Download FCHOA ACRC GENERAL PALM TREE INFORMATION 2010

FCHOA ACRC GENERAL PALM TREE INFORMATION 2010 - 2014
Common Name
True Date
Palms
Canary
Island
Date Palms
Texas
Sabal
Palms
Mediterranean
Fan Palms
California Fan
Palms
Windmill Palms
Mexican Fan
Palms
Species Name
Phoenix
dactylifera
Phoenix
canariensis
Sabal
mexicana
Chamaerops
humilis
Washingtonia
filifera
Trachycarpus
fortunei
Washingtonia
robusta
Typical Height
70'
40'
40'
10'
50'
25'
70 - 100'
Hardiness Zone
8B-11
8B-11
8-11
8-11
8-11
8-10B
8-11
Growth Rate
Slow
Slow
Slow
Slow
Moderate
Slow
Fast
Soil/Light
Requirements
Widely
adaptable/
high
Widely
adaptable/
high
Widely
adaptable/
high
Widely
adaptable/highmoderate
Widely
adaptable/ high
Widely
adaptable
/moderate high
Widely
adaptable/
high
Leaf Type/Size
Feather/
up to 20'
Feather/
10-20'
Fan/
6' wide - 3'
long
Fan/
3' diameter
Fan/
6-7' wide
Fan/
2-3' wide
Fan/
4-6' wide
Trunk or Stem
Characteristics
Robust, grey,
patterned
with broad
leaf scars
Distinctive
diamond
leaf scar
pattern
Gray,
smooth;
often
covered
with crisscross of
split leaf
bases
1' diameter;
dead leaves
persist below
crown
Brown, fairly
thick, not
swollen at base
Slender,
covered with
dark brown
fibers
Pale gray,
swollen at
base, often
covered with
long sha
The Areca Palm, scientific name Dypsis lutescens (synonym:
Chrysalidocarpus Lutescens) is a beautiful palm tree from
Madagascar. This plant is also known as Butterfly Palm, Yellow Palm,
Golden Cane Palm, Madagascar palm and Areca Lutescens. It is a
common ornamental in subtropical and tropical regions around the
world. Probably it is the most cultivated nursery palm tree. However, it
is endangered and very rare in its natural habitat Madagascar.
The Areca palm is a low maintenance plant and a fast grower. You
can grow this exotic plant as a house plant. It will bring a tropical
touch into your home and purify the air. The Areca is consistently
rated among the best houseplants for removing all indoor air toxins.
The graceful Areca Palm tends to grow in clumps. The adult plant
looks like a large bush that can reach 20 feet or more in height with a
spread of 5-10 feet. As a houseplant it is usually grown much
smaller.
The Areca Palm germinates easily and rapidly from fresh seeds and by divisions of clumps.
The adult palm has several smooth, bamboo-like trunks that gently lean away from each other. Young plant has
reedy stems. The multi-trunked specimen plant has attractive long gracefully arching feather-shaped fronds. The
shrub-like plant bears small yellowish white flowers in spring and summer and forms small orange-yellow fruits.
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FCHOA ACRC GENERAL PALM TREE INFORMATION 2010 - 2014
Sabal Palm : Sabal Palmetto
The Sabal Palm is an official tree of Florida. It can be found in seacoast woodlands, swamps, coastal marches,
beach swales and sandy dunes in the Sunshine State. This tree is very cold
hardy and salt tolerant. You can see a lot of these palms on the Atlantic ocean
coast. The Sabal palm is commonly used as an ornamental and street tree.
Additional Information:
Scientific name: Sabal Palmetto
Family: Arecales
Genus: Sabal
Other names: Cabbage Palm, Palmetto, Cabbage Palmetto. It is commonly called the Cabbage Palm because the
terminal bud (heart) is edible, resembling a cabbage head. Native Americans ate large leaf buds as a cabbage
salad. It has a taste of an artichoke. Removal of the bud kills a palm.
Origin: It is native to the southeastern United States, Cuba and the Bahamas Islands.
Growth rate: It is a slow growing palm.
Trunk: The upper part of the trunk is rough, fibrous and covered with old leaf bases, and the lower part is
smooth. Old leaf bases persist for several years on the trunk, then they dry and slough off the tree. Some of them
never lose “boot” fronds. The trunk can grow to a height of 60-80 feet tall. At young age it doesn’t have a trunk.
Leaves: The leaves are costapalmate, strong, bearing threadlike fibers between segments, arching backwards,
green or yellow-green in color.
Indoor/Outdoor Use: Both
Maintenance: Low
Light exposure: It likes full sun or light shade.
Water requirements: It requires regular watering.
Drought toleration: It is drought tolerant.
Cold toleration: It is very cold hardy. It can survive temperature about 7 F.
Flowers: The trees produce tiny, yellow-white, fragrant flowers in late spring or early summer. They droop in
long clusters among the leaves.
Fruits: Sabal palms develop fruits in the fall. They are round, black drupes. Birds, raccoons and squirrels eat the
fruits.
Propagation: It is propagated from seed. Germination occurs within 2-3 months.
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The beautiful, ornamental, inexpensive palm is associated
with tropics. It is commonly used as a landscape item for
gardens, parking lots, along streets, boulevards, beaches and
in urban landscaping in places with tropical climates like
Florida, California and Texas.
The Queen palms are popular for its tropical look, low
maintenance and also beautiful ornamental flowers. They are
often confused with Coconut palm trees. Several decades ago
it was assigned with the Cocos Plumosa. Several year ago
scientists started to refer it as the Syagrus Romanzoffi.
The Queen Palm is one of the most elegant and widely grown
Florida palm trees.
Additional Information:
Scientific name: Syagrus Romanzoffiana
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Syagrus
Origin: It is native to South America (Brazil and Argentina).
Growth rate: Fast. The Queen palm grows about 1-3 feet per year.
Trunk: The single, smooth, ringed, covered with old leaf bases, grey trunk grows 30-50 feet tall.
Leaves: The long, lacy, green fronds create a graceful canopy with a spread of 15-25 feet and provide nice
shade.
Indoor/Outdoor Use: Outdoor
Maintenance: Low
Light exposure: The palm loves full sun.
Water requirements: The Syagrus Romanzoffiana needs to be watered constantly.
Drought toleration: It is drought tolerant.
Cold toleration: It is cold tolerant and can take a temperature as low as 20 F.
Flowers: The clusters of beautiful, ornamental, creamy flowers come among the leaves.
Fruits: The fruits are green, they become orange when ripe. They are edible.
Propagation: It is propagated easily by seeds. Germination takes 3-5 months.
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FCHOA ACRC GENERAL PALM TREE INFORMATION 2010 - 2014
Pygmy Date Palm : Phoenix Roebelenii
The miniature, attractive and exotic palm is widely used for
indoor and outdoor landscapes, pools and patios. They are
hardy and grown almost everywhere. It is also a popular
indoor container plant that can bring tropical feel to your
house.
The Pygmy Date palm is one of the most widely cultivated
Florida palm trees.
Additional Information:
Scientific name: Phoenix Roebelenii
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Phoenix
Other names: Miniature Date Palm, Robellini (mistaken for Roebelenii).
Origin: It is native to Asia (Laos, Burma, Thailand, China).
Growth rate: Slow
Trunk: Phoenix Roebelenii has a single trunk or multi curved trunks that are covered with leaf scars. They grow
to a mature height of about 10 feet.
Leaves: The leaves can reach 4 feet in length and are pinnate, arching, bright green or bluish green in
color. Lower leaflets have sharp spines.
Indoor/Outdoor Use: Both
Maintenance: Low
Light exposure: It grows in full sun or partial shade.
Water requirements: It requires constant watering.
Drought toleration: It is drought tolerant plant.
Cold toleration: Phoenix Roebelenii is cold hardy, can tolerate temperature down to 23 F.
Flowers: The Pygmy palms produce cream flowers.
Fruits: The stalks of fruits come from leaves. They are dark purple to black when ripe.
Propagation: It is propagated from seed. The seeds germinate easily within 3 months.
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FCHOA ACRC GENERAL PALM TREE INFORMATION 2010 - 2014
Foxtail Palm : Wodyetia Bifurcata
The Foxtail Palm is one of the most beautiful, exotic and durable Florida palm trees. It is very easy to grow. The
tree is very similar to the Royal palm, but it is not large. It is named the Foxtail palm because the bushy fronds
have the appearance of a fox’s tail.
Additional Information:
Scientific name: Wodyetia Bifurcata
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Wodyetia
Origin: It is originated from Queensland, Australia.
Growth rate: Fast growing. It grows about 3 feet per year.
Trunk: The single, double or triple trunk is smooth, self-cleaning, thin and slightly swollen at the bottom. It is
dark grey at the bottom and almost white at the top. It can reach a height of 30 feet.
Leaves: 8-10 pinnate, arching, long, about 6-10 feet, bright green leaves create a beautiful crown shaft.
Indoor/Outdoor Use: Outdoor
Maintenance: Low
Light exposure: It loves full sun, but can grow in partial shade too.
Water requirements: Regular watering
Drought toleration: It is drought tolerant, has a very deep root system.
Cold toleration: It is cold hardy. The palm can tolerate heavy frost but shouldn’t take a temperature below 27 F.
Flowers: The stalks of white flowers appear at the base of the crown shaft.
Fruits: The clusters of oval, green fruits emerge from the crown shaft on thin stems. The fruits turn orange red
when ripe.
Propagation It is propagated by seed. Germination occurs in 2 to 3 months. Low temperature can slow down
germination and a temperature higher 95 F can cook seeds.
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FCHOA ACRC GENERAL PALM TREE INFORMATION 2010 - 2014
Washington Palms are a fast growing and tall landscape palm. The Washington Palm (also known as Mexican
Fan Palm) is native to the desert regions of Mexico where it tends to grow near permanent surface or sub-surface
water sources. For thos e in the northern areas of Florida, this palm is very hardy and can withstand several
degrees below freezing without appreciable damage. Of the tribe Corypheae, and subfamily Coryphoideae it is
also known by the botanic name Washingtonia robusta.
Common Name: Washington Palm
Botanical Name: Washingtonia robusta
Subfamily: Coryphoideae
Plant Type: Solitary Fan Palm Tree
Origin: Mexico
Zones: 8 - 11
Height: 70-100'
Rate of Growth: Fast
Salt Tolerance: Moderate
Soil Requirements: Widely adaptable
Water Requirements: High drought tolerance
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate
Light Requirements: High
Form: Solitary fan palm, canopy of 30 leaves
Leaves: Costapalmate, induplicate; divided halfway or more into pointed, ribbed, drooping segm ents with
white threads in between on younger plants, bright green in color.
Inflorescence: 8-12' long, produced from among the leaf bases
Fruits: Browni sh-black
Pests or diseases: Palmetto weevil s, scales, bud rot (when over-watered)
Uses: Specimen plant
Bad Habits: Very spiny petioles are hazardous when mi shandled, trunk s often covered for years with a
long shag of dead leaves which house undesirable critters. Due to its towering height at maturity, these
trees often become lightning rods, few of which survive the strike.
Cost: $$ - $$$ -- reasonable to expensive
Propagation: Seed, germinates in 6 week s to 2 months
Source:
Betrock's Gu ide to Landscape Palms
©1999 Florida Gardener. All Rights Reserved.
Palms Index
www.floridagardener.com
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