another but also tie in perfectly with the home or office’s external aesthetics.

Once your living or office space is well-decorated with several different indoor house plants, the ambiance, and overall energy will immediately be refreshed and lightened.

The air will undoubtedly be many times purer, and people who have asthma or other respiratory diseases will have a chance to breathe better at home.

Apart from improving your physical health in multiple ways, indoor plants are also loved and highly demanded across the globe for their undeniable effect on people’s mental health.

According to one recent study conducted to observe the commonality of house plants in American households and their apparent effects on the caretaker’s mental health, the relationship between a house plant and a person’s emotional wellness has been demonstrated.

As per the study’s results, living around a house plant and interacting with it for just fifteen minutes can considerably help reduce stress and anxiety levels.

Moreover, when placed in a workplace or at an office, the undeniable healing and calming allure of an indoor potted planter can help reduce employee absenteeism while also boosting work productivity.

Furthermore, apart from the unquestionable visual appeal and multiple health benefits, a potted indoor house plant’s popularity can also be credited to the advancement of modern-day communication.

Since people tend to spend a significant amount of their time on the internet, getting influenced into buying a house plant just because their favorite celebrity has one is quite common.

Continue reading to learn more about the beauty and unique appeal of the indoor potted Sago Palm Tree, its specific care routine, and its common signs of poor health and weakness.

Moreover, the article also sheds light on the top health and medicinal benefits of having an indoor potted Sago Palm Tree at your home.

Let’s get started!

The Appearance and Prehistoric Appeal of an Indoor Potted Sago Palm Tree

If you have ever been to a home decorated by a number of indoor potted house plants, you might have mostly seen different kinds of cacti, succulents, or maybe a money plant or snake plant, etc.

While all these planters do have their own natural beauty and benefits, at times, it is better to step out of your comfort zone and buy an indoor planter that is not as commonly found in every other household.

Hence, if you are looking for a way to create a statement and bring home an indoor plant that will never fail to impress you or your visitors, get yourself an indoor potted Sago Palm Tree.

Originating from Japan and Southern China, the beautiful Sago Palm Tree has also been known as the Japanese Funeral Palm or Palm Cycads for many years.

Although the Sago Palm Tree does not branch out into other shoots, the symmetrical plant can grow a whole new frond each year.

Characterized by its thick and rough dark brown trunk and sharp, beautifully glossy, dark green feather-like leaves, the Sago Palm Tree, despite its slow growth, can reach a whopping height of nearly ten feet in total.

Although most people buy the Sago Palm Tree for its bold appearance and impressive height, they do not know that the Sago Palm Tree, which is not a true palm tree, is no less than a living fossil.

Belonging to a family of ancient tropical and subtropical plants, the remains of fossilized Sago Palm Trees can be found from nearly three hundred million years ago.

This means that the mini palm tree you just got for your living room comes from the same line of prehistoric plants that existed back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth.

Moreover, apart from the apparent beauty and the prehistoric appeal, another primary reason you need a Sago Palm Tree is for its exceptional tolerance and resilience and its impressive lifespan.

Adapted to growing and thriving on neglect and a highly simplistic care routine, the Sago Palm Tree’s fantastic resistance to external environmental changes is precisely what allowed the plant species to survive the era of the dinosaurs and make it to the modern world – relatively unchanged.

Furthermore, although the Sago Palm Tree does not need much attention, focused care might allow it to survive for a whopping two hundred years.

Yes, it’s likely that your children and their children will end up taking care of this plant.

So, if the Sago Palm Tree lived through millions of years of prehistoric wilderness, it will certainly have no problem surviving in your household, even after you are gone.

The Different Types of Indoor Potted Sago Palm Trees You Can Find

Since the Sago Palm Tree is one of the most ancient plant species that continue to grow to this date, one can find many different versions and types of this mini palm tree.

Some of the different types of indoor potted Sago Palm Tree you may find at your local nursery or online are as follows:

King Sago Palm Tree
Queen Sago Palm Tree
True Sago Palm Tree

How to Care for an Indoor Potted Sago Palm Tree?

As mentioned above, the Sago Palm Tree, adapted to surviving indoors and outdoors, is quite a remarkable plant species that has successfully displayed unparalleled resilience over millions of years.

Hence, if you do have an indoor potted Sago Palm Tree plant at home, you need not be concerned about fretting over various complicated needs and requirements.

Instead, feel free to leave your Sago Palm Tree at home unattended as you go out for work or school or to travel with your friends for an extended period.

It’s very likely that you’ll come back home greeted by the sight of a fresh, healthy, dark green, and glossy Sago Palm Tree.

However, although the indoor potted Sago Palm Tree does not depend on specific care practices to survive, any amount of attention or directed care will help it develop even better immunity and resilience allowing it to grow taller in less time.

Hence, if you find the process of looking after a house plant therapeutic and want your indoor potted Sago Palm Tree to reach its fully-matured ten-foot tall height sooner, you should know all about its care needs.

Some of the critical needs of an indoor potted Sago Palm Tree are as follows:

Watering

The Sago Palm Tree would not have survived the three hundred million years if frequent watering as part of its basic needs.

Instead, the Sago Palm Tree’s unique nature allows the plant to be well-adapted to drought-like conditions and very little water.

Hence, if you have an indoor potted Sago Palm Tree at home, you need not be overly concerned with the planter’s watering requirements.

Simply put an alarm or mark a calendar hung in your room to remember that you need to water the indoor potted Sago Palm Tree at least once every seven to ten days.

However, if you plan to leave for a month or so, there is no need to worry about your mini palm tree dying.

The goal is to keep the overall soil of the potted Sago Palm Tree moist at all times. If the top layer of the palm tree’s soil gets excessively dry, simply use a spray bottle to return some dampness to it.

Moreover, ensure never to overwater your indoor potted Sago Palm Tree, as excess water can be quite dangerous to the palm tree’s health.

If you ever overwater your palm tree, the excess water will not get taken up by the plant’s roots. Instead, it will accumulate and settle inside the palm tree’s pot, creating a medium that nurtures fungal growth.

The moment any airborne fungal spores settle on the excessively moist soil of the Sago Palm Tree, they will take just a few days to fully spread to the palm tree’s roots, causing them to decay and die.

Although you might not notice any difference in your indoor potted Sago Palm Tree for a while; however, eventually, its thin leaves will dehydrate, curl inside, and fall off as the entire plant dies.

Sunlight

Although the prehistoric Sago Palm Tree can grow both inside and outside your home, direct sunlight can affect and damage its leaves and structure.

If the Sago Palm Tree is placed under continuous unfiltered sunlight, its internal temperature will rise.

As a result, the plant will try to transpire water from its leaves to cool down its body, the same way a human being excretes sweat.

However, if too much water leaves the Sago Palm Tree’s body, it will eventually suffer from dehydration and poor growth.

Hence, the best tip is to place your indoor potted Sago Palm Tree in a well-lit room or garage that gets sufficient indirect sunlight during the day.

Moreover, since sunlight is key to the Sago Palm Tree’s growth and survival if long hours of thick cloud cover are expected in your region, invest in a solar lamp.

External Humidity

Atmospheric humidity always has a significant impact on most indoor plant species. Although the indoor potted Sago Palm Tree is highly resilient to external atmospheric changes, its growth rate and overall strength will be improved if external humidity is paid attention to.

If the Sago Palm Tree is grown in an excessively humid environment, know that the water droplets settling on the plant’s soil will be enough to keep it moist and healthy.

Hence, do not make the mistake of following the same watering routine. Instead, water your mini palm after at least fifteen to twenty days.

However, if the external conditions are too dry, know that water will diffuse out of the palm tree’s leaves down a concentration gradient.

Hence, in such conditions, invest in a humidifier for the room that allows the external environment to have an average to above-average humidity level at all times.

Soil PH

While most plant species will suffer from stunted growth and a shortened lifespan if grown in highly acidic soil contaminated with various heavy metals, the Sago Palm Tree seems to have no problem surviving in such conditions.

The Sago Palm Tree’s remarkable tolerance will allow it to survive and retain its beauty in almost all kinds of soils.

However, if you want your indoor potted Sago Palm Tree to grow taller and more prominent in a shorter period, the best tip is to grow it in slightly acidic soil, with a 6 to 6.5 PH.

Due to the acidic conditions, the micronutrients present in the soil get broken down more quickly. As a result, the Sago Palm Tree’s roots can absorb and transport these nutrients up the plant more effectively.

This allows the Sago Palm Tree to develop its high resistance and grow at a faster rate.

External Temperature

The Sago Palm Tree is best adapted to grow in warmer temperatures. Its thin, feather-like leaves help limit the amount of water that exits the plant, hence allowing the mini palm to survive external heat and high internal temperatures.

For ideal growth conditions, ensure your indoor potted sago Palm Tree is kept in a 60 to 75°F temperature range.

Moreover, if the external temperature drops below 55°F, it is best to invest in a solar lamp to provide the indoor potted Sago Palm Tree some needed warmth.

Repotting

Since the Sago Palm Tree is a generally slow-growing plant, you need not worry about its trunk or roots outgrowing its pot.

Instead, repotting needs to be done only once every three years.

Common Signs of a Sick Indoor Potted Sago Palm Tree

Although a Sago Palm Tree’s tolerance and resilience are truly second to none, at times, prolonged poor soil conditions or damaging external atmospheric conditions can affect its growth and well-being.

Even though a poorly maintained Sago Palm Tree might not die too easily, it will not get the opportunity to grow large and tall according to its potential.

Hence, if you see your indoor potted Sago Palm Tree displaying the following signs, know that you need to be concerned about its health and living conditions:

Its leaves have a more frizzled look and are very dry
Its leaves have lost their glossiness and green pigment and have turned yellow or brown
The leaves are curling inwards and falling off, and no new leaf or frond growth can be seen
The Sago Palm Tree has not grown at all in the last year
You can notice a fungal infection or a pest infestation in your Sago Palm Tree’s soil
The entire Sago Palm Tree is drooping sidewards

What Are the Benefits of Having a Sago Palm Tree at Home?

Apart from the undeniable beauty, prehistoric appeal, and low-maintenance care routine, there are many additional benefits of having an indoor potted Sago Palm Tree at home.

Some of these wonderful benefits include:

Since the Sago Palm Tree can live for over a hundred years, it is an exceptionally long-lasting investment
Medicines containing Sago Palm can help control and regulate blood pressure due to their high potassium concentration
Sago palm supplements can help improve digestive issues and offer an incredible boost of energy
Moreover, Sago Palm medication and traditional remedies have also been used in helping cure cancer, nerve damage, and tumors in various countries of the world

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for a potted indoor house plan that is drought resistant and can retain its beauty and health over extended periods of neglect, there could be no better plant than the Sago Palm Tree.

Known and loved for its exceptional resilience, prehistoric roots, and countless medicinal benefits, the Sago Palm Tree is perhaps one of the very few plant species that can outlive you and your children.