Golden fruit palm ∗ The 10 best care tips (Areca palm)

origin

the Gold fruit palm is a so-called endemic - it comes from a very specific region and is not widespread anywhere else. The endemitic home region of the golden fruit palm is the eastern part of Madagascar. There it has chosen very specific areas of the local rainforest to grow and is considered an endangered species because of this sparse distribution. As early as 1820, the golden fruit palm was imported from Madagascar to Deutschlad.

growth

The golden fruit palm or areca palm, botanically Dypsis lutescens, grows as a tree with several tubular trunks that are close together. At 5 to 7 centimeters, the individual trunks are quite thin and green, depending on the intensity of the light, they also turn yellow. The palm fronds form a wide, umbrella-like crown with their spreading blade and their overhanging habit. In its natural habitat, the Areca can reach heights of up to 10 meters, in the local room culture it usually ends at around 3 meters. Their growth rate is quite slow.

Overview of growth characteristics:

Multi-stemmed palm
Stems green or yellow depending on the light
Spreading, umbrella-like leaf fronds
In the wild up to 10 m in height, in indoor culture around 3 m
Slow growth rate

leaves

It is true that its fruit is honored in the name of the golden fruit palm. In the local room culture, however, the main focus on their decorative value is on their leaf fronds. These are not only particularly beautiful to look at, they are usually the only thing that the palm tree can offer in terms of spectacle. It hardly ever forms flowers in the room. The fresh green leaves have a typical palm-like pinnate structure with narrow, lanceolate ones Single leaves with a length of just under 2 to 2.5 centimeters form a handsome, V-shaped blade form.

They sit on the approximately 60 cm long leaf stalks, swinging elastically, making them particularly attractive when the palm is outside in summer.

Sheet properties at a glance:

large, pinnate leaf blades with narrow, lanceolate single leaves
fresh green color
long petioles, springy movement

blossoms

As already mentioned, the golden fruit palm practically never blooms when it is kept in the room. The site conditions required for this simply cannot be adequately met here. When a golden fruit palm shoots flowers, they arise below the crown as large, spreading, multi-branched panicles with small, light yellow single flowers.

fruit

The appearance of the golden palm fruits is laid out in their name - in fact they appear in a golden, orange-yellow color. At times, however, they can also take on a deep red or black color. They are egg-shaped false fruits 2.5 centimeters in length and with a fibrous, leathery texture.

Fruits in key words:

Gold-colored to orange-yellow, deep red or black in color
Egg-shaped false fruits about 2.5 cm long

Location

The golden fruit palm, like so many other rainforest plants, likes it very bright but not sunny. In its original habitat, it is towered over by much higher plants, so that it is not used to intense sunlight. So put it at home where it gets a lot of light all day but is shaded by other large plants or a thin solar sail.

At this temperature, the Areca prefers a warm 20 ° C - preferably all year round. So it can best stand permanently in a heated winter garden. In the summer you can also do a temporary refreshment on the terrace. In winter it can stand a little, but not significantly, cooler. However, their ambient temperature should not drop below 15 ° C.

Given their tropical home, the humidity should be as high as possible.

Site requirements at a glance:

Golden fruit palm wants to be bright, but protected from direct sunlight
Temperature around 20 ° C all year round if possible
Can also be removed in summer
High humidity

Earth

The golden fruit palm needs a fresh and relatively nutritious substrate as a substrate. A mixture of commercially available potted plant soil with a good proportion of compost is well suited. The pH value should be in the slightly acidic range.

Alternatively, you can also use the golden fruit palm in Hydroponics in soilless substrate Expanded clay(€ 16.36 at Amazon *) Hold over a water-nutrient solution. This also makes casting practice easier for you, which needs to be finely dosed.

to water

When it comes to the water requirement of the golden fruit palm, the rule of thumb applies: moist, but not waterlogged. So pouring requires a little dexterity. You have to provide the palm with plenty of water regularly, especially in summer, and make sure that the ball of the earth never dries out. The Areca is not allowed to stand in water either. Excess water in the coaster should therefore be tipped out, at least the palm should not have wet feet for too long. Use water at room temperature if possible.

To note:

Areca needs a lot of water - but it has to be dosed carefully
Avoid waterlogging - pour out coaster water that has stood too long

Fertilize

During the main vegetation phase from spring to autumn you can feed your golden fruit palm every one to two weeks with a simple universal liquid fertilizer fertilize. Special ones are even more suitable Palm fertilizer. In winter, increase the fertilization interval to at least 3 weeks.

When potting, you provide the palm with good, ripe compost for a permanent supply of nutrients. For long-term fertilization, you can too Fertilizer stick(€ 9.82 at Amazon *) use.

Cut

Elaborate pruning measures are not necessary for the gold fruit palm. It naturally grows compactly at the base and does not get out of hand with its palm fronds. Due to its wide, swinging habit, the palm needs a lot of space nonetheless. You can therefore remove external fronds if necessary. Otherwise, only old, dried-up leaves have to be cut off. In doing so, you apply the scissors directly to the base of the trunk.

If you are bothered by the brownish discolored tips of the leaves, you can also trim them. Be careful not to penetrate the healthy leaf tissue.

Repot

Since the golden fruit palm does not grow very quickly, repotting is not necessary very often. As a rule, an interval of around 2 to 3 years is sufficient. In the case of young specimens, however, a new pot can be due every year. But only repot if it is really too tight on the feet of the palm. Because their roots are quite sensitive and should be left alone as much as possible. The ideal repotting time is spring.

To note:

Repot adult golden fruit palms about every 2-3 years
Young specimens every year
Repotting time: spring

Multiply

Offshoot

The easiest way to propagate a golden fruit palm is to use ground shoots. This forms the golden fruit palm when it has reached a certain age. You only need to separate these from the mother plant and put them in a separate pot with a humus-rich soil substrate. Make sure, however, that the shoot is at least about 30 centimeters long and has healthy roots.

Place the pot with the young plant in a bright, warm place protected from direct sunlight. It can be helpful for the growth to cover the young daughter plant with a film with air holes in order to ensure a uniform, humid and warm climate.

Sowing seeds

Another variant is sowing seeds. It is possible all year round, but spring is best. Of course, a lot more patience is required here - both when growing and when waiting for a beautiful, fully grown palm. Note that the golden fruit palm grows slowly and therefore takes a few years to grow into a sizable specimen.

Put the seeds in bowls Potting soil and keep them evenly moist, if possible under a plastic bag until germination. Golden fruit palm seeds take a relatively long time to sprout, around 4 to 5 weeks.

Diseases

Special diseases are not a big issue with the golden fruit palm. If it shows damage to the leaves, it is usually a sign of incorrect casting practice or a wrong location. More on this below.

As a secondary consequence of pest infestation, the injuries can cause sooty mildew to form in the leaves. You first fight this fungus by removing the diseased parts of the plant and, if necessary, a fungicide.

Pests

As with many tropical plants with high humidity requirements, the golden fruit palm in heated indoor cultivation can be infested with drought-loving pests. The typical candidates are Spider mites, Shield, and mealybugs.

Spider mites

These small parasites have a reddish, yellowish, or thorough color and are best recognized by the fine webs with which they cover their host plants. They suck the sap on the leaves and usually stay on the underside of the leaves, where the larvae are also deposited.

The best way to first remove spider mites mechanically by rinsing the palm thoroughly with a powerful water disperser. Then wrap the plant in foil and close it off at the lower base of the trunk. After a week, the pests should be gone.

Scale insects

Scale insects are reddish to brownish in color and when the host plant is tapped they release sticky honeydew, which reveals their population. Ants, who prefer to eat the honeydew, can also be an indicator of scale insect infestation.

You should also remove scale insects mechanically from the golden fruit palm using water. The best way to do this is to use a wet cloth and wipe the leaves thoroughly with it. In addition, you can use a spray cure made from garlic, nettle or tansy stock. In the case of stubborn infestation, oil-based preparations that cause the lice to suffocate are suitable.

Mealybug

You can easily recognize mealybugs by their name-giving woolly, white coating that they put on their host plant when they suckle. The lice stay on the entire plant and also lay their eggs in the substrate.

If the golden fruit palm is infested with mealybugs, you should first separate it from other plants to prevent transmission. The best way to fight the lice is to spray them with a mixture of alcohol, water and curd soap (mixing ratio 15 ml-1 l-15 ml). If the substrate with the roots is also affected, you have to repot the plant and carefully but thoroughly clean out the roots.

Whitefly

Occasionally the golden fruit palm can also be attacked by the whitefly. These animals are actually not insects, but around whiteflies. They get their name from their fly-like appearance, which is characterized by large wings covered with white wax dust. They live mainly on the undersides of the leaves, where they also place their larvae, and suck the sap of the host plant. Like scale insects, they secrete sticky honeydew.

If you notice a whitefly infestation on your golden fruit palm, you should act as soon as possible, because the parasites spread quickly. First aid, you can stick sticky yellow tablets in the substrate, to which the pests adhere. Furthermore, the use of preparations based on neem tree oil, which are very gentle on plants, is recommended.

prevention

You can keep all of these pests away from your golden fruit palm by ensuring that there is sufficient humidity. Treat her to a fine misty shower from the water dispenser on a regular basis. You should also regularly ventilate your conservatory or the greenhouse in which your golden fruit palm is located.

Yellow leaves

Yellow discolored leaves of the golden fruit palm usually indicate an infestation by spider mites. But too much water can be the reason. Never leave the palm in the water for too long.
If the yellow discoloration is accompanied by a spotty structural change and the leaves are increasingly falling off, this is an indication of a pest infestation.

Brown leaves

If the golden palm leaves turn brown, this is usually a sign of excessive drought. Either it has not been poured enough or the room air is too dry. Always ensure there is sufficient humidity.
But it can also be that you have exposed the palm to strong sunlight and the leaves are simply burned. If so, shade them and remove the brown leaves.

Poisonous

The areca palm is not poisonous. So you don't have to wear gloves when cutting or repotting, or keep children and pets away from her.

eat

However, you should not eat parts of the golden fruit palm. There is no risk of poisoning, but the individual leaves of the palm fronds are rightly pointed and sharp-edged. Inquisitive toddlers or cats could injure their mucous membranes if they try to eat them.

tip

The golden fruit palm made it onto NASA's list of air-purifying plants. It is able to neutralize xylenes and toluene from the air to a greater extent. Therefore, it can have a health-promoting effect in the long term in rooms in which adhesives, paints and Solvents are used and an increased concentration of these substances, especially those that are harmful to the respiratory tract prevails.

sorts

There are no special cultivars for the golden fruit palm.