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Publication #ENH-60

Ornamental Palms for Central Florida1

R. J. Black2

Palms add a tropical image to central Florida's landscape. Adapted palms can be selected for most locations in Florida. Favorable climatic conditions make the successful outdoor culture of many different species possible.

Palms are available for landscaping in many sizes and forms, from large majestic trees to small shrubs. Many palms have single trunks, but multiple-trunk forms can add interest to the landscape. Small palms with delicate foliage and multiple-trunk palms can be used for natural plantings. Palms can be selected with either feather (pinnate) or fan-shaped (palmate) leaves.

Selection and Use

Many palms are available for landscaping homes, parks, streets, and commercial buildings. Palms are used in the landscape as specimens, border plants, patio trees, and street plantings. Specimen plants used individually have a distinctive or majestic quality that attracts immediate interest. For use in border plantings, palms require dense foliage to screen or fill an area. Smaller species that are reasonably free of litter are excellent for patios. Large palms used for street plantings should be able to survive with little maintenance once established. Many palms can be grown indoors as well as outdoors.

Table 1 includes palms that are well adapted to central Florida. Selection should be based on the intended use and characteristics of the site. Palms selected for coastal sites need to have salt spray tolerance. Careful study of the list of palms and their characteristics will allow selection of the right palm for the landscape needs.

Lethal Yellowing

Increasing numbers of palm species are suspected of being susceptible to a disease called lethal yellowing (LY). The first occurrence of LY in Florida was reported in Key West, and it has since spread to many southern counties. Efforts continue to prevent the spread of LY into central and north Florida. Although LY has been especially devastating to the coconut palm, other palms have exhibited varying degrees of susceptibility to LY. A complete list of susceptible palms can be obtained by contacting your local county extension office. Some palms recommended in this fact sheet are moderately susceptible and their susceptibility will be noted in the chart.

Planting

Palms should be planted and cared for properly to insure that they will be healthy and attractive. Palms may be planted during any season of the year, but the warm, rainy summer months are best. Palms from nurseries are often in containers, and little loss or setback occurs when the soil ball remains intact during the transplanting.

Follow the steps below when planting a palm:

  1. Dig the hole wide enough to accept the root ball easily and provide at least several inches of new growth from the ball. It need only be deep enough to situate the palm at the same depth at which it grew previously.

  2. The amending of backfill soil from the planting hole is not recommended.

  3. Gently place the palm straight in the hole and fill around the ball with unamended soil. Water thoroughly to remove any air pockets.

  4. Form a basin with soil at the periphery of the root ball to retain water during irrigation.

  5. Mulch with a 2- to 3-inch layer of organic material to buffer soil temperature, conserve moisture, and reduce weed competition.

  6. Support large palms with braces to maintain stability during the first 6 to 8 months after planting. Nails should not be driven directly into a palm trunk.

  7. Water daily for the first few weeks and frequently thereafter until palms are well established.

  8. A light application of partially slow-release "palm special" fertilizer can be banded at the margin of the root ball 3 to 4 months after transplanting.

Fertilizing

Palms' nutritional requirements are different from those of other landscape plants.. Established palms should be fertilized with a 4-1-6-2 Mg (N-P205-K20-Mg) ratio fertilizer (for example, a fertilizer marked “8-2-12-4 Mg”). Fertilizer should contain equivalent percentages of the controlled-release forms of N, K20, and Mg. Because palms are highly prone to several potentially fatal micronutrient deficiencies, any fertilizer applied to them should contain 1 to 2 percent iron and manganese, plus trace amounts of zinc, copper, and boron, to prevent these deficiencies.

Tables

Table 1. 

Selected Palms for Central Florida

Adaptability

How Palms Are Used

Common Name

Scientific Name

Type of Leaves

Height Range

Growth Habit

Soil Type

Salt tol.1

Specimen

Borders or Base

Indoor

Patio

Roadside

Seaside

Australian fan palm

Livistona australis

Fan-shaped

40 to 80 feet

Single stemmed, fairly hardy

Grows best on rich, moist areas

N

X

X

X

Remarks: Looks like Chinese fan palm but taller.

Broad-leaf lady palm

Rhapis excelsa

Fan-shaped

8 to 10 feet

Low- growing shrub type of clump palm

Moist, semi-shaded areas best

N

X

X

X

X

Remarks: Slow grower; excellent patio or container palm; plant in sites which offer protection from cold.

Butia palm

Butia capitata

Feather- shaped

10 to 20 feet

Heavy trunks, low-growers, bluish-gray leaves

Very adaptable

M

X

X

X

X

X

Remarks: Slow grower; needs space to develop.

Cabbage palm

Sabal palmetto

Fan-shaped

30 to 60 feet

Erect tree; heavy trunk

Very adaptable; wet to dry

H

X

X

X

X

Remarks: Florida's official state tree; very numerous; excellent native palm; transplants easily.

Canary Island date palm (LY)2

Phoenix canariensis

Feather- shaped

30 to 60 feet

Stocky, single massive trunk.

Grows best on well drained site

M

X

X

Remarks: Too large for residential plantings; often shows magnesium deficiency.

California Washington

Washingtonia filifera

Fan-shaped

50 to 60 feet

Tall, stiff, erect tree

Very adaptable

M

X

X

Remarks: Good for street plantings.

Date palm (LY)2

Phoenix dactylifera

Feather- shaped

30 to 40 feet

Tall, erect; gray-green leaves

Well drained

M

X

X

Remarks: Too large for most lots; fruit seldom found in Florida.

Dwarf palmetto

Sabal minor

Fan-shaped

3 to 6 feet

Stemless shrub

Variable; best in moist sites

H

X

X

Remarks: Seldom used; native palm with bluish color; difficult to transplant.

European fan palm

Chamaerops humilis

Fan-shaped

2 to 5 feet (Rare 15 feet)

Clump growing, dwarf

Tolerates many kinds of soils

H

X

X

X

X

X

Remarks: Slow grower; excellent small palm for homes.

Gru-gru

Acrocomia totai

Feather- shaped

45 feet

Thorny, straight trunk

Tolerates many kinds of soils

M

X

X

Remarks: Many thorns on trunk.

Hispaniolan palmetto

Sabal domingensis

Fan-shaped

35 to 60 feet

Stout, heavy trunk; very large leaves

Thrives on sandy soil

H

X

X

X

Remarks: Much larger and heavier than our cabbage palm; seldom available.

Mexican Washington

Washingtonia robusta

Fan-shaped

60 to 80 feet

Very tall erect palm

Very adaptable

M

X

X

Remarks: Leaves clothe the trunk; good for street plantings.

Needle palm

Rhapidophyllum hystrix

Fan-shaped

3 to 5 feet (Rare 10 feet)

Low-growing reclining trunk; clumps or single trunk

Fertile, moist soils and shade

M

X

X

X

Remarks: Slow grower but excellent small native palm; very cold hardy; needles could be dangerous to small children.

Puerto Rico hat palm

Sabal causiarum

Fan-shaped

30 to 40 feet

Very massive; huge leaves.

Grows well on sandy soils

H

X

X

X

Remarks: Too large for most homesites.

Saw palmetto

Serenoa repens

Fan-shaped

3 to 4 feet

Shrub; twisted. recumbent trunk; some upright types

Extremely adaptable

H

X

X

X

X

Remarks: Excellent small native palm but very difficult to transplant.

Slender lady palm

Rhapis humilis

Fan-shaped

6 to 8 feet

Low growing, clump type

Moist, semi-shaded area is best

H

X

X

X

X

X

Remarks: Slow grower, excellent patio palm.

Wild date palm (LY)2

Phoenix sylvestris

Feather- shaped

60 to 80 feet

Base roots often exposed

Variable

M

X

X

Remarks: Looks like Canary Islands date palm (seldom available).

Windmill palm (LY)2

Trachycarpus fortunei

Fan-shaped

5 to 10 feet (Rare 20 feet)

Slender, erect, solitary trunk

Very adaptable

H

X

X

X

X

Remarks: Very cold hardy; excellent palm.

1 Salt Spray Tolrance (Salt Tol.): H - High; may be used in exposed areas near shore line; M - Moderate; if near shore must be protected; L - Low; must

be used in well-protected areas back from shore; N - No salt tolerance or salt tolerance unknown.

2 LY - Palms moderately susceptible to lethal yellowing.

Footnotes

1.

This document is ENH-60 (which supersedes OH-60), Department of Environmental Horticulture, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Date first printed: February 1982. Revised: June 1997, September 2003. Please visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu

2.

R. J. Black, Extension Consumer Horticulturist; Department of Environmental Horticulture, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611.


The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer, Interim Dean.


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