Chrysalidocarpus, advice and care

Chrysalidocarpus is a very cute plant. How and when should it be repotted, watered and what diseases infect it?

Chrysalidocarpus facts, a summary

Name – Chrysalidocarpus lutescens
Family – Arecaceae (also called Palmaceae)
Type – palm tree, indoor plant

Height – 5 to 8 feet (1.5 to 2.5 m) indoors
Exposure – Very well-lit
Soil – soil mix
Foliage – evergreen

These are some of the questions to answer when you have the joy of owning a magnificent Chrysalidocarpus.

Here is where we gathered all our advice on caring for Chrysalidocarpus, the areca palm.

Planting and repotting of Chrysalidocarpus

Indoor Chrysalidocarpus in pots or garden boxes

Chrysalidocarpus requires good soil mix that can be amended with ⅓ compost, if you’ve got some.
In order to enhance drainage, pour clay pebbles or small stones into the pot to form a layer at the bottom.

This will help ensure that roots won’t wallow in water, which could be fatal to it.

• Set up your Chrysalidocarpus in a fair-sized pot filled with special indoor plant or green plant soil mix.
• Although it may be necessary to repot it in spring every 2 or 3 years, when not repotting then go for regular topdressing which should also perfectly answer the growth medium needs of the plant.

Outdoor Chrysalidocarpus

Generally speaking, Chrysalidocarpus doesn’t tolerate the cold and can only be planted outdoors in regions where the climate in winter is mild.

Just as might be done in pots, feel free to place a bed of gravel, small stones or clay pebbles to ensure proper drainage.
Atop this layer, you’ll be using a blend of soil mix, garden soil and sand.

Placing your Chrysalidocarpus in the right spot

Under our climates, Chrysalidocarpus adapts well to living indoors in our apartments and homes.
It grows best when surrounding temperatures hold around 65 to 72°F (18 to 22°C) and requires very good light, even some direct sunlight.

• Behind a window, though, best to avoid too much direct exposure to the sun which might dry it off.

Best to place it near a window facing to the West so that it would still have a good deal of light.

If you live in a house that is quite dark, avoid purchasing Chrysalidocarpus because it won’t cope well with the lack of luminosity.

Watering chrysalidocarpus

Anytime during the year, it is important to mist water on the leaves regularly to recreate its natural environment living conditions which are rather moist. This is especially true in winter, because heating tends to reduce indoor air moisture levels.

In spring and summer

This is most often the time of the year when Chrysalidocarpus grow most.
Water regularly while letting the soil mix dry in the surface before watering again.

Watering must be regular but limited, in order to not suffocate the plant’s roots.
You might say that watering every 2 or 3 days is often needed.

More or less every two weeks, you can offer it some liquid fertilizer, taking great care to moisten the soil mix beforehand.

In fall and winter

Start reducing the watering because Chrysalidocarpus water needs begin to decrease.
Only when the soil is dry down to the first inch or so (a couple centimeters), water to moisten the soil mix again.

Again, one might contend that watering 2 or 3 times a month should be enough.
But this really depends on where your Chrysalidocarpus is placed: if it is in full sun, its needs will surely be higher.

Finally, this season is also the one to stop adding fertilizer, from October all the way to March and April.

Learn more about chrysalidocarpus

Chrysalidocarpus is a very elegant palm tree that adapts very well to indoor life in an apartment or house.

All in one aesthetic, resilient and very easy to grow, this is one of the most appreciated and often-purchased indoor plants.

Its foliage is quite elegant and brings a touch of exotic life to a living room, dining area, or any other room of the house that is well-lit.

Diseases and parasites that attack chrysalidocarpus

Chrysalidocarpus leaves are twisted

This is undoubtedly due to lack of light or excess water.

• Find a more exposed location for it and reduce watering to match our recommendations above.

Chrysalidocarpus leaves turn yellow

If the plant continues to produce new leaves, this is part of its natural cycle. Trees, even evergreen trees, lose their leaves to renew them.

• So you can simply let them dry up and fall off, or cut them when they’ve finished drying up.
• If no new shoots appear, however, and that your palm tree looks pitiful, check on your watering and water drainage, and eventually support the plant with liquid fertilizer every fortnight.

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