Areca palm plant care tips are given here for those who are garden beginners. The required temperature, sunlight, watering, pruning, soil type, etc are shared here.
About areca palm plant
Areca is one of the most popular plants or we can say it is the most popular home plant. The palm plant is also known as an oxygen plant due to its ability to air purify. It is a decorative plant which is often used to decorate offices, exhibitions, functions, party lawns etc. It is a tall plant with long leaves that have a little bit of a pointed tip.
If you are a beginner you might face some problems while growing areca palm plant. Don’t worry you can sort out the problem by reading this blog post till the end.
Let’s dive in deeper.
How to care areca palm plant
Sunlight requirement – When it comes to the areca plant caring, sunlight plays an important role and this plant needs a good amount of sunlight. It is a tall plant which grows up to 50 ft which means it needs a lot of space to grow. You can grow this plant both indoors and outdoors. Areca palm needs medium light space it can be kept in your office, home, terrace, or garden.
However, the areca plant can tolerate direct sunlight and it is capable of growing in this condition also but you would see in that case it becomes yellow. If you want lush green areca palm growing then you should keep this plant in a space where it gets partial sunlight, not direct sunlight.
Temperature tolerance – This is a plant which not does good in winter or we can say it is not a winter plant. Temperature below 20 degrees celsius is not good for growing areca plants this plant becomes unhealthy and unhappy at this temperature.
Most of the time areca plant starts getting defused in air condition offices due to the low temperature. We know this is a trending plant but not the best choice for a cold place. We recommend you should put some other plant in your office If you are using an air conditioner.
Do you know – How to use coco peat for plants correctly
Soil requirements – Moist soil is best for areca you should add water to the soil whenever soil looks dry from the top. It must be well-drained soil and water should not stand on it. Coco peat is one of the best solutions for soil.
Prepare fertilizer at home – Fertilizer for areca palm plays an important role in plant growth because it is a heavy feeder which simply means it needs a lot of fertilizer. Apart from cocopeat, you should use some compost as well. Compost is helpful to fulfil some of the requirements of nutrition in plants. Areca palm needs fertilizer once every three months.
Do not feed the areca plant anything during the dormancy period and winter is the dormancy period for areca palm. It means you should not give any fertilizer to areca palm and should plan the fertilizer cycle in such a way that winter should not fall in between. You can fertile your areca palm when the spring comes in and continue following the 3-month cycle.
Whenever the topsoil looks dry ad water to it, you can use a watering kane to water your plants in order to provide safe water without damaging the plant. Make sure that the topsoil is becoming compact losen that it improves watering. Especially the taller size areca plant needs regular soil loosening when the soil gets compact. You can use a garden tool to loosen the soil. If there is fluoride in your water then the plant might look burd.
Plant pruning – Regular pruning of the plant is very important. When you see areca palm tips getting yellowish in colour you should cut them from the top to get new ones.
Plant propagation – Spring is the best season for propagation. Areca palm propagation can be done through seeds and plant cuttings. It is good to separate the baby plants from the pot when the route comes out from the bottom of the pot. You should take out the whole plant along with mud from the pot and then separate the babies out. From one single plant, you can have several baby plants.
Water the plant that is propagated once in 24 hours and remember to keep it away from direct sunlight. Give it some time to flourish the plant and once it’s flourished you can keep this plant at your favourite spot. One more important factor that often gets ignored about this plant is the planter side.
Arecas are not able to do very well in huge planters. Areca plants perform well when they are planted in smaller spaces in comparison to huge pots. You have to report areca plants once a year if you see areca roots coming out of the bottom of the pot.
Areca plant problems
Pests and disease – When areca plants start turning yellow and brownish in colour that means the plant is under stress. Now you have to identify why the leaves are turning yellow. Are you underwatering the plant? Is it overwatering or compactness of the soil? Is it root rot or fungi attack?
You should go one by one to resolve this issue. To resolve the watering issue you should first notice the compactness of the soil and if the top soil is compact then start losing it with the help of an agriculture tool (khurpi). It helps good water drainage in the soil. You must water the soil whenever it looks dry. If it is a bacterial disease then you must remove the affected plant part and save the rest of the healthy plant that is not affected.
Aphids, mealybugs, and white flies are some common areca palm pests that attack the plant. You can use water pressure to dismount them or demount them. Using neem oil spray is one of the safest and better options to get rid of pests and diseases. Areca plant does not like density instead they need a good amount of air circulation to blow happily.
Taller areca plants are expensive and investing in small areca plants is a good choice. The plant needs good care in winter and their health might goes down but in summer and spring they recover and flourish healthier.
FAQ
What is the temperature required for the areca palm plant?
The ideal temperature for the areca palm plant has to be between 20 to 35 degrees Celsius.
How to get rid of aphids and mealybugs in the areca palm plant?
One can use a neem oil spray to get rid of mealybugs and aphids in the areca palm plant.
Large or small in which pot should I pot areca palm for better results?
Areca plants can thrive better in small spaces or small pots in comparison to large spaces or pots.
Does the areca plant need sunlight?
Yes, the areca plant needs sunlight to thrive better but not direct sunlight.
Is areca palm an indoor plant?
Areca is an indoor as well as outdoor plant.
Which is the best season to grow areca?
Spring is the best season to grow the areca plants.
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