Modern living spaces can be spruced up with indoor Palm plants that add to the aesthetic features of your home.
Palm plants are majestic, tall, and elegant-looking, which makes the decision of purchasing one extremely easy!
Palm plants are also known to purify the air, and some cultures believe they bring good luck to the home they are placed in.
Most Palms are easy to take care of and do not require prior Palm plant knowledge.
This article will discuss the features of two indoor plants that are popular among house-plant owners: Areca Palm and Kentia Palm.
So, let's begin!
What Is Kentia Palm?
The Kentia Palm is a tall and graceful plant that is easy to find and plant in your home.
This plant is said to be a safe choice for beginners as it can thrive in low sunlight and dry indoor air.
The fronds of this Palm are atop single stems, so the plant looks less complete than other varieties of Palm.
What Is Areca Palm?
The Areca Palm is known by many names, such as 'the butterfly palm' because of its feathery fronds or the 'golden cane palm' owing to its golden stem.
This Palm tree is also similar in appearance to a bamboo plant.
Areca Palms love basking in the sunlight but should be kept away from direct light.
Oftentimes, fertilizer salt tends to build up within its soil, so it is essential to only feed this plant fertilizer once or twice during its growing season.
Kentia Palm vs. Areca Palm - Similarities
Kentia Palm and Areca Palm, despite belonging to the Palm family, have little to no similarities.
Their similarities end at them both being suitable as indoor Palm plants that require low maintenance.
Apart from this, these two plants have no similarity as such.
However, both these Palm plants have specific requirements for their growth.
Here are a few basic needs that the Palm plants need to be fulfilled -
1. Light
One of the best features of Palm plants is that they do not need direct sunlight all the time to grow well.
The plants can thrive in low light conditions, too.
During winters, Palm plants do not need direct sunlight at all, in fact.
2. Soil
The best kind of soil for Palm plants is porous and loose soil, such as a mixture of shredded bark, peat moss, and leaf mold.
If you cannot procure this mixture, Cactus or Palm soil, or even commercial potting soil will do just fine for the Palm plants.
3. Water
Palm plants do not prefer to sit in waterlogged soil, so when you water the plant, ensure that the soil is fully dry from the previous watering.
When the root ball sits in water for too long, it can lead to root rot.
To avoid this, monitor your watering sessions and plant the Palm in a well-draining container so that the roots are never sitting in stagnant water.
These are the basic similarities for Palm plant care.
For pruning, fertilizing, temperatures, and other care tips, it is best to conduct individual research for each palm tree as the needs can differ from plant to plant.
Kentia Palm vs. Areca Palm - Differences
Here's the list of differences between these two varieties.
1. Leaflets
The difference between the Kentia Palm and Areca Palm is the width and length of its leaflets-not leaves.
The "branches" of these palms are actually long leaves with several narrow leaflets.
Leaves of the palms will grow throughout its life, but leaflets grow only up to a certain point before it stops.
Measure the longest leaflet that is located at the bottom of the leaf and compare the leaflets of the Areca and Kentia Palm.
The measurements of the Areca Palm leaflets are 1 ½ to 2 feet long and 1 ½ inches wide, and the measurements of the Kentia Palm are 2 ½ feet long and 2 inches wide.
2. Appearance
The general appearance of both Palm trees differs greatly.
The Areca Palm's leaves stand upright and have a fine texture.
The leaflets stand upright and adjacent, too, in a V-shaped manner.
The Kentia Palm, on the other hand, looks far coarser and feathery.
The leaves limp downwards in a cascading way.
The 2-inch leaflets bend downwards, too.
3. Color Of The Leaf
The Areca palm leaves are a rich green throughout the length of the leaf, while the Kentia Palm leaves tend to be more yellow on the bottom and greener on top.
4. Color Of Stems
The stem colors of both the palms vary in color.
Areca palm, also commonly known as the Golden Palm, gets the name from the fact that its stem is golden in color.
The Kentia palm has green stems that grow darker as the plant matures.
5. Number Of Stems
The stems or trunk of the trees might not be openly visible as they are usually in a container, but if you check the stems, the Kentia Palm grows from one single trunk while the Areca Palm has several tiny stems that grow in a cluster.
6. Growth
Areca Palm plants grow fast and can increase 6-10 inches of their height each year.
In a few years of being indoor plants, the Areca Palm can outgrow their indoor space.
The Kentia Palm grows extremely slow and thrives in indoor, low-light conditions so that it can grow well indoors for many years.
Now, here are a few FAQs related to this topic.
FAQs
Growing Kentia Palms is an enormous task that takes at least six years (or longer for a bigger Palm) and plenty of investment.
The Kentia Palms grown in North America are field-grown and have to endure adverse weather conditions like heat waves, storms, and frost.
The Kentia Palm tree is considered the cleanest Palm tree as it does not require much pruning and is a low maintenance plant.
Kentia Palm plants can live for more than a decade indoors if taken care of well.
The Areca Palm should be watered frequently but in limited amounts so as to not suffocate the roots of the plant.
There are several Palm plants that can thrive indoors, including the Areca Palm and Kentia Palm.
Palm plants are not the same as some require daily effort to maintain, and others can grow without much hassle.
It depends on the amount of space and time you have to give to the plant.
Before purchasing a Palm plant, research online about the pros and cons of having a certain plant or talk to people who own them so that you can make an informed decision.
Over To You
Enjoyed the comparison between Kentia Palm and Areca Palm?
I hope so!
If you have any questions related to this topic, please feel free to ask them in the comments below.
Do share this guide with your friends and family if it helped in understanding the difference between these two Palm varieties.
Leave a Reply