Kentia (Howea forsteriana) and areca palm (Chrysalidocarpus/Dypsis lutescens) - should I split them in pots?

[CGMarko]

Hi!

I have kentia and areca palms in pots. I have already split the areca palms last year when I bought them, and the kentia palms are a recent purchase that I haven’t repotted yet. The arecas probably more than doubled in size from when I got them. I had previously tried to grow areca and kentia palms from seeds, but I had no success. The areca palms were cheap (3.3 EUR for 1x13 cm pot with a cluster of ~12 plants 30 cm tall), the kentias were more expensive (20 EUR for 19 cm pot with a cluster of ~7 plants 80 cm tall).

I understand that these plants can grow into fairly large trees that aren’t suitable for apartments, but what are my best options for keeping them? Should I split them? How large can I expect them to get? They’re next to the eastern window, I give them artificial light, they are doing fine overall. From what I’ve read, kentias are sensitive to root disturbance unlike arecas, but also worse than areca when clustered. I won’t repot/split them this year, but what are your suggestions for next year - split them all in seperate pots?

 

Thank you!

Edited June 14, 2023 by CGMarko

[Rivera]

I've split C. lutescens (gently) with no trouble. More attractive by themselves as their trunks can thicken up and they'll sucker anyway. 

I wouldn't attempt to divide Howea at that stage, but I haven't tried. They only really get big in the ground or a large pot.

Splitting seedlings up won't keep them smaller in the long run though. Kind of the opposite. Less competition often = a more robust plant. 

[CGMarko]

13 minutes ago, Rivera said:

I've split C. lutescens (gently) with no trouble. More attractive by themselves as their trunks can thicken up and they'll sucker anyway. 

I wouldn't attempt to divide Howea at that stage, but I haven't tried. They only really get big in the ground or a large pot.

Splitting seedlings up won't keep them smaller in the long run though. Kind of the opposite. Less competition often = a more robust plant. 

Thanks! Do you have any pictures of how arecas look after a while in a separate pot? I’m not splitting either this year either way, but at what stage should I divide Howea? Yeah, I know that splitting successfully would likely encourage growth. The thing is I want them to have a trunk and nice leaves but to also still fit into my 2.65 m high apartment. I’m also considering to perhaps split them into 1/2/3 plants per pot.

[Rivera]

11 hours ago, CGMarko said:

Thanks! Do you have any pictures of how arecas look after a while in a separate pot? I’m not splitting either this year either way, but at what stage should I divide Howea? Yeah, I know that splitting successfully would likely encourage growth. The thing is I want them to have a trunk and nice leaves but to also still fit into my 2.65 m high apartment. I’m also considering to perhaps split them into 1/2/3 plants per pot.

Howea probably need to be divided very early, but I haven't done it and can't advise. If you search Palm Talk archives, you will find some content on this subject from people who have done it, and you will see that at least in some cases the results were poor (death or substantial setback). I killed a single Howea belmoreana seedling by repotting poorly, and it's not a good feeling. If you want lone kentias, it's probably best to purchase seedlings separately.

I have a few little C. lutescens seedlings, but it's not a species I'm deeply invested in as they are more of a SoCal palm and don't grow well outdoors in the SF bay area. The few seedlings I have, I divided from big box store plants where 20 - 30 tiny juvenile bifid leaf seedlings were in one pot. They are growing in a small protected atrium, which is still bright and warmer than being outside. Lots of light is important, as they're not really an indoor palm long term. Not like a howea or many smaller chamaedorea. 

These are not my photos below, just showing Chrysalidocarpus lutescens in a large pot. The first one is from Jungle Music nursery. The second one gives a better trunk view.

[peachy]

I have separated Kentias many times and have only ever lost the very tiny ones, less than 20 cm. You have to do it carefully and not damage the roots. They always look stronger and healthier alone in a pot.  The grow quickly when small but when they reach 1 metre as an indoor plant, they take many years to get to 2 metres, so don't worry about them outgrowing your home. The D. lutescens are very tough and easy to divide. They look lovely as a single speciman but clump eventually. They make a very good house plant given enough light.

Hope this helped, 

Peachy

 

[PalmsandLiszt]

23 hours ago, CGMarko said:

Do you have any pictures of how arecas look after a while in a separate pot?

They will produce suckers and eventually look pretty much the same as multiple plants in one pot, although it will take longer. As they are so cheap, it hardly seems worth the effort. They will grow considerably slower indoors than outside in conditions they are adapted to. I shouldn't worry about their getting too big; this will not happen very quickly. Indoor palms will often become stunted and remain a manageable size while an identical plant in the ground will have become a large tree. C. lutescens only really gets bush-sized, anyway.

[MelvinB]

Here mine.

I bought a clump last year and split and trimmed the smallest stems.

The other stems became fatter and the overall Lutescens growth is pretty good and fast.

 

 

[CGMarko]

Update: I split all my kentias and some of my arecas over a month ago.

My arecas all started growing soon after repotting. I now have only three arecas each in their own pot as I gave away my other arecas.

My kentias are suffering. 2 of 7 are likely going to die (leaves are drying up). Others haven’t produced new leaves yet, but otherwise look healthy.

In the picture you can see the lines of one of the kentias that is drying up on the stem of leaves. Other than one more, all others are round and look healthy.

Should I remove soil and put it in water?

Edited August 16, 2023 by CGMarko

[CGMarko]

I took them both out and dissected them. One was dead (rotten heart). The other one surprisingly wasn’t dead, but I killed it so it is what it is. Both had lots of rotten roots. I will probably water the other ones less now.

[peachy]

I find that kentias need really good drainage. I put a 2 centimetre deep layer of gravel in the bottom of all my pots, it has always proven successful for me.