What I think is, a very large % of issues that people come here looking for solutions for, are related directly to the results of soil choice and either the watering habits necessitated by those choices, or just plain poor watering habits. Because choosing a soil that supports little or no perched water makes it difficult for a grower to water poorly (unless they just don't water) most of the blame for poor watering practices is rightly assigned as the result of the dilemma excessively water-retentive soil present the grower. Do I water thoroughly enough to flush the soil of accumulating salts and risk the soil remaining wet for so long it affects root health/function; or do I water in sips, so the soil is appropriately moist, and suffer the consequences of a build-up of solubles in the soil. For me, it's a no-brainer. I want the soil that allows me to water appropriately any time I want to, without my having to worry about the soil remaining wet for so long it affects root health/function - no worries about root health - no worries about salt build-up ...... what's not to like? It's easy to suggest that inappropriately evaluating the level of soil moisture is the cause of these problems, but when you look realistically at the issue of how difficult it is to maintain adequate aeration in soils that support perched water, we see clearly that the bulk of the blame lies with a soil's measure of water retention, and more specifically with the ht of the perched water table. Even when you use small sips of water to water soils that support significant volumes of perched water, the water tends to accumulate at the bottom of the pot - not to mention the fact that watering in sips very often leaves the root mass dry in some places and too wet in others. IOW, it's extremely difficult to keep soils evenly moist when they support perched water. The norm is a layer of soil at the bottom of the pot that remains soggy until the water is used. It's DURING this period when the soil supports too much water that root death and depression of root function occurs. Neither of these things are desirable and should be avoided whenever possible. One robs energy from the plant because the plant has to expend energy to replace lost rootage, and the other inhibits the plant's ability to function normally. Well-aerated soils that support no or minimal amounts of perched water, do away with these negatives entirely, and offer the grower much greater latitude in the areas of fertilizing and (over)watering. ****************************************************** There are 2 ways to look at growing. Placing grower convenience at the forefront will find you growing much differently than if you place the plant's well-being foremost. Neither way is right or wrong, it's just two different ways of looking at growing. One grower might look at 'what to do with the effluent after watering a big plant in the gritty mix' as an insurmountable obstacle because it requires more effort than using a soil that absorbs and holds onto all that excess water. I don't look at it as an obstacle at all - just something that needs to be dealt with in my pursuit of maximizing plant health. Large plants are set above drainage saucers on small blocks, so after the effluent leaves the pot it cannot find its way back into the soil. All my plants, even the small ones, are watered so 15-20% of the total volume of water applied exits the drain. The effluent goes into the drainage saucer and evaporates - usually within 2-3 days, depending on the weather (humidity levels). If, for some reason, it didn't all evaporate between waterings, I'd make a note of that and remove some of the water with a turkey baster or similar after watering. So far, that hasn't been an issue. Al

Hello from Ft. Lauderdale, I am the go-to guy in my nursery for ideas, answers to questions, etc. I sell hundreds of both palms each month, and can tell you the basic visual difference. Cat palms are considered understory palms (in nature, grows under the canopy of taller plants) so are conditioned to like shadier areas during the heat of the day. They like LOTS of water, can actually take being overwatered, but no drought. They grow to about 7 or 8 ft. tall in the ground, often shorter in a pot. The stems of a cat palm are rather bulbous towards the bottom as compared to the pencil-thin and pencil-shaped stems of the areca palm. The cat palm has relatively few stems, perhaps a dozen in a 10 inch pot, the areca many, many usually thinner stems. The areca will grow to 18 to 20 ft. tall in the ground with the stems growing correspondently thicker, and by necessity is fine in full sun, and to perhaps 10 or 12 ft. in a large pot. The cat palm will therefore take more shade for a longer time (indoors, for example) as long as adequate food and water are applied. Cat palms can tolerate full sun, but will usually get an overall yellowish appearance in the leaves from too much sun, which will green up again when the hot summer weather turns cooler.

what state are you in? Must be east coast or Arizona (or maybe northern Cal) since we don't get summer rains in southern California. Where you are will factor in on how you plant these plants, since zone 9b is a marginal zone for this species. A bad freeze could kill them all off overnight. If you live in Florida, you might someday get the hedge you wanted with Areca palms (Dypsis lutescens)... may take 6 years to a decade. Would take several decades, if ever, if you live in California. Would only take about 4-5 years in Hawaii, but no zone 9b in Hawaii that I am aware of (maybe a mountain top?). Frankly, there are few palms that make good screens unless you live in a tropical climate, at least in any decent number of years. But most palms grow a lot faster on east coast than west, so if you live there, might have better luck that I would. Rhapis or Chamaerops might be a better choice. If I were going to be creating a screen with Areca palms, I would be planting them a foot or so apart at the most, and even then would not expect a good visual screen for some 10-20 years. Unless of course you are rich or have a source for dozens of 20 gal areca palms for cheap. Water well and fertilize often, particularly if you live in sandy soil (fertlize with a water based, or a slow release granular, but caution on the amount of slow release since fertilizer burn can be a big problem in palms). What is post planting?

I think most large garden centers that sell palms don't give a hoot regarding the names they tag on their palms and whether right or wrong , they use the most common names they see used by other large stores. I'd guess palmbob being so well versed in even small differences between species can spot them while us non experts would easily overlook those differences . And how many pinnate species are there?