Fishtail palm (Caryota sp.) (Photo by Joshua Siskin)
Last week's column was about palm trees, and this week's column is also about palm trees.
I recently learned that a Fountain Valley resident has 200 different kinds of palm trees planted around his home. I was surprised by this number. In over 40 years of observing plants in the Los Angeles area, I have only ever seen about 20 different kinds of palm trees. It's enlightening to see how many plant choices there are, even if only a few are available at the local nursery.
For example, the new shoots of the flame-throwing palm (Chambeyronia macrocarpa) are a striking burgundy color. This palm can tolerate temperatures up to 25°C, so if available it would be much more widely cultivated. To find lesser known palms, you will need to search the Internet for private sellers and specialist nurseries.
Finally, the Palm Society of Southern California (palmssc.org) offers an opportunity to get up close and personal with palms through its member-grown palm collection. Membership also allows members to share exotic palm seedlings and add to your own palm collection.
Queen palm (Syagrus romanzoffianum) and King palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) are two of the most popular palm trees that star in many gardens and landscapes. However, queen palms can be a pain to care for because their leaves are constantly drooping and need to be removed at least twice a year to keep them looking neat and attractive. Also, these leaves get ripped apart by the wind, so make sure they are protected from the gusts of wind you might encounter in an oceanfront location.
King palms impress because of the smooth, green trunks of young trees. Unlike queen palms, king palms are frost-sensitive, but they are self-cleaning. Newly grown leaves press against the older outer leaves, which eventually fall off the trunk naturally, without any manual pruning. The King Palm Grove at Virginia Robinson Gardens in Beverly Hills is a must-visit for any Southern California plant lover. It is the largest grove of king palms outside of its tropical Australian habitat, and the soil is perfect for king palms, so seeds germinate on the spot when they drop to the ground. Virginia Robinson Gardens is open to the public, and tours can be arranged at robinsongardens.org/visit. The six-plus acre garden was once part of the estate of the Robinson family, who operated the eponymous apartment chain that dominated the Los Angeles shopping scene.
Now, about the Kentia (Howea forsteriana) palm. This palm is native to Lord Howe Island, a tiny island in the ocean between Australia and New Zealand. It is said that no human footprint was left on the island until the arrival of British ships in 1788. Although the island is only 7 miles long and 3.5 miles wide, it is the exclusive habitat of the Kentia, the most popular indoor palm in the world. If you see a palm tree in a hotel lobby, it is probably a Kentia. The leaves of this palm grow to a length of 9 feet. It is most beautiful when young, but as it grows, it is the slender but noticeable ring-shaped trunk that is the center of attention, not the plump leaves. Kentia may require less light than other palms and is sometimes planted in outdoor locations protected from frost. I have seen Kentia growing in the shaded recesses of apartments in Studio City and West Hollywood.
Kentia is also known as the paradise palm, and in some ways, the island it lives on is a kind of paradise. “There are no courts, no prisons, no police, no sheriffs, no one to arrest people. There is no poverty. Everyone has an income, everyone owns a home,” said Otto Martens, a visitor to Lord Howe Island. Kentia seeds, along with seeds from three other palm species endemic to the island, are exported around the world and are the only source of income outside of tourism for the island's 350 residents.
Another palm that can be found both indoors and outdoors is the Fishtail Palm (Caryota spp.). This palm is very unusual for several reasons. First, it is the only palm genus with bipinnate leaves. There are two types of palms: fan palms and pinnate palms, the latter of which have leaflets on both sides of the petiole or pedicel. However, each leaflet of the Fishtail Palm is bipinnate, and there is also a row of leaflets on each side of the stem. These leaflets are triangular in shape, which is where the tree gets its name. Another unusual feature of the Fishtail Palm is that it is monocarpic, meaning that the tree dies after flowering. Some Caryota produce suckers at the base, and the next generation grows where the original tree once stood, but some do not leave offspring. Finally, the fruit of the Fishtail Palm is distinguished by being highly poisonous, which is an unusual property for a palm. Not only are the fruits poisonous if ingested, but they also cause skin irritation on contact. Fishtail palms can grow in either sun or shade, but they do require more water than regular palms.
Bamboo palms or Parlor palms make up another group that can tolerate light frosts, making them suitable for both indoor and outdoor locations. The Neante Bella palm (Chamaedorea elegans) is perhaps the best palm to grow indoors, as it only grows to about 4 feet tall as a houseplant. However, as it is a single-trunked species, growing several Parlor palms together in a pot will give it a more substantial appearance. The Reed palm (Chamadorea seifrizii) grows taller than the Neante Bella, but has the advantage of a clumping growth habit; it develops many stems or trunks in a pot that can be pulled apart along with the roots for propagation.
California Native of the Week: Although not native to California, two palms endemic to the California Flora (which includes Baja California, the Channel Islands, islands off Baja, and parts of southwest Oregon) are worthy of special mention. Both are cold-hardy fan palms with silvery-blue leaves. The first is found in Baja and is known as the hesper or Mexican blue palm, whose leaves are thought to be bluer than other palms. It grows slowly, reaching a height of 40 feet, can tolerate winter temperatures as low as 15 degrees, and can grow in full sun to partial shade. The only caveat to growing it are the sharp, curved thorns that dot the leaf stalks. The Guadalupe palm is endemic to the island of the same name and has two characteristics that the aforementioned blue palm does not have. First, it is self-cleaning, so it doesn't grow brown leaves that get in the way, and second, it has no thorns on its leaf stalks. Although it grows to a modest 30 feet in height, it takes at least 30 years to grow, which is why it is such a popular ornamental for yards.You can find the Mexican Blue Palm, and most of the other palms mentioned above, at Palm Plantation in Riverside (palmplantation.net).
Are you growing a palm tree that you're especially proud of? If so, email us the details of your success at joshua@perfectplants.com. We always welcome your comments, questions, gardening tips and challenges.
