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Brown tips on areca palm leaves almost always mean the narrow leaflets are losing water faster than the roots can replace it, or that salts and fluoride are piling up at the very ends of the leaves. The fix is to find the specific cause (dry air, uneven watering, tap water minerals, too much fertilizer, … Read more >>
Areca palm leaves turning yellow almost always point to a watering problem, most often soggy soil, followed by light that’s too strong or too weak, a magnesium or potassium shortage, cold drafts, pests, or salty tap water. One old frond yellowing at the base of a cane is normal aging. Several fronds fading at once … Read more >>
Yellow ZZ leaves almost always mean too much water. Here is how to tell the cause, fix rotting rhizomes and decide whether to cut yellow leaves off.
The right pot size for areca palm roots is a container just 1 to 2 inches wider than the current root ball, with drainage holes in the bottom. A palm in a 10-inch nursery pot, for example, should move into an 11- or 12-inch pot, never straight into a 16-inch planter. Areca palm (Dypsis lutescens, … Read more >>
Water a ZZ plant only when the soil is fully dry: about every 2 weeks in summer and once a month in winter. Here is how to tell, plus signs of trouble.
ZZ plants grow best in bright, indirect light and survive low light. Here is how to find the right spot and spot signs of too much or too little.
Yes, you can buy a healthy areca palm online, and I’d do it in spring or early fall from a seller that shows the actual plant, lists its height, pot diameter and cane count, and offers a written arrival guarantee. Those details tell you what you’re getting before it ships, and the guarantee protects you … Read more >>
A ZZ plant is mildly toxic to cats. It contains needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals that sting a cat’s mouth when chewed, causing drooling, pawing and sometimes vomiting, but it isn’t considered deadly. So if your cat just took a bite, take a breath. Most cats get a painful mouthful and back off fast. You still … Read more >>
An areca palm can live in a dim room for months, sometimes longer, but it won’t stay full and lush there. An areca palm in low light survives by slowly using up its stored energy, so it grows thin, drops lower fronds, and stays wet at the roots until you give it brighter indirect light … Read more >>
You can grow a new ZZ plant from a stem cutting, a single leaflet, or a division of the underground rhizomes. All three work because Zamioculcas zamiifolia stores water and energy in thick rhizomes and swollen stem bases, so even a small piece can live for months while it forms roots. For most home gardeners, … Read more >>