Areca Palms, Delivered and Planted in Southwest Florida
Areca palm is the clumping, feathery palm most Southwest Florida homeowners picture when they want a soft privacy screen. It grows well here in sun or shade with regular water, and it is best planted in a row or a cluster rather than alone. It does not like frost or soggy ground. Sizes run from 3 gallon to field-grown 8 ft, all delivered and planted.
- Light:
- Full sun to shade; fronds yellow in hard all-day sun
- Water:
- Regular; keep evenly moist but never soggy
- Salt:
- Moderate; burns in heavy salt spray
Areca Palm sizes we deliver and plant
Every size below is planted by our crew, set at the right depth and watered in. Send the size and how many, and we text back a planted price, usually within the hour during the day.
| Plant | Sizes |
|---|---|
| Areca Palm | 3 Gallon, 7 Gallon, 15 Gallon, 25 Gallon, Field Grown 8' |
Areca Palm in SW Florida, at a glance
- Mature size here
- 15 to 20 ft tall and 6 to 10 ft wide per clump
- Light
- Full sun to shade; fronds yellow in hard all-day sun
- Water
- Regular; keep evenly moist but never soggy
- Salt tolerance
- Moderate; burns in heavy salt spray
- Cold tolerance
- Fronds burn near 32°F and a hard freeze can kill the stems; protect young clumps in frost-prone inland lots
- Growth rate
- Slow to moderate
- Spacing
- 3 to 5 ft on center for a privacy screen
- Florida native
- No
- Botanical name
- Dypsis lutescens
Where Areca Palm works in a SW Florida yard
Areca palms earn their place as a living wall. Plant a single row 3 to 5 ft apart along a fence or lanai and the clumps knit together into a soft, tall screen. In a bed, use three or five at different heights as the backdrop for lower tropicals.
A little afternoon shade keeps the fronds greener than all-day sun. Good companions are Ti Plant, Heliconia and Bromeliads at the front, with a Royal Palm or Foxtail Palm as a taller accent nearby.
- Privacy screen along a fence
- Pool and lanai screening
- Tropical corner planting
- Large container accent
How our crew plants it
Set the palm with the top of the root ball level with the soil, never buried, in a hole twice as wide as the container. Space a screen 3 to 5 ft on center. Water in well and mulch, keeping mulch off the canes. Field-grown 8 ft clumps are dug with a root ball and need steady moisture while new roots form.
Water daily at first, as the new-planting allowance in Lee and Collier permits, keeping the root ball moist rather than soaked.
Care after planting
- Feed with an 8-2-12 palm fertilizer with micronutrients in spring and fall, and skip the June 1 to September 30 nitrogen and phosphorus ban in Lee County, Naples and Marco Island.
- Yellow or spotted older fronds usually mean a potassium, magnesium or manganese shortage in our sandy soil, which a palm fertilizer with micronutrients corrects over a few months.
- Trim only fully brown fronds and spent flower stalks, because cutting green fronds weakens the clump.
- Water regularly but let the top inch dry between waterings, since constant wet feet cause root rot.
- Cover young clumps with frost cloth on the nights that dip toward freezing.
What to watch for
- Cold snaps brown the fronds and a hard freeze can kill stems, so arecas do better on the coast and in protected spots than in open inland lots.
- Spider mites, scale and mealybugs show up in dry or crowded plantings, and a strong water spray and good airflow keep them in check.
- Standing water after summer storms leads to root rot, so avoid low spots.
Areca Palm questions we hear
How far apart should I plant areca palms for privacy?+
Plant them 3 to 5 ft apart on center. Closer spacing, around 3 ft, gives a solid screen sooner with 3 and 7 gallon palms, while 4 to 5 ft works for 15 and 25 gallon sizes. Stagger two rows if you want a screen that is thick from the first season.
Why are my areca palm fronds turning yellow?+
Full sun, a nutrient shortage, cold or soggy soil can all do it. In our sandy soil the usual culprit is a lack of potassium, magnesium, manganese or iron. Feed with an 8-2-12 palm fertilizer with micronutrients in spring and fall, give afternoon shade if the fronds are bleaching, and check drainage.
Can areca palms take full sun in Florida?+
They survive it, but the fronds bleach yellow and the clump looks tired. Morning sun with afternoon shade gives the best green. Along a fence that bakes all day, expect more yellowing and a higher need for water and palm fertilizer. Shade gives a deeper green but slower growth.
How tall do areca palms get in Cape Coral?+
Most clumps reach 15 to 20 ft in a typical yard, taller in a sheltered spot. Growth is slow to moderate, so an 8 ft field-grown clump gives you height now instead of years from now. Individual canes are thin, and the clump spreads 6 to 10 ft over time.
Do areca palms survive a freeze?+
Light frost browns fronds. A hard freeze can kill stems, and the clump may resprout from the base or be lost. The coast rarely gets that cold, but Lehigh Acres, North Fort Myers and Port Charlotte can. Cover young clumps on frost nights and wait for new growth before cutting back.
How much does an areca palm hedge cost?+
A screen's price depends on palm size, how long the run is and how many plants it takes, so we text a planted price instead of a range. Send your address and where the screen goes, and replies usually land within the hour during the day. Half down holds the plants and a delivery day.
Updated October 2026
Get a planted price on Areca Palm
Tell us what and how many. Quinten prices it from the nursery's live list and texts you back, usually within the hour during the day.
Only need the plant delivered, no planting? It is on our nursery's list at Palm & Plant Co.
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