Pachypodium lamerei

Growing in Pots, Balconies & Indoors

Pachypodium lamerei (Madagascar palm) is a spiny succulent that can reach 6 m in the wild but grows slowly in a pot. The grower does not list it as a houseplant, yet it is a well-known indoor succulent given the brightest light; while young it suits a sunny room, becoming a large specimen over time.

Quick Details

• Container Size: A pot sized to the trunk, potting up as it grows tall (general guide)
• Indoor Suitability: Grown indoors with intense direct light while young; gets large over years
• Best Spot: Full sun to half shade; the sunniest window indoors
• Soil & Drainage: Gritty, fast-draining cactus or succulent mix
• Watering in Pots: Sparingly – let the mix dry fully between waterings

Indoors & On the Windowsill

• Houseplant: The grower marks it No, but the Madagascar palm is commonly kept indoors as a succulent – it just needs all-day intense direct light. In weak light it stretches, drops leaves and rots.
• Windowsill growing: Give a young plant the brightest, sunniest window; rotate it and keep it warm and dry. Over years it grows too tall for a sill and needs a bright floor spot.
• Overwintering: Frost-tender – keep dry and above about 10 C in winter in a bright indoor spot.

On a Balcony or Patio

• Light & wind: It loves the hottest, sunniest, most sheltered spot and thrives on reflected wall heat. Keep rain off the pot in cool spells – it must never sit wet – and bring it in before frost.
• Practicalities: A heavy, well-draining pot suits the swollen trunk; handle carefully because of the spines.

Choosing the Pot, Soil & Long-Term Care

• Pot & drainage: A pot sized to the caudex with strong drainage – terracotta is ideal because it dries fast; Use a pot with strong drainage holes and skip a standing-water saucer to avoid root rot; terracotta breathes and dries out faster, while glazed or plastic pots hold moisture longer.
• Potting mix: Use a gritty, fast-draining cactus and succulent mix, adding extra perlite, pumice or coarse sand; wet, heavy soil rots the roots.
• Feeding: Feed lightly during active growth only; Potted plants use up their soil quickly because watering leaches nutrients away, so feed a little more often than plants in open ground through the growing season.
• Repotting: Pot up every few years as the trunk swells, handling the spines with care.
• Safety: The milky sap is toxic and irritant and the stems are fiercely spiny – keep it away from children and pets and wear gloves when handling.

Bloom & Flower Guide

Quick Details

• Bloom Season: Spring to summer
• Time to First Bloom: Once the plant matures (perennial succulent)
• Flower Appearance: Fragrant white flowers with a yellow centre and five petals
• Edibility: Not eaten — grown as an ornamental (the sap can irritate)

Detailed Blooming Overview

Pachypodium lamerei — the classic Madagascar palm — carries fragrant white, yellow-centred five-petalled flowers through spring and summer, atop its tall spiny trunk.

Flower Characteristics

• Fragrant five-petalled white flowers with a yellow eye; petals may partly merge.

Bloom Care & Pollination

• Pollination: Insects — the fragrance draws pollinators.