The One Houseplant That Makes a Room Feel Cooler in Late Summer – and Doubles as a Statement Piece
Discover why the Areca palm can cool your space and refresh summer décor
Few indoor plants have the impact and appeal of an areca palm, especially during hot summer months. This graceful, arching palm has an alluring, visual charm coupled with mood boosting benefits that can help revitalise your inside space and transport you to restful, tropical climes.
More refined than other indoor palms, with their strong, architectural lines, these relatively slow growing plants exude calmness, peace and serenity, and thankfully are pretty easy to look after.
One of the most elegant houseplants that can cool your house and purify the air, these palms (also known as the butterfly palm, or botanically Areca catechu) are celebrated by home stylists, interior designers and plant experts alike. Whether you opt for a small plant, such as this 12''areca palm from Walmart on a sunny desk top or large specimen, try this areca palm from The Sill displayed proudly in a vacant corner, you can revitalize your living space into a cool, leafy retreat and soak up the benefits.
How Areca Palms Can Transform a Home in Summer
A fabulous choice for looks alone, this palm also has valuable cooling and air cleaning properties that makes it useful and beneficial to have in our homes, especially during hot summer months.
'I think the areca palm is the ultimate summer statement plant because it easily brings tropical vibes indoors with its feathery, arching fronds,' says plant expert Paris Lalicata. 'It also purifies the air giving your home that fresh outdoor air feeling even when you’re stuck inside on a sunny day!'
Using a process known as transpiration, these tropical indoor plants can help rebalance humidity levels within the home.
'Like all houseplants, Areca palm absorbs moisture from the potting mix via its roots and then releases much of that moisture (along with fresh oxygen) into the air via its fronds,' explains plant expert Justin Hancock. 'This is especially helpful for rooms that have an air conditioner running a lot, as the palm replenishes humidity stripped out by the air conditioning unit.'
'It’s noticeably more delicate looking than a kentia palm, lady palm, or majesty palm, for example,' says Justin. 'It also has a sense of fullness you don’t necessarily see with other palms because it’s typically grown with multiple plants per pot, rather than just having a trunk or two.'
'Since the palm has so many fronds and leaflets, it may be adding more humidity than a smaller, less leafy plant,' says houseplant expert Lisa Eldred Steinkopf.
How To Keep Your Areca Palm Thriving
Native to the tropical forests of Singapore, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea, these palms love warmth, high light levels and humidity. Knowing this background is key to these indoor tropical plants thriving.
'In summer, your Areca Palm can do double-duty in front of a bright window by absorbing solar radiation coming in, rather than having it heat up your room, and giving you natural privacy with its size,' explains Justin. 'As a houseplant, the more light it gets, the better.'
He also cautions that, 'Areca Palm isn’t a fan of low-light areas, so it’s probably not going to be happy in a windowless bathroom or the far side of a living room, den, or bedroom.' An Aspect LED Grow Light from The Sill will bring light to darker spots.
Moisture levels around the plant and its roots need to monitored, so investing in a meter such as this Probe Moisture Meter from Amazon, can be useful.
'Don’t let your palm dry out and keep the humidity up around the plant,' says Lisa. 'Add more plants around the palm or place it on a pebble tray to help. A humidifier would also help.' Paris also adds that, 'palms grow best in a warm, humid environment so avoid rooms that get too cold or dry,' says Paris. 'Consider a space heater if the room will get below 65F degrees.'
Find plastic plant humidity saucers at Walmart.
How An Areca Palm Can Refresh Your Interior Decor
The Areca palm is the indoor plant that will instantly transform a light filled room. 'The secret is in those beautiful soft fronds that arch out gracefully. They help to break up hard lines in your space and fill empty areas with airy foliage. Just having those big tropical leaves indoors makes a room feel closer to nature,' says Paris.
This tall indoor plant makes an impressive statement displayed on its own, as Paris explains. 'Large specimens are great as floor plants, filling empty corners or elevated with plant stands depending on the space and window size, but smaller varieties look great on desks and side tables.'
Alternatively, try showcasing this palm as part of a curated plant collection.
'If you want to up the biophilic effect, give it some friends and create a grouping; either multiple areca palms or an areca palm paired with some of your other favorite houseplants. In nature, you never see a single plant all by itself,' says Justin.
'The effect of having more, smaller fronds compared to fewer, larger fronds is perfect for adding a tropical touch in a softer way , and for contrasting coarser-leafed houseplants like Monstera, Bird of Paradise, or Fiddle Leaf Fig,' he adds.
Walmart's Easy Care Air Purifying 12 Plant collection is a great starting point and multi-tiered metal plant stand such as this from Target makes arranging them easy.
With their vibrant green fronds breaking into many slender leaflets, the butterfly palm is a firm favorite with interior designers.
'The foliage is adaptable and can complement almost any color,' explains Paris. 'I personally like a tropical turquoise to make the foliage pop or burnt oranges and warm yellows for an earthy feel.'
Indoor planters come in all sizes, finishes and materials. This Large Pallas Floor Planter from The Sill comes with a bamboo stand for added height and drama. Alternatively try Anthropologie's striking Slatted Acacia Diamond planter.
Lisa is a houseplant expert who runs her blog The Houseplant Guru with over a decade of professional experience at Steinkopf Nursery and Garden Center in Michigan. As a child, Lisa helped her grandma tend to African violets and other houseplants. Since then, Lisa has forged a career providing houseplant advice, holding lectures and writing for publications across the US.
Justin is Costa Farms Horticulturist with 25+ years in the industry. A plant enthusiast and educator, he has a degree in horticultural science and has worked in garden centers and botanical gardens, as a garden designer, and in garden publishing. He has experience gardening across the country, from Minnesota to Oregon to Miami. Hancock is also co-host of the Costa Farms podcast Plant Rx.
Paris has been with The Sill for almost five years and heads up Plant Education and Community. A self-taught plant expert with over ten years of experience growing houseplants, she currently maintains an indoor garden of more than 200 plants in the northeast. Her passion is making plant care more digestible for budding plant parents and sharing the many benefits of having plants indoors.
If you've fallen for the charms of an areca palm, discover How to grow a palm tree to ensure the best results and consider adding a sago palm to your collection.
And our curated houseplant care kit will show you everything you need to give them the best care possible.
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