Easy growing Areca triandra and concinna

[happypalms]

Some easy to grow arecas if you’re looking for some are triandra and concinna. Germinated them from seed which was easy to do so, and just pot them up and leave them alone so easy. They don’t mind the cool weather of my climate, I have been putting a few in the ground lately, not to worried about them just let them grow so easy. 

[mnorell]

Those look very nice, Richard. Glad to see you've had them cooperate with your climate. I've always loved A. triandra but have always had problems with chlorosis and slow growth, often just petering out. Palmpedia has a note that A. concinna in the trade oftentimes is confused and just A. triandra...so you might want to confirm it if they seem very similar to you.

Have you tried A. laosensis? I find it to be hands-down the best Areca that I've tried here. I kept a couple of them with a northeastern exposure (southeastern for you) in one-gallon pots all winter and they never flinched. Deep green leaves, doing just fine. Low-to-mid 30s F wasn't a problem for them on a night or two. I also tried an A. catechu this winter in a plum spot, south-facing, canopy overhead...and it looked fine for a couple of months and then started shedding leaves. Rapidly progressed and finally just carked it. I thought maybe it would get through the winter here, which is much more brief than in the coastal zone of SoCal. Dang. And I wish I could keep an A. triandra as nice as yours. I've tried it in several climates in the past, from L.A. to the Florida Keys and now the low desert...and it disappointed me each time. So congrats to you, yours are really holding the deep green. Do you have a secret trick with fertilization, medium, water, etc.? Inquiring minds want to know...

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, mnorell said:

Those look very nice, Richard. Glad to see you've had them cooperate with your climate. I've always loved A. triandra but have always had problems with chlorosis and slow growth, often just petering out. Palmpedia has a note that A. concinna in the trade oftentimes is confused and just A. triandra...so you might want to confirm it if they seem very similar to you.

Have you tried A. laosensis? I find it to be hands-down the best Areca that I've tried here. I kept a couple of them with a northeastern exposure (southeastern for you) in one-gallon pots all winter and they never flinched. Deep green leaves, doing just fine. Low-to-mid 30s F wasn't a problem for them on a night or two. I also tried an A. catechu this winter in a plum spot, south-facing, canopy overhead...and it looked fine for a couple of months and then started shedding leaves. Rapidly progressed and finally just carked it. I thought maybe it would get through the winter here, which is much more brief than in the coastal zone of SoCal. Dang. And I wish I could keep an A. triandra as nice as yours. I've tried it in several climates in the past, from L.A. to the Florida Keys and now the low desert...and it disappointed me each time. So congrats to you, yours are really holding the deep green. Do you have a secret trick with fertilization, medium, water, etc.? Inquiring minds want to know...

Your climate sounds a bit like my climate, Areca catechu won’t grow for me either, but the dwarf loasensis form will live in the greenhouse so far. Areca rhephotype lives in the greenhouse. The triandra and concinna where purchased as seperate batch’s from a reputable supplier in Australia so iam confident I have both species. I have no secrets coco coir perlite with a bit of quality potting mix, my fertiliser is seaweed extract or a product called power feed only in the warmer months I fertilise. I try not to overwater especially in winter, water monitoring and weed control are the two critical things i stress about, if you get your soil right, all you have to do is concentrate on is those two things. Insect and fungal situations are always being monitored. But good soil media from the get go most of your problems are over. You can complicate it as much as you want or get as simple as you want, less is best. But keep a clean grow room and you have clean neat palms pest and weed free, grow on benches. Always scan your eye for weeds every time you enter your grow room production area, same for insect activity. After 35 years of growing it’s not rocket science but……..