Areca palm

Dypsis lutescens, sold as areca palm, is a clustering palm from Madagascar. The RHS notes it is sometimes misleadingly sold under that name, since the genus Areca is a different palm altogether. Indoors, Clemson reports it grows to 1.8 to 2.1 metres and adds 15 to 25 centimetres a year, so plants often outgrow their space.

It does best in bright, indirect light, near an east-, west- or south-facing window (Clemson). In Dubai that means close to the glow, not in the hot glare: the RHS warns that palms put out in hot sun they are not acclimatised to scorch quickly, and the same goes for a window that bakes by mid-afternoon. Clemson gives 24 to 29°C by day and 18 to 21°C at night as ideal, and the RHS advises a winter minimum of 13°C, noting that young plants are somewhat cold sensitive, so a cool AC room suits it but a cold vent does not.

Dry air is where this palm struggles. Clemson says areca palms are very susceptible to spider mites, and the RHS lists red spider mite, mealybugs and scale. Brown, dried tips can come from underwatering, a dry atmosphere (RHS) or over-fertilising (Clemson). Spider mites thrive in warm, dry conditions, which describes an air-conditioned room, so inspect the undersides of the fronds and wipe them regularly.

It is also a hungry plant: UF/IFAS links yellow-orange leaf bases and speckled older fronds to nitrogen and potassium shortage. Clemson recommends a slow-release palm fertiliser with micronutrients two or three times a year, but excess fertiliser salts brown the tips, so go lightly and drench the pot through with plain water now and then, as Clemson advises for salt-sensitive palms.