Today we will talk about a great palm-areca palm you’ll wish to have in your yard. Do you feel like you miss a beautiful hedge tree in your garden?
Are you ready to learn how to grow areca palm? Don’t worry anymore. Today we will tell you the care guide for areca palms. They will suit well in any yard.
If you live in tropical regions or relatively warm regions, this plant is your perfect choice. With their multiple stems and big green leaves appearing, you will fall in love with them right away.
Welcome this butterfly-look plant into your yard or home and thank us later. How about we learn all about its care guide now? Let’s start then.
About Areca Palm Trees
Before learning their ultimate care guide, maybe it’s best to check out the botanical features of this lovely palm. Let’s see why so many people grow this palm tree in their yards lately. What characteristics are so special about this palm?
- Botanic name: chrysalidocarpus lutescens, formerly chrysalidocarpus lutescens
- Common names: golden cane palm, golden feather palm, butterfly palm, cat palm
- Native habitat: Madagascar
- Flowers: yellow flowers
- Fruits: areca nut
- Flowering time: spring
- Growth rate: moderate growth ratio
- Mature height: 30 feet outdoors, 8 feet indoors
- Invasive roots: crowded roots
- Self-cleaning: yes
- Toxicity: nontoxic
- Where to grow: bright indirect light in the afternoon, direct sunlight in the morning, partial sun in winter months, the west-facing window when grown indoors
Care Guide For Areca Palm Trees
Learn how to take care of a planted areca palm tree in your gardens. If you grow them indoors, this article will also be useful since the care guide is universal for indoor and outdoor growth.
Let’s learn how to take care of this tropical plant in summer and in the winter months as well. Once you do, your plant will always be able to keep in excellent condition.
Are Areca Palms High Maintenance?
Areca palms don’t stand neglection well, but they are not high-maintenance plants. Once you learn their care guide, it will take you approximately 5-10 minutes per day to take care of them. In return, you’ll get an amazing garden palm that you’ll neighbors will envy you, I’m sure.
Is Areca Palm Good Gor Home?
Areca palms are good indoor palms. Things you should consider when growing indoors are: eliminating air pockets in the soil, drainage holes in the pot, and air humidifier and you’ll have them in great shape.
Light Needs For Areca Palm Tree
The lighting conditions for the areca palm are very simple. Palm trees are tropical plants and one of the essential things for their growth is the sun. This is precisely why this plant must have at least 5.6 hours of sun in the place where it is planted.
Never plant this plant in the shade. Some people do go headlong through the wall but don’t expect success. In the shade next to other plants or behind the house or other buildings, the plant will not grow normally.
Its growth rate will not be the same, height, the color of the leaves, etc. The plant grows best in 5 hours of direct sun and mild sun in the afternoon. Partial shade is tolerant only in summer at high temperatures.
Do Areca Palms Need Full Sun?
To grow well, provide areca palm with direct sun in the morning.Its fronds won’t reach their maximum length if they don’t have enough sun. These are some of the label instructions for the care guide of an areca palm tree.
Water Schedule For Arecas Palm Trees
Watering this plant is one of the easier things in its care guide. It is best to water it twice a week when you plant it for the first time. Irrigation is essential in the first days of areca palm growth.
After that, reduce watering to once a week, and then it can go up to 10 days without water. The plant is drought tolerant, so it can survive without water for between 10 and 12 days. The type of water does not matter when it comes to watering.
Soil Type For Both Indoor Areca Palms And Outdoor Areca Palms
This palm grows best in slightly acidic soil with good drainage. Palm mix will also be successful for planting and growing this palm. If this plant grows as a house palm then try peat moss soil and you will also have success.
They can grow well in the garden and in sandy soil. All other soils that come to your mind, but we have not mentioned them, are not good for this palm tree.
Do Areca Palms Like Moist Soil?
Areca palms are drought tolerant but if you grow them in the direct sun they’ll appreciate a regular watering schedule. Well-draining soils are maybe the best choice you can make for your lovely area palms.
Fertilizer For Dypsis Lutescens Plant
Most people use fertilizer salt deposits as the fertilizer for this plant. Later on, when the plant is less watered, you’ll notice problems. The salt might not decompose and then most people remove fertilizer salt deposits. This fertilizer is definitely a sword with two blades.
The best choice is when choosing potting soil to choose ones with organic matter. This way, your plant is already some sort of fertilized. The root ball is also sensitive to salts when not watered regularly.
Drainage holes are a real savior in these moments. They don’t do good with water only, they work great for this issue too. When you try damp cloth or showers on your areca palm you’ll wash away the excess fertilizer too.
The best time to fertilize this plant is in its growing season which is early spring. When planting a new plant, once that plant arrived, fertilize it right away. Along with fertilizer apply good drainage and direct sunlight conditions.
Extra tip: always measure the fertilizer to avoid root rot issues. Excess fertilizer can damage the root tips. Excess fertilizer can cause the leaves to turn brown problems too.
Temperature For Areca Palm
The areca palm is a tropical plant and like all palm trees, it needs high temperatures to grow. The best ratio for this plant is between 75 and 85 F.
Temperatures below 60 F will harm its growth and appearance and the plant will not reach its full potential. In colder regions, it rarely succeeds outdoors.
Humidity Levels For Areca Palm
The plant is best suited to outdoor natural humidity, which is around 70%. If you grow it indoors, be sure to increase the air humidity with devices for this. In regions with low humidity, it is noticeable that something is wrong with the appearance of the plant.
Pruning Areca Trees
Prune this palm tree in the spring before flowering and after the end of the flowering season. Also, if you notice damage mostly from spider mites or sun damage, prune it.
At an angle of 45 degrees, cut the damaged parts with sharp scissors. For plants like palm tree, it is better to use scissors instead of a knife. The plant will recover very quickly after pruning.
Propagation Of Areca Palm Trees
The most efficient and fastest way to propagate this plant is by dividing it. Cut the clamp from a plant with sharp scissors. Under ideal conditions, there will be at least 4 or five of them with roots.
Cut it off and plant it in new soil in a sunny place. After 5 weeks you should see growth in the transplanted pot.
Pests And Diseases Of Areca Palms
Palm trees are one of the few trees that do not have so many pests. However, this palm still has three pesky pests that can destroy its leaves or try to do so. It is important to recognize them in time and prevent further spread, either naturally or with some precautions. Let’s check them out.
Spider Mites
Spider mites are very small dark red, dark brown pests that appear on the leaves of the plant. They are usually formed in conditions of a very long drought.
If your plant has not been watered for a long time, they will appear to notify you. Because of them, the leaves will become speckled, they will turn yellow, and if they stay too long, they will take all the nutrients from them and the leaves will fall off.
To drive them away, use a mixture of alcohol and water. Apply this combination to the leaves or spray them and say goodbye to spider mites!
If your plant got them during flowering, that’s a bit harder. If you want to learn how to get rid of spider mites during flowering, read our article about it. It will surely come in handy in tough times.
Brown Spots
Mixed stains appear for a number of reasons. The reason for the brown spots is a lack of water, excess water, or lack of humidity.
In such situations, simply change the circumstances that caused the plant to get these spots. Soggy soil is a sign of too much water, dry soil is a sign of lack of water.
Find out what’s wrong and react immediately. If the spots are on the tips of the leaves, trim them, if not, then let the leaves dry.
Browned Tips
Brown tips appear due to a lack of water. Water your plant more abundantly and wait a few days for the water to be distributed properly. In this way, it will also reach the pores of the leaves and feed them with moisture. When this happens, cut off the tips of the leaves. The plant will recover quickly by this point.
Wildlife Of Areca Palms
Some people love it when their plants attract wildlife, some don’t. It’s wonderful to see butterflies and hummingbirds on our plants. But what about deer?
They don’t do any good as birds and insects doo. Bees and butterflies are pollinators and they are important for plants. However, once deers crush in your yard they will feed on the plant’s leaves.
If you’re worried, we have good news for you. Areca palm is deer resistant and you won’t be backing these issues. Also, take a look at our deer resistant perennials.
In Conclusion-What Is Golden Feather (Areca) Palm Good For?
You can use it for a landscape design, as a hedge tree, or as an indoor plant. Since this plant is safe for your pets, we bring you some other indoor trees safe for cats. If you also lack light in your come, check out the indoor trees’ low light then.
Final Thoughts
In today’s article, we learned everything you need to know about the areca palm and how to care for this plant. How did you like the article? Another palm that could interest you is the triangle palm, Alexander palm, or a foxtail palm, or the Adonidia palm.
Has this palm tree charmed you enough? So much so that you can host her in your home or yard? We sincerely hope you did, because you won’t regret it. This beautiful plant decorated with a butterfly look is the perfect choice for any home.
If you still can’t wait, then check other palms suitable for warm regions. Check out the types of palm trees in Florida and the types of palm trees in California palm trees and then make a decision. We guarantee you all the mentioned palm trees. You won’t regret it for sure!
That would be all for today, see you soon.