Is your Areca Palm suffering from the dry leaves issue?
The indoor plants usually begin to show this behavior, and it becomes pretty challenging to know the exact reason for it.
Areca Palm is one such plant that can show similar behavior at times.
So, why do the leaves of this plant turn dry?
Today, let’s discuss this issue more and find out the real causes and solutions in the following guide.
Jump To:
5 Reasons Why Your Areca Palm Has Dry Leaves
Here’s a list of things that can make the Areca Palm’s leaves turn dry –
1. You Keep The Plant In Direct Sunlight
The Areca Palm can grow in direct sunlight without much of an issue, and it grows pretty well in outdoor conditions as well.
However, if you have been growing this plant in indoor settings, it might face an issue with direct sunlight.
Well, it’s quite true for the plant that you just moved it from a slightly shaded place to a bright place.
This type of change in the environment can cause the plant to get under stress.
As a result, the plant may either get shriveled or start drying out in a few days.
Note: This type of behavior may only happen during the heatwaves and harsh summer season.
So, you shouldn’t be worried about it if only a few fronds are getting dried up.
2. You Haven’t Watered Your Plant In A While
Areca Palm needs regular watering.
It is one of those plants that can’t live without water for too long.
If you forgot to water your plant for a few weeks, you might see the leaves turning yellow and dry afterward.
This is a typical indication from the plant that it’s not been receiving enough water to carry out its regular functions.
Thankfully, though, you can fix this problem with regular watering.
I have talked more about it in the following tips section.
So, do take a look at it.
3. Your Areca Palm Is Getting Old
Yes, this could be another possibility for dried leaves.
When the plant turns old, it doesn’t need too many leaves to produce food.
During this process, it begins to shed some of the weaker leaves.
It’s a pretty natural process, and there is very little you can do about it.
If the plant is already getting old, you can only take care of it by providing enough water, sunlight, and nutrients.
4. You Have Added Too Many Fertilizers To The Plant
The fertilizers can also make the leaves turn yellow, brown, or colorless.
Sometimes, beginners feel that adding a lot of fertilizers can help grow their plants vigorously.
Although fertilizers help grow your indoor and outdoor plants, you need to know the correct quantity for optimum growth.
If you add them in excess quantity enthusiastically, it may cause a root burn issue in your plant.
Ultimately, it will surely lead to dried leaves on your Areca Palm.
5. You May Have Pest Issue On The Plant
Do you see any white-colored pests on the leaves?
The Areca Palm plant is known to attract pests like mealybugs and scale.
These insects generally feed on the tender leaves and stems of the plant.
Both these insects are white-bodied and can easily be found out with a quick inspection of the plant.
Most of the time, they will live in their colonies and extract the juices from a couple of fronds or stems before moving to the next ones.
The other thing about these pests is that they also attack other plants in the garden.
So, they just won’t stop after attacking the Areca Palm.
If you have more plants in your garden, these little bugs will continue to cause damage to different plants.
Hence, it’s necessary to identify them quickly.
Now, these are the few things you need to consider when you see dry leaves on your plant.
In the next section, let’s try to understand some of the ways through which you can fix the issue.
6 Tips To Fix The Dry Leaves Issue On Areca Palm
In most cases, the dry leaves issue is not going to be a major concern for you, and the suggestions shared below should be useful to revive the plant from this situation.
So, let’s not waste more time and take a quick look at these fixes.
1. Move Your Areca Palm Container Indoors
If you are not sure what’s causing the dry leaves problem in your Areca Palm, you should move the plant away from direct sunlight.
The Areca Palm can grow well in a place where it can get sufficient natural light throughout the day.
Try to find such a place in your home and see if it can resolve the issue for your plant.
If it’s a sunlight-related issue, you will definitely see improvement in your plant.
You won’t see any yellow or dried leaves after moving the plant to such a place.
2. Water Your Plant If You Haven’t In Some Time
Underwatering is one of the common reasons why you might see dried leaves or leaf drop issues in your Areca Palm.
To fix this problem, the only thing you need to do is water the plant well.
If you haven’t watered it for a long time, you should water it thoroughly.
Let the water release from the drainage holes of the plant.
This will ensure that all the roots have received an adequate amount of water.
As for the frequency, you can water this plant every week or so during the summer season.
For winters, you may reduce the frequency to 12-15 days.
In extreme cold, you can avoid watering the plant entirely.
3. Prune The Dead And Damaged Leaves From the Plant
Once you have watered the plant, you can remove the dead leaves from the plant.
The dried and dead leaves are not going to help your plant in any way.
So, you should remove such leaves from the plant.
It will also help the plant to produce new shoots in the coming weeks and months.
Important: If the leaves are infested with bugs, you should safely put them in the bin.
Do not use them for any other purpose in your garden.
4. Trim The Dried Tips Of Some Of The Leaves
You can also trim the edges of the Areca Palm if they have turned brown or black.
These edges are not going to turn green again despite the revival efforts.
So, you can trim those dried tips to make the plant look a little better in appearance.
5. Wait For A Few Weeks Before Adding New Fertilizer To The Plant
The excessive use of fertilizers can cause root burn in your plant.
In order to avoid this situation, you shouldn’t be fertilizing the plant every now and then.
You will need to follow a systematic approach in this case.
If you see dry leaves on the plant, you should stop using fertilizers for a few weeks.
Instead, you can continue to take routine care of your plant.
Follow this routine for a couple of weeks or a month and see how your plant responds to it.
If you don’t see any more dried leaves, you can wait further and fertilize the plant the next month.
Also, if you want to use fertilizers, make sure you don’t use too many at one time.
You just need to pick one that is suitable for the plant.
There are quite a few brands available in the market that provide palm-specific fertilizers for gardeners.
You can choose any of them but do check the experiences shared by other users.
Do not use semi-decomposed compost from your compost bin, as it can also negatively affect the plant.
6. Repot Your Plant If You Continue To See More Dried Leaves
As you know, the repotting process can really help the plant thrive in a new environment.
But it’s not going to fix the dry leaves problem entirely.
You should only perform this step when you have exhausted all other options.
If your plant is rootbound or not growing properly in the current pot, you can definitely go ahead and repot it.
Do add some compost or palm fertilizers at the base of the pot.
This should help achieve new growth in the roots and leaves of the plant.
Now, let’s check out the FAQs below.
FAQs
As explained in the guide, there are many reasons why your plant might start drying.
The common reasons for this issue include – excess sunlight, heatwaves, overfertilizing, underwatering, and pest attacks.
All these issues can dry out the leaves significantly.
First and foremost, you should fix the watering frequency of the plant.
It will quickly help rejuvenate the plant.
Later, you can prune some of the dried leaves and fertilize the plant after a few weeks.
These simple steps should help revive your dried Areca Palm.
You can water your Areca Palm every week. This is the ideal watering frequency for this plant.
In winter or other harsh climate conditions, you can adjust the frequency accordingly.
Yes, it can barely survive in low light, but you shouldn’t keep this plant in low light for a very long time.
Generally, the plant does well in bright and well-lit spaces.
It depends on the light conditions in your room. If it’s too dark, you shouldn’t keep your Areca Palm in the bedroom.
Thanks for the tips you shared here. Leaves of my areca palm is turning dry ( let’s say the green colour is fading and little moist to feel when it is touched). I am sprinkling water regularly and repotted it . Anything else can i do? I just bought it 1week ago.
Hey Pom,
There could be a few things going on with your areca palm.
It could be too dry or too wet.
Areca palms like to be in moist, but not soggy, soil.
Make sure you’re not over or underwatering your plant.
If the leaves are still green but turning dry and brown at the tips, it could signify too much direct sunlight.
Areca palms like bright, indirect light. Too much direct sunlight can scorch the leaves.
Move your plant to a bright, indirect light spot and see if that helps.
If the leaves are completely brown and dry, it could be a sign of root rot. This is caused by too much water and not enough drainage.
You can also fertilize the plant.
Try to use a nitrogen-rich fertilizer to see some lush green growth in your plant.