How to Grow & Care for Areca Palm Hedges
Growing areca palm hedges is a great way to improve your yard. The plant is native to tropics and subtropics regions. It can grow big and thrive in acidic soil. One of the things you like about areca palm is that it is easy to maintain and offers elegant foliage. It features leaves that are light to dark green. The plant is also characterized by a fan-shaped growth pattern. The plant has a broad stem and is fan-shaped with pairs of leaflets spanning out in a broad pattern. Each branch has around forty pairs of leaflets, but the older ones can have sixty pairs that give areca palm its famous signature look. This article looks at how to grow and care for areca palm hedges. Continue reading….
Where do Areca palm hedges thrive?
This is a great factor you have to consider before you plant the areca palm hedges in your backyard. You can grow an areca palm hedge in hardiness zones 8, 9, 10, and 11. If you reside in zone 10 or higher, you can have the plant grow up to thirty feet tall. The warm summers and mild winters allow the plant to grow well in its natural environment. You should grow the hedge in the sun during the fall, spring and summer. If you live outside the recommended hardiness zones, you may find it hard to grow and care for the hedge than those living in the right zones for the plant.
Propagation
You can propagate areca palm in three ways. You can opt to transplant or begin from seed depending on your experience levels. What you need to know is that if you begin from the seed, you need to be patient. If you are a beginner, it is not advisable to use this option. It is easy to transplant since the plant has a head start. Thus, you can enjoy it when you buy it from the store.
Beginning from transplant
This is the best method of beginning since it is faster and more efficient than beginning from seed. If you buy the areca palm from the nursery and bring it to your home, this is what is known as a transplant. Move the transplant to your container, not the one you buy with it. It is good to change the container since the ones you buy with the plants do not have the required space for the roots to grow.
As you transplant you should keep all the variables or elements similar to the original container to minimize transplant shock. Remove the areca palm plant from the container by watering it to make it easy to uproot from the soil. Turn its container sideways and slide the whole plant out. Plant the new plant into the soil of the new home and water it well to develop water pathways and allow it to drain.
Beginning from the cuttings
It is easy to propagate through division. This is the quickest way to start growing areca palm hedges. All you need is another areca palm to cut a new cutting from. The best time to do this is during the early spring since this is the most effective time for the plant to forge new growth. You should not cut during the fall or summer because the plant may still be developing foliage or roots as it prepares for wintertime. When dividing, uproot the hot areca palm gently. Get the cuttings from a healthy plant. Use a sterile knife to cut the stems and ensure you get a clean cut. Apply rubbing alcohol to sterilize the knife to avoid introducing bacteria to the already exposed roots. Make sure you do not cut the roots. You can now move the newly divided palm to its container. Make sure you water the container well to help establish water pathways in your preferred soil.
Growing from seed
Growing areca palm from seed is not the best option if you are not patient enough or want quick results. It takes a long time and requires some complex techniques. You cannot just toss the seed into the soil and expect that it will sprout. You can plant the seeds at the same depth. You should not use the green seeds; instead, use the orange-colored ones since they have a faster germination rate. Planting an areca palm hedge from the seed can take two months before they germinate. After the germination, your plant starts growing slowly, and be ready to nurture it for some years before attaining the dense hedge you desire. It is a bit slow growing compared to other hedges, so you have to be patient. Depending on conditions like humidity, sunlight, temperature, and water it can take one to three years before the plant attains three feet tall. Germination occurs when the temperatures exceed 80F together with high humidity.
Choosing a container
Note that the container you choose will be home for your areca palm for several years until it grows. Thus, you need a wide container to allow the roots to expand. The containers are available in a wide range of designs and materials. Ensure that the container has drainage holes to allow for proper drainage. Keep in mind that areca palms should not be drowned in water.
Planting areca palm hedge
After getting the plants from your container or the cuttings, it is now time to do the planting. The planting directions depend on location and how you want to use the hedge. Note that areca palm can get larger. So, plant the plants in the ground, because they can outgrow most of the pots you put them. Keep them a great distance from all structures such as gutters, power lines, and others. You should also space them appropriately, generally about three to six feet. Areca palm hedge makes an appealing decoration for your home so you have it near your pool or around your house. As you plant, dig a sizeable hole that is two times wide as the root ball of the plant. Ensure the hole is deep to allow the ball to fit in accordingly. You should also fill the hole and keep it watered as the plant grows.
Right type of soil
Areca palm hedges thrive in high-quality palm soil, succulent soil, and citrus soil. You need to plant it in well-draining, loose, and slightly acidic soil. The plant is not extremely picky regarding substrate, so the plant adapts effectively. With the right soil, you will get areca palm hedges with bigger leaves and many other leaflets. Slightly acidic soil is one with a PH of five to six. You need to water the hedge when it is still young and reduce the watering when the plant gets established with strong roots. You should use the top one to two inches of soil to estimate the watering. You can add sand or moss to keep it acidic and improve the drainage.
Sunlight
Areca palm hedges require bright and indirect light. If find yellowing or burning of the foliage, it shows that your hedge is being burned from sunlight. You can create a shade that only allows your plants to get partial sunlight.
Fertilizing areca palm hedges
The plants can benefit from some plant foods. However, most of them should be avoided. The plant is not hardy enough against the buildup of nutrients in the soil. You can apply some liquid plant food a few times during spring and summer. Use fertilizer with low levels of phosphates, but never overdo it. When you notice browning of the tips or spots, you should stop applying fertilizer to your plants. Make sure you apply the fertilizer as instructed on the label. You should not use any plant food during the dormancy period that occurs during the winter.
Top two areca palm hedges fertilizers
This is a great fertilizer you can apply to your areca palm hedge. It contains minerals such as manganese, magnesium, and iron. The fertilizer helps control the curling and yellowing of fronds. You can feed your plant with fertilizer for up to three months.
| Pros | Cons |
| Contain compost that feeds microbes in the soil | Can damage your plant if applied excessively |
| Allow fast growth of areca palms | |
| Can be applied to many other plants |
This fertilizer contains 100 percent macronutrients like potassium, nitrogen, and magnesium that are in the slow-release form. The macronutrients usually break down slowly. Thus, they are available to the plants during two to a three-month interval between the applications. You should apply up to 1.5 lbs. of the fertilizer per hundred square feet.
| Pros | Cons |
| Promote faster growth | Costlier than other similar fertilizers |
| Healthy and elegant hedge | |
| 100 percent slow-release magnesium |
Temperature
For the right growth, areca palm hedges should be kept between 70F TO 85F. During cold weather conditions, you should keep the temperatures above 60F. Note that the areca palm hedge does not tolerate fluctuations in temperature.
Humidity
Areca palm hedges do well in environments experiencing high humidity. You should give them a spritz of diluted water a day. You can also mist the leaves to keep the temperatures levels stable. As you mist, you should avoid the roots. Only keep the leaves wet. If possible ensure that the temperature is above 50 percent at all times.
How to prune areca palm hedges
Make sure you trim the hedge to make it look tidy and neat. You should prune all the dead tips, brown or leaflets. You should trim immediately you find these signs. This ensures that your plant does not waste a lot of energy trying to grow the already affected parts. You can remove all the weak leaves to allow the plant to redirect the energy to the new foliage. If you fail to trim your hedge, it will experience stunted growth or have a reduced growth rate. You should also get rid of canes or fronds. Their elegant, tall clumping palms feature golden trunks looking like bamboo trunks. This means that you can use the hedge for privacy purposes in your backyard.
As you prune, avoid trimming the slightly yellow canes because they will become green when the problem affecting them is solved. Some of the reasons that may cause the canes to turn yellow include excess light, overwatering, and excess plant food. You can peel a tiny piece of the latter around the cane to look at it. If you find the inside part dark green, it’s doing good and will correct itself without your intervention. However, if you find the inside dark or brown in color, you should cut the plant off. Prune by use of sterile scissors or using a knife and cut it from the base of your plant.
Watering areca palm hedges
You need to create a schedule on how you water the hedge. Areca palm requires a lot of water because the plant originates in the subtropics areas. However, avoid waterlogging your plant. Immediately you plant, water regularly, and reduce the watering rate as time moves. Make sure you allow the soil to dry between watering to the first soil inch. Never allow the soil to dry completely; it should be damp and not more. Since the plant is highly sensitive to compounds, you should apply distilled or rainwater.
Repotting
After every few years, you will be required to transplant your areca palm to a deeper and bigger pot. However, you should only do this if you used a small pot. If you find that the roots are brushing up against the container edges, you should repot by transplanting them to a bigger container. Moving to a bigger container helps restore the nutrients in the soil. This also helps to remove dense buildup in the soil and the bottom of your container.
Areca palm hedges pests
This hedge is highly resistant to many pests. However, they are not accustomed to a long period of pest infestations. The pests that consume areca palm hedges are tiny. Thus, you should perform a thorough inspection. Some signs of pest infestations include wilted leaves, changing color, visible eggs or pests, and holes in the foliage. Some of the common pests that attack your areca palms include whiteflies, spider mites, small mites, aphids, and scale. These pests pierce the leaves and get the sap making the leaves yellowed and wilted. You can control the pests by spraying the recommended insecticides.
Frequently asked questions
Why are the areca palm tips turning down?
The major reason the tips turn down is excess water. So, ensure you allow the plant to dry before watering. Also, check that the drainage holes are working right.
Should you cut off the brown tips?
It is right to trim off the brown tips since they might never get green again. If the cane gets yellow, you can cut off the outer layer and have a look at the inside. In case it is yellow, then you can cut the cane off. The brown tips also affect the good look of your areca palm hedge, so you need to cut it off.
How tall can areca palm hedge grow?
Areca palm hedge can grow up to thirty feet in height.
Can the hedge take full sunlight?
Areca palm is not highly resistant to full sunlight. The full sun can burn your plant and cause dry leaflets. They require around six to eight hours of indirect sunlight a day.
Does the plant need fertilizer?
You can apply some liquid plant food to enhance its growth and encourage leaflets. However, never overdo it to avoid the buildup of fertilizer at your plant base.
Can you plant area palm indoor?
Yes, they are great indoor plants that can help to brighten your room since they do not require too much sun.
Is areca palm hedge safe for pets?
The palms are not poisonous to cats and dogs. So, you have peace of mind when you have the hedge around your home. However, if your pet is highly sensitive, it may show some reactions.
How can you increase the growth rate of your areca palm hedge?
The hedge can grow about seven to ten inches per year. This depends on the environmental conditions.
Is areca palm hedge perennial or annual?
This is a perennial plant that can grow for many years in your backyard. It has its dormant and growing seasons, but never blooms or flowers. The plant grows foliage that makes your yard more elegant.
Conclusion
As you can see it is easy to grow and care for the areca palm hedge. With the hedge, you enjoy clean air in your home and also act as a humidifier. It makes your backyard look elegant with its foliage. All you have to do is to make sure that you maintain it well so that it can maintain the greenery and make your entire home appealing. The good thing is that you can plant it outdoor or indoors depending on your preference.