Olympia False Aralia Care Tips

I’ve had a my olympia false aralia for 11 months now (July 2019). In February, it took a fast turn for the worse and it did take me quite a while to understand what happened to it. Now, it has one surviving trunk. Finding Olympia False Aralia care tips proved difficult during its turn for the worse so I thought I would share a little bit of what I found and also what my experience has been.

Olympia False Aralia Care Tips: 

Light: As a houseplant, it does well in bright indirect light. They can be kept in medium light but they will grow slowly without bright light. However, you don’t want to keep them too close to a window as they can be sensitive to both cold and heat. They also don’t like to be moved around, as they seem to grow accustomed to their conditions. Unless the conditions can be precisely replicated, being moved seems to throw them off more than the average houseplant.

Size: They grow up to between 4 and 6 feet tall, so they are a pretty good size tree indoors. Again, with brighter light, they’ll grow faster. In medium light, you’ll see a slower pace of growth.

Watering needs: Coming from a mesic environment, they have “moderate” or well-balanced water needs. This means that they like to be moist but not wet, and from my own experience—they are very sensitive to both under watering and over watering. However, they’d rather be too dry than too wet, so check the potting mix with a moisture meter or probe it with your finger before watering. I am pretty sure my first two trunks died back due to root rot, and I do believe this plant is more prone to root rot than other plants in my home.  

Humidity: They enjoy a balanced humid climate.  

Soil: Slight acidic to neutral soil. I amend my soil for all tropicals with perlite to keep it as fast draining as possible. 

Temperature: I live in a temperate climate and so it is easy to keep my house between 68 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit year round. Being a tropical, its USDA plant hardiness designation is 11, meaning that outdoors it cannot tolerate temperatures colder than 40 degrees Fahrenheit. It should do fine in most households. Like any tropical, I do suggest keeping it away from drafts. 

Fertilizer: They can be rather sensitive to fertilizer. I fertilize this plant less than others in my house. Moving forward, as I’m repotting, I am planning to use top dressing, worm castings in particular, instead of fertilizer for this plant because they are better tolerated and won’t result in root burn. 

Please leave any tips you have about Olympia False Aralia care in the comments. Until next time, be well and take care.