Plant of the Week: Areca

Plant of the Week: Areca

Add a touch of Madagascan jungle to your living room with this graceful beauty. Its feathery, arching fronds make a fabulous focal point: a well looked-after areca palm can reach a majestic 1.8m in height, though you can prune it back down to size if required.

Place your areca palm by a south- or west-facing window in bright, but not direct light. Keep the soil damp but not soggy through spring and summer, but keep it drier over winter when the plant is growing more slowly. A pellet of slow-release fertiliser in spring keeps it fed all season, though palms also enjoy a spray-on foliar feed in summer too.