Washingtonia Species, California Fan Palm, Desert Fan Palm

These Palms are great for their fast growth rate compared to some other cold hardy palms. Highly tolerant of dry heat, drought and looks ...Read Moregreat. Unfortunately, these palms are very difficult to grow in the Eastern US north of Florida. They tolerate a dry cold very well down to at least zone 8 temperatures, but with a wet cold, its hardiness is very limited. Many palms will survive for a number of years before a wet winter kills them off, but to many growers in the Southeast, this is worth the risk because the fast growth rate usually means it will become larger than the typical slow growing eastern palms in a very short amount of time, and is therefore easy to replace if it dies. (If you can find one for sale)

Although it can be pretty, this plant is a literal pain. I have shredded myself multiple times cleaning out these plants skirt. The ski...Read Morert has wildlife benefits, but is a flammable nightmare. This plant is also invasive in the warmer areas of the Mojave like Moapa valley where it has displaced natives by changing the fire regime. Grows like a weed here in Las Vegas.

Have a 15 year old specimen . A lot of older ones around town they stay rather squat here and they are the only palms left after last win...Read Moreter killed all the mexican fan palms . Only other palms left after winter 2010 are these ,trachys, sabals and needle palms that is .

I Just got one today. Very sweet palm, Yea it does have shark like Thorns but, its from a Desert it will have Thorns to Protect its self ...Read MoreLess its the Mazari palm. That one has Balls of steel. Moving onto the Native Palm of coolness(if that is a word) Am Very happy about this Palm.

Well... this insanity fast growing palm i may put it in the ground where it out grows its pot. Which should be next August lest i hope so. I have ways to protect this palm. Thank god for "palms can't grow here" and other myths" book.

I live in Chicago, and have had this Palm for 15 years, and of course, bring it in the house in the winter.(Gets -10 to- 15F here!) It's...Read More been repotted 3 times over the years, but it really is only about 7 feet tall, and about as wide even after 15 years.We use a dolly to move the pot! Usually it has 6 to 7 large fans in the summer. I noticed that the leaf tips get brown when it's out in the summer. I have read that our rain is acidic, and this could be the problem. But I wonder if I over water the palm. Overall, the palm looks very healthy, and people often comment about it. Can anyone comment about over watering, or the acid problem. Thanks

This is a very commonly grown palm in California, from the coast to far inland. It is native to the more inland areas, and the more inla...Read Morend it is grown, the better it tends to look. Those palms grown on the coast, where they get a lot more moisture than they should, often have pinched trunks and very small, sad looking crowns. Those growing in the desert have huge, beautiful crowns and nice, thick trunks.

Commonly confused with the even more common Mexican Fan Palm (Washingtonia robusta), this one can be distinguished by the thicker, nearly always straight trunk-- the crown is also larger and relatively sparser. The leaves a more sea green, as opposed to the deep green of the Mexican fan palm. The petioles are always green--no red or brown in the petioles as there always is in the Mexican palms. It is a slower grower and seems to top out at around 60', while the Mexican palms can get up to 100' tall. Interspecies hybrids are extremely common, however (may even be the most common palms growing in southern California) and tend to have a bit of characteristics of both palms- thick trunks, but full heads and red on the petioles. Some palm researchers consider these two the same species, too.

It is also commonly confused with Brahea edulis, another common avenue palm in southern California. They both tend to have thick, naked trunks and pale green leaves, but the latter has a much denser crown of leaves that have many more pleats to them. Flowers a very different, with the Washingtonia flowers extending noticeably beyond the leaves. The bushier, yellow flowers of the Braheas are shorter than the leaves and tend to be located among the uppermost leaves (Washingtonia flowers stick out in all directions, top to bottom of crown). Seeds of Washingtonia are smaller than peas, while those of Braheas are larger than grapes.

Several of these are doing very well in a park across from my home. Zone 7b. These trees were brought in as huge $1,000 specimens many years ago.

The California Fan Palm is native to the desert canyons of the southernmost part of the state. Palm Springs, the famous desert resort t...Read Moreown, derives it name from this tree. Said plant is very invasive here and the stems of the fronds are covered with very sharp, tough, shark-like teeth on both edges. See my image posted elsewhere of a "leaf" from one of many CFP plants that have invaded my garden from next door.