Paul, "The Palm Doctor!"
Presents:
Palm
of the Month for June, 2002!
Dypsis
lutescens:
The Butterfly or Areca
Palm
 Paul,
The Palm Doctor recommends, dear readers, that you reconsider the so-called Areca Palm
(not really of the Areca family!) It is tropical-looking; serves as a super,
bamboo-like screening plant and is relatively pest-free. These attributes, along
with fast growth, can make this palm extremely useful in frost-free palm-growing areas!
SOME DYPSIS LUTESCENS (ARECA
PALM) features:
HEIGHT: 30'
HOW TO IDENTIFY: The Areca palm is
clump-growing with ringed, bamboo-like stems and yellow leaf-ribs. The foliage is
evergreen, of fine texture and yellow-green in color. Gardeners know this attractive plant
under various names, and so nursery labels may designate it as madagascar palm, bamboo
palm, yellow palm, or cane palm. Under any name this is one of the most useful Palms of
the tropics the world around.
LANDSCAPE USES: This beautiful soft
palm is one of Florida's favorites for use in foundation plantings, as a featured patio
plant, or as an urn subject for terrace or Florida room.
HABITAT: Madagascar; in Florida, widely planted in nearly frostless sections.
 LIGHT: Tolerant of rather dense shade on
patios or Florida rooms.
SOIL: Grows best in fairly rich soil, slightly acid in reaction.
CARE: Plant in fertile, acid soil;
water moderately during dry periods; protect against scale insects and frost.
Origin: Madagascar,
but naturalized in Puerto Rico and Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean Basin, in the 1700's
Zones: 10 - 12 (USDA
Hardiness Zones) Minimum Tolerated Temperature is about 1° C. or 34°F.
Rate of Growth:
Quick!!
Salt Tolerance:
Moderate
Soil Requirements: Widely adaptable
Water Requirements:
High drought tolerance
Nutritional
Requirements: High, subject to potassium deficiency
 Because of its beauty, growth
characteristics, and screening utility, Paul believes that the Dypsis (Chrysalidocarpus)
lutescens rightly earns its title as:
Palm of the Month, for
June , 2002!
Paul,"The Palm Doctor!"
|
