Spacing & sowing

Plant spacing

8 ft 2 in

In-row spacing

8 ft 2 in

Between rows

10 ft 3 in

Square-foot density

Not suited to SFG

Growing

Type

Tree · Perennial

Botanical family

Mixed / other

Sunlight

Full sun to partial shade, in a position with shelter.

Watering

Water regularly for the first 2 years; established palms are fairly drought-tolerant.

Feeding

A palm-specific slow-release feed in spring and again at midsummer.

Frost tolerant

Yes

Flowering

May

Pruning

Take off fully dead brown fronds only; green and yellowing leaves stay where they are.

Overwintering

Wrap the crown in fleece through severe frost; established palms take -10°C.

Through the year

• Apr–May Spring Growth
• May–Sep Flowering
• Sep–Dec Growing
• Dec–Dec Leaf Fall
• Jan–Apr Leaf Fall

Pests & problems

• Scale insects Scale insects on the leaf undersides
• Phytophthora root and foot rot Phytophthora (crown rot) in waterlogged conditions — drainage is the answer
• Cold wind damage to young leaves — put something between it and the north and east winds
• Yellowing lower fronds, which are natural — remove them once fully brown

Garden allies

Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. ★ companion plant

• Hoverfly Syrphidae
  Hunts Scale insects

  Bee-mimicking flies whose legless larvae graze aphid colonies clean while the adults pollinate. A ribbon of shallow, nectar-rich flowers kept in bloom all season recruits wave after wave of them.

  Plant nearby CalendulaChamomileFennelFrench marigoldPhaceliaSweet alyssum
• Ladybird (lady beetle) Coccinellidae
  Hunts Scale insects

  The gardener’s favorite ally: adults and their alligator-shaped larvae each eat thousands of aphids, plus scale, mealybugs, and other soft-bodied sap-suckers. Grow flat, open flowers for the adults and never spray a colony that ladybird larvae are already working.

  Plant nearby CalendulaCilantroCosmosDillFennelYarrow