shrub
Lady palm
Rhapis excelsa
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Lady palm is a slow-growing evergreen shrub hardy in zones 9–11. Expect 6–10 ft of height and 4–8 ft of spread; our lists space it 5.5 ft apart. It does best in part sun to shade with average water. It is grown for its year-round foliage rather than its flowers. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the structure role: a shrub that holds the bed's shape at the back all year. Deer may browse it when other food is short, and it is not listed as toxic to dogs or cats. Our rules leave it out of lists in the Desert Southwest and the Pacific Northwest, where summer heat, humidity or mild winters hold it back even inside its zone range.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Rhapis excelsa
- Plant type
- Shrub, evergreen
- Hardiness zones
- 9 to 11
- Sun
- Part sun (4–6 hours); Part shade (2–4 hours); Shade (under 2 hours)
- Water
- Medium
- Soil
- Rich, well-drained soil; leaves yellow in full sun.
- Mature size
- 6–10 ft tall × 4–8 ft wide
- Spacing
- 5.5 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Bloom
- Grown for foliage
- Roles in a bed
- Structure
- Styles
- modern, classic
- Deer resistance
- Medium: browsed when deer are hungry
- Pets
- Not listed as toxic to dogs or cats. ASPCA lists Lady palm (as Rhapis flabelliformis, a synonym) as non-toxic to dogs and cats (aspca.org search result, 2026-11).
- Native to
- Not native to the US (or a garden hybrid)
- Pot size and price
- 3-gallon pot, typically $40–$80 (sometimes stocked)
- Plant in
- Spring
- First-year watering
- Water deeply once or twice a week through the first summer, more in heat waves, so the root ball never dries out.
- Pruning
- Cut out brown fronds and old canes at the base; never top the canes.
Sources: UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions and EDIS fact sheets; ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list; Southeastern extension deer-resistance lists (UGA, Clemson, UF/IFAS); state noxious weed lists / Invasive Plant Atlas of the US; typical 2026 US garden-centre and big-box listings. Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Lady palm, across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- Cast iron plantAspidistra elatiorperennial · zones 7–11
- Holly fernCyrtomium falcatumfern · zones 7–10
- Mondo grassOphiopogon japonicusgroundcover · zones 7–10
- Variegated lilyturf 'Variegata'Liriope muscari 'Variegata'perennial · zones 6–10
- Lilyturf 'Big Blue'Liriope muscari 'Big Blue'perennial · zones 6–10
- Boston fernNephrolepis exaltatafern · zones 9–11
If you can't find it
Substitutes our engine offers for Lady palm: same role in the bed, passing the same rules.
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants