These smart tricks will keep your Areca Palms lush and green without spending hours tending them daily!
So you have just added a new Areca palm to your indoors. All is fun and games until you start wondering about the specific care instructions that this plant needs!
How To Keep Areca Palms Lush and Green?
1. Provide Bright, Filtered Sunlight
Areca palms are native to Madagascar. Hence, they love bright, indirect sunlight, meaning you must keep this plant in partial shade. However, you might need to provide it more shade during the summers as too much direct sun can scorch and burn the beautiful leaves of this plant.
If you have displayed your Areca palm indoors, a location with dappled sunlight works best. Keep it near a south or west-facing window and shield your plant from the bright sunlight exposure from these windows with a sheer curtain. Ensure that this plant is not kept in a spot with low light levels, which would slow down its birth rate.
2. Ensure Slightly Acidic Soil with Good Drainage
Grow your outdoor specimen in a rich, well-draining, slightly acidic soil with a pH of around 6.0. If your garden soil is more alkaline, you can lower the pH and improve porousness for better drainage by adding sand and peat moss.
The requirements don’t really change when you are growing an Areca palm indoors. However, you could go for a commercial potting mix specifically formulated for palms in your indoor plant pot. If the soil mix is not peat-based, you could add a mix of peat, sand, and perlite to improve aeration and drainage.
Note: Red soil is a straight no-go for growing Areca palm. This soil type prevents the root system from growing and slowly kills the plant.
3. Don’t Let the Soil Dry Out Completely
Areca palms absolutely love water and wouldn’t get overwatered until you use an absolutely contaminated medium. The best bet is to use a gritty medium that comprises coco peat, perlite, sand, and some rocky matter that will let the excess water drain away, no matter how much you water it.
The key here is not to let the medium dry out, as that can affect the leaves’ cellular pressure, turning them dull and yellow.
4. Do Not Fluctuate the Temperature and Humidity
The Areca Palm thrives best in temperatures ranging between 60°F and 80°F (or 15°C and 27°C). This applies to daytime and nighttime temperatures indoors and outdoors. If you have planted your Areca Plam outdoors, ensure that the nighttime temperature does not fall below 50°F (10°C), which can cause cold damage to your plant, manifesting as dark spots on the leaves.
When growing it indoors, keep your plant away from radiation, cold drafts from vents, and air conditioners to avoid temperature fluctuations.
High humidity levels of 50% to 70% are essential for the lush, green growth of the tropical Areca palm. If the indoor humidity level is too low, you will start seeing brown tips on the leaves. Use a humidifier or a pebble tray to ensure that the roots are not soaked for too long and that the water is changed weekly. You could also mist the fronds once in a while. A hygrometer would be a great investment to check if the right humidity levels are maintained.
5. Keep An Eye Out For Common Pests and Diseases
Though Areca palms are not very susceptible to pests and diseases, you might find some common ones. Outdoor palms are likelier to have lethal yellowing, an insect-transmitted bacterial disease. It initially affects the fronds, which, of course, leads to the ultimate death of the palm. Treatment isn’t very effective; if your plant gets this disease, you must remove it before it spreads. Before you freak out, this is quite a rare condition.
On the other hand, indoor Areca palms are vulnerable to aphids, spider mites, mealybugs, scale, and white flies. The telltale signs of a pest infestation are foliage damage and discoloration, alongside webbing and stocky residue on the fronds. If you notice the pests early on, you can remove them with neem oil and water. In a more extensive infestation, use appropriate organic or chemical insecticides to control the pests.
6. Use Epsom Salt When Feeding
Areca palms are heavy feeders, and you must fertilize your plant regularly in the growing season with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer. During the active growing season of spring and summer, dilute the fertilizer to half-strength and feed your plant every two to four weeks to enjoy lush, green growth in your Areca palm. However, you must avoid overfeeding as that can lead to fertilizer burn in roots and leaf tips. This is especially true for the fall and winter, when you must completely stop fertilizing as the plant is dormant during these seasons.
If you have planted your Areca palm outdoors, a slow-release fertilizer high in potassium and nitrogen would be best for feeding it. Be sure to dilute the fertilizer and maintain the feeding frequency according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
If you want a secret tip on keeping your Areca palm lush and green, fertilize it with Epsom salt! Epsom salt contains magnesium, which plays a vital role in photosynthesis, chlorophyll production, and activating enzymes in plant metabolism. It also contains sulfur, which is essential for plant development. Epsom salt helps plants improve nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium nutrient uptake, promoting vigorous growth and lush foliage.
