Growing exotic plants is possible thanks to globalization and the increasing information on the care they need. From the classic plantations it has evolved to a greater variety, both in homes and in other areas. Even so, the accessibility to these plants should not be confused with the ease of caring for them, as they require certain specific attentions that you should know.
A clear example is the areca palm, whose scientific name is Dypsis lutescens. With Madagascar as the country of origin, this plant is perfectly adapted to the interior to grow, but it needs constant monitoring and care to develop correctly. If you want to discover how to care for an areca palm tree, at UNCOMO we recommend that you continue reading this article.
Light and lighting
The areca palm, also known as yellow palm tree and bamboo palm tree, supports locations where it is directly hit by the sun’s rays, but the best environments in which it will develop are those in which the sun does not have a direct impact in her.
For this reason, it is considered an indoor plant: it adapts and thrives best in well-lit rooms. If you decide to expose it to the direct impact of the sun’s rays, you will run the risk of seeing its leaves spoil or, worse still, end up burning.
Temperature
Another aspect that you should consider about the golden fruit palm (name by which the Dypsis lutescens) is the temperature. As it is a plant from tropical environments, you should place it in areas where temperature exceeds 15orC.
At all times you will need to be in places with more than 15orC and, in fact, the optimum temperature range of the areca palm is between 18orC and 25orC. Therefore, be especially careful in the colder times of the year if you have this plant at home: place it in rooms that are usually inhabited or, at least, with heating.
If you want to learn what other hardy Indoor Plants are, take a look at this other oneHOWTO article.
Humidity
Humidity is a fundamental factor to consider for the areca palm to survive and grow, since needs high humidity due to the enormous transpiration of water made by its leaves.
The best way to detect if the plant requires higher humidity is by observing the tips of its leaves: if they turn brown, it will need a higher humidity level. Spray twice a day the leaves with water in the warm months of the year will be enough to provide it with the moisture it needs.
Irrigation
One of the care of the areca palm to take more into consideration is that of irrigation. Being a tropical plant, it requires abundant and frequent waterings. In the hot seasons of the year (spring and, above all, summer), we recommend that you water it approximately every 2 or 3 days.
You will have to regularly check that the substrate is wet, but in no case should you flood it. This plant needs plenty of water to grow well, but if you water it excessively, you will end up drowning it and it will die. If you see that its leaves start to turn brown, the plant could have excess water, so be careful.
In the coldest times of the year, that is, autumn and especially winter, the irrigation dynamics changes drastically: it considerably reduces the frequency, since it will not require so much water and with one watering every 10 days It will be enough.
Pass
Regarding the fertilizer of the areca palm, keep in mind that as it has a great capacity to purify the air, it requires more fertilizer than other plants. In addition, if you want to preserve its vitality and the green tone that characterizes it, you will have to fertilize it frequently.
At UNCOMO we recommend that in summer and spring, that is, the warmest times of the year, you fertilize this plant with a specific fertilizer for tropical plants once a month.
If you do not have compost for tropical plants, you can use other organic and ecological ones. In this other oneHOWTO article we explain how to make natural compost. However, the priority is always that of the first type of fertilizer.
Areca palm leaf problems
With this article you will know how to care for an areca palm at home and in any other location, but sometimes some problems are unavoidable. At oneHOWTO we give you the following tips so that you can solve them quickly and effectively:
- Areca palm tree with brown leaves: Areca palm leaves can turn brown at the tips for two reasons: due to excessive watering or lack of humidity (dry environment). In the first case, make sure that the substrate does not get soaked or puddled. In the second case, try spraying the leaves with water. Do it with some regularity.
- Areca palm tree with yellow leaves: Sometimes the leaves turn yellowish, something that is sometimes due to the presence of pests on the underside of the leaves. To remedy this problem, you will have to identify what type of pest it is and combat it with a natural insecticide for tropical plants. Find out here How to make natural insecticides.
These are the main areca palm tree care that you should know, so if you want to enjoy the color and life that this plant brings to homes, make sure you meet the requirements mentioned in this article.
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