I hope this helps some...I don't really have palms as indoor palms, but my coconut palm does go in during winter. I would say probably a majesty palm would be good for indoors? They grow outside here and can get big but seem rather slow and it gets hot here! I would say next to a sunny window would also be best.
As for soil, I never seen gnats... What plant is growing in the soil that the gnats seem to like, and did you mulch fruit and vegies in soil? That could explain the gnats. I use 95% palm/cactus mix you can buy at home depot,the rest I mixed with some natural clay soil here that is very nutrient rich. It drains quick so I bought palm fertilizer just in case it leaches out. I doubt that is a good soil but my coconut palms seems alright so far.
Good luck!
US_Marine

Majesty palms are fine to overwinter indoors, but they will decline indoors until they die. They just cant handle being in constant dry air with little circulation.

Lady palms would be a great choice. They are very very slow growing and thats why they are also very expensive, but they are hard to kill and very nice looking palms. It will never outgrow being indoors (there are some larger palms in the same family (Rhapis) that probably would outgrow being indoors eventually.
Parlor palms do great for me indoors and it makes a ton of seeds (not viable seeds) all year long indoors and outdoors, but if you ever take it outdoors, keep it in full shade only. It will do fine by a bright window indoors. Eventually they do start to make a ringed trunk even though they will never outgrow being indoors.
Trachycarpus are known to survive cold temperatues outside, but they do pretty well inside too. It would take a very long time to outgrow being indoors.
Livistonias are great indoor plants too. The frond petioles will stretch out if its not in a lot of sun, but some people prefer that look anyway.

Good luck!
-Alex

Both Coconut and Majesty palms are very challenging indoors.

Here are some MUCH easier ones:

Chamaedorea (most any species)

Rhapis ('Lady' palms)--not cheap but worth it.

Howea (Kentia palms)--not cheap but worth it.

Phoenix roebellini (Pygmy Date)

Hyophorbes (both 'Spindle' and 'Bottle' palm)

Butia capitata (not generally seen as an 'indoor' palm but mine overwinter in the basement, under lights, very well)

These are among my favorites.

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions!

I actually have a Rhapis that I took from a giant rootball from one that was overgrowing it's home. It is doing very well.

I forgot to mention that I live in Southern California and we generally keep the windows open for about half the day or so.

I spoke to someone at a local nursery the other day, and they said that the gnats are very common for my area, and often come with the soil. She did not have any good solutions to offer though. :(

Keep them coming if anyone else wants to chime in. I will be going to get a couple over the weekend.

Thanks again.

njoasis Do you have any suggestions for nurseries handling Phoenix roebellini or some of the other Phoenix varieties.
Dan

The gnats live and breed on decaying organic matter. If you used 100% inorganic substrates then you will never have a problem. Stuff like perlite, pumice, turface, granite chips, etc. Pine bark chips are also good but eventually they will decompose. Just keep in mind you must provide supplemental fertilizer with these substrates.

I would recommend you start with a small plant first to see how it does before you invest in a large specimen, especially since you seem to be a "beginner". What seems like bright light to you indoors may be too dark for a plant. Window light is often poor in the summer months because the angle of the sun is too steep to allow sufficient light through the glass.

x

Dan, considering your zone, I'm assuming you'll be growing these as either indoor palms or indoor/outdoor palms (as I do). The thing to keep in mind about the Phoenix is that MOST of the species, while beautiful, are not acceptable to the average home. Most offer dangerously sharp spines or are just to massive for the home. P. roebellini is best for the home because the spines are not nearly as prickly and it relative dwarf size can be accommodated in a home (at least for a number of years.)--Another nice thing about these, is that they actually look like a little palm tree as the trunk develops nicely even in a container. Roebellini are frequently sold in the big box stores (HD's and L's)--at least locally. I grow other Phoenix (Canary Palms, Senegal and Cliff Island) but I don't bring this into the house because of size and those thorns. Canaries are easy from seed (it will take a few years). But they are really such massive palms I would advice against them. I haven't got the heart to get rid of any of mine even though it is a chore lugging them into/out of the garage each year. I use them in the back of the house over a large asphalt area on the property that is very hot and sunny in the summer months and would otherwise go to waste. Phoenix are very heat tolerant (and somewhat cold tolerant) and by grouping them I create a sort of oasis that is used to shelter other less heat and sun tolerant palms and other plants. Surprisingly, I have never had success with the TRUE DATE palm (P. dactlyifera--spelling?). The true date is a true desert species and has major issues with Eastern humidity and rainfall. I start lugging out the Phoenix in March and they back into hibernation in early December. Good luck in finding that date palm.

Definitely try these:
Parlor Palm
Pygmy Date Palm
Lady Palm
Kentia Palm
Radicalis Palm
Any Howea
Rhapis Palm

Also like to add:
Chamadorea (any)
Bamboo Palm
Chinese Fan Palm
Bottle/Spindle Palm
Ribbon Fan Palm
Trachycarpus (any)

I read somewhere that majesty palms are hard to grow indoors. I wish i would have known that before i filled my house with them! I have two. They are not dying off. they stay alive but dont look as healthy as they can look. I also have a problem with the nats. I use mild soapy water that i spritz on the surface and it keeps them off the dirt.

I'm certainly no indoor palm expert but I can give you my experience with Pygmy Dates and Kentia Palms.

I have found Pigmy date Palms to be darn near foolproof as an indoor palm. Just water once in a while and fertilize no and then and they do great...full sun, indirect sun, low humidity, doesn't seem to matter. only issue I ever have is if I stick them outside in full afternoon sun after a winter indoors there will be moderate burning.

I also have Kentia Palms. As stated, these are expensive, and they are a bit more finicky. They like indirect sun and if you try and stick them outside in direct sun after being indoors they will get toasted and take a LONG time to come back. Other thing I have found is that they seem to be very sensitive to having their roots disturbed. I re-potted several years ago and they did not like that at all. Still once you get dialed in with how to deal with them they are a spectacular plant that will deal well with cooler indoor winter temps and mine seem to do ok with low humidity also as I have a woodstove that runs quite a bit in the winter.

I use a mixture of 75% sand and 30% potting soil for my palms and it seems to work pretty well. I don't water much at all in the winter and don not fertilize at all during the winter months.

Yes, Pygmies will show some burning if put into direct sun suddenly, so introduce direct sun gradually. I usually bunch all the palms on the eastern side of the garage for a week once they go outside for the season. Then, depending on the species, you can put them into stronger sun. My Pygmy gets full sun outside and is the only "indoor palm" that flowers yearly. The one in the photo below is a solitary specimen.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Yeah thx for the tip NJ. I try to gradually expose them if I'm not too lazy. I amazed at how forgiving these plants are. One of my small ones I have in a small pot that I bury out back in the garden as too look like it is growing in the ground. It got full sun all summer. Last fall I dug it up and stuck the pot in the basement next to some of my dug up canna...hardly any light at all. Darn thing looks great and is still growing...albiet slowly. I've probally watered the thing 3 times all winter.

BTW...that would be ~70% sand and 30% potting soil. I'm not that math challanged...no edit button on this site :-)