Indoor Plant Series Part 1- All about Areca Palm

"There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments." – Janet Kilburn Phillips 

There is no gardener who never met situations like yellowish/brown leaves, leaves falling off, no flowering, and even sudden death of the plant. But as they say, it takes years to learn gardening and once you get it, you can't step back. With this we start our Indoor plant series, we will talk about one of our top favorite indoor plants, Areca Palm in this blog. 

About this Plant: Originated in Madagascar with the scientific name as Dypsis lutescens. Majorly known as Areca Palm, also known as Butterfly Palm. People who love bright interiors would definitely love this plant, it creates a tropical setting in a very well lit room. Long, feathery fronds of Areca palm make an attractive corner, that's why you see them everywhere, in houses, offices, shopping malls, and restaurants. They are a relatively slow grower and prefers to be somewhat root-bound. It is fairly easy to take care of this plant, yet sometimes over/under watering, direct/insufficient light, over-fertilizing, low humidity, fluoridated or chlorinated water, pests, or unnecessary re-potting is the fastest ways to kill this plant. 

Height: It generally reaches a height of about 30 feet outdoors and 6-8 feet when grown indoors.

Benefits to keep: It is an air purifier for indoors, non-toxic, and safe for a home with children and pets.

Sunlight: It likes bright (indirect) light and suggested to keep indoors. It needs 2 to 3 hours of direct sunlight every week for its even growth. Too much sunlight may turn the leaves yellowish-green in color. 

Water: It is sensitive to overwatering and generally recommended to water only when the top one-inch soil is dried up. Once you water, water it thoroughly to wet all the roots. Use a planter with a good drainage hole and place a plate at the bottom to remove excess water. Avoid giving tap water if it contains fluoride. Also, do not forget to spray water on the leaves once a week.

Temperature: Home temperatures between 60°F (16°C) to 75°F (24°C) is fine, but sudden temperature drops or cold drafts can lead to brown spots on the leaves.

Soil: It likes good drainage, soil to prevent waterlogged roots. Use a mixture of soil and sand.

Fertilizer: Fertilizing this plant is a little tricky as it does not like many salts in fertilizers. It likes magnesium and iron to prevent yellowing leaves. If you’d like to help your palm grow faster, you can feed it a diluted water-soluble fertilizer monthly during the spring and summer growing season, avoid fertilizing in winters. 

Pest Attack: Whitefly, mealy bugs, scale, red spider mites. Look for these at the base of the leaves, on the stems, and especially under the leaf sheaths between the sheath and the stem; mites will hide on the bottom side of the leaves and produce webs.  Be extra vigilant when scouting for mites, as they can do irreparable harm quickly, often mistaken for dust on the underside of the leaves. If you see either of these, break out the spray bottle with a light soap solution and spray them daily till they’re gone.

Re-potting: It requires re-potting every two or three years. Re-pot in a pot 2-4 inches wider than the current pot. When re-potting - take care not to disturb the plant too much and only sit it as deep as it was previously in the soil.

Propagation: The best way to propagate this plant is by gently dividing clumps when re-potting. Propagation is also done with seeds, but it's time-consuming and quite difficult. 

Some Common Problems: 

• Yellow spots or streaks indicate a lack of potassium or magnesium. 
• Root rot is the biggest killer, but it can be avoided by watering properly, and not keeping the soil soggy. 
• Brown leaf tips may appear if the air is too dry, which also makes this plant more susceptible to pests like spider mites and mealy bugs. 
• Brown leaves are usually a sign of over-fertilizing, dry air, or a lack of water. 
• Spider mites are attracted to dusty leaves, especially in winter when humidity is low, but cleaning palm fronds with mild, soapy water can prevent the problem. 

Thanks for reading!!

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