Removing Cane From an Areca Palm

Also known as the golden cane palm, the Areca palm is distinguished by its feather-shaped fronds and ringed truck resembling bamboo cane. When potted as a house plant, the Areca palm thrives in a wide range of temperatures and only requires a minimal amount of pruning. Although the tips of its fronds have a tendency to turn brown, it’s important not to trim them because this may destroy a healthy branch; however, areas of dead cane may need to be periodically pruned. Determining which sections of cane to remove is a simple procedure that takes only minutes to perform.

Things You'll Need

• Small knife
• Pruning shears

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Using a small, sharp knife, scrape off a tiny portion of the cane stem. Look for green tissue in the plant matter; if there is none, then that portion of the cane is dead.

   • 2

     Using the pruning shears, carefully cut off the dead cane. Check for sections of green tissue as you're pruning and avoid cutting into or nicking these areas.

   • 3

     Pull gently on sections of the surrounding cane to see if they bend or break; cane that's dead or dying will be brittle and show a tendency to snap off from the trunk. Trim off these areas until you get to sections of healthy green tissue.

   • 4

     Check the roots to see if they're rotting; smell them and if there's a musty smell, remove the dead roots with the pruning shears and continue to snip off any other areas of dead tissue from the top to the bottom of the plant.