Hello everyone!!! I am very confused about what type of palm this is. I went to the nursery today looking for my first plant to set on my western-facing lanai. Originally, I did NOT want a palm because I am a Florida native who wanted more variety, but I was still open to them as long as the leaves weren’t waxy or sharp. My research led me to find the Areca palm, which turned out to be mostly what I was looking for. I asked one of the workers at the nursery where I could find one, and she told me they were all out!! I continued to look around and stumbled on the tree I ended up purchasing. It was labeled as a cat palm, but it still had the look I wanted, so I didn’t care much about the name. The guy at checkout asked if it was the Areca palm since they don’t label the plants themselves. I knew he would ask, so I showed him the picture labeling it as a cat palm. I took the palm home and downloaded the plant parent app to help me understand what is needed to care for it. The app told me that my palm was actually an Areca, and so did 3 other websites I tried to use to help clear the confusion. Long story short, I am now a proud owner of whatever the heck this is and wanted to ask the experts, not the AI. Feel free to add all the advice you can to care for her. It seems I get mixed answers around every corner.
She is currently in the 3-gallon nursery pot I bought it in, which is inside of a clay decorative pot. Both pots have drains. Like I said, I have her situated on a west-facing screened/roofed porch lanai thing. The direct sunlight only lasts for maybe 2-3 hours if that before the other buildings block the direct rays. The porch is always indirectly bright and breezy. I was told not to cut the brown spots and that it’s a fungal infection from overhead water at the nursery. Anyway, thank you for your time!
- Lisa Rinna the mystery palm