The subject of last week’s column was palm trees and that will be the subject for this column as well.
I recently learned that someone in Fountain Valley has a collection of 200 palm tree species around his home. I was astonished by this number. In more than 40 years of plant watching in the Los Angeles area, I have barely encountered 20 different palm tree species. It is enlightening to realize how many options there are when it comes to plant choices, even if we have to make do with a paltry selection in our local nurseries.
The new growth of flamethrower palm (Chambeyronia macrocarpa), for example, is a striking burgundy in color. If only it were available, this palm could be more widely grown since it is hardy down to 25 degrees. To find lesser-known palms, you will need to conduct Internet searches for private vendors and specialty nurseries.
Finally, the Palm Society of Southern California (palmssc.org) offers opportunities for getting acquainted with palms up close thanks to the collections of palms grown by its members. By joining the society, you could also increase your own palm collection since members share seedlings of exotic palms with one another.
Queen palm (Syagrus romanzoffianum) and king palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) are among the most popular palms that hold court in many of our gardens and landscapes. The queen palm, however, is a maintenance headache owing to fronds that constantly droop and need to be removed at least twice a year to maintain a clean and attractive look. These fronds are also torn up by wind so make sure there is protection from gusts like those you encounter in ocean-facing exposures.
King palms are memorable owing to trunks on young trees that are smooth and green. Unlike the queen palm, the king palm is frost-sensitive, yet the king palm is self-cleaning. Newly developing fronds push against outer, older ones which eventually self-peel away from the trunk and shed without the assistance of human pruning. The king palm forest at the Virginia Robinson Gardens in Beverly Hills should be on the bucket list of every Southern California plant lover. This is the largest grove of king palms outside of their tropical Australian habitat with soil so perfect for these trees that after their seeds reach the ground they germinate in place. Virginia Robinson Gardens is open to the public and you can arrange a tour at robinsongardens.org/visit. The more than six acres of gardens were part of the estate belonging to the Robinsons, whose eponymous apartment store chain once dominated the Los Angeles shopping scene.
Now we come to the Kentia (Howea forsteriana) palm. It comes from Lord Howe Island, a tiny dot in the ocean between Australia and New Zealand. It’s said that no human footprints were made here before the arrival of a British ship in 1788. This island is only 7 miles long and 3 and 1/2 miles wide and yet it constitutes the exclusive habitat of Kentia, the most popular indoor palm in the world. If you see a palm tree in a hotel lobby, it’s most likely a kentia. The fronds of this palm can extend to nine feet in length. Most beautiful when young, its spindly, if prominently ringed trunk, becomes the focus of attention, rather than its voluptuous fronds, as it ages. Kentia may require less light than any other palm and is occasionally planted outdoors in frost-protected locations. I have spotted it growing in shady alcoves of apartment complexes in Studio City and West Hollywood.
The Kentia is sometimes referred to as paradise palm and, in a sense, the island it calls home is a kind of paradise. Otto Martens, a visitor to Lord Howe Island, notes that there is “no courthouse, no jail, no policeman, no sheriff, nobody to make an arrest. No poverty. Everybody has an income. Everybody owns a home.” Kentia seeds, along with the seeds of three other palms endemic to the island, are exported throughout the world and, other than tourism, are the sole source of income for the island’s 350 inhabitants.
Another palm seen in both indoor and outdoor settings is fishtail palm (Caryota spp.) This palm is highly unusual for several reasons. First of all, it is the only palm genus with bipinnate foliage. There are two types of palms: fan palms and pinnate or feather palms, the latter having leaflets on either side of the leaf stem or rachis. Each leaflet of a fishtail palm, however, is bipinnate, meaning that it has rows of leaflets on either side of its stem as well. These leaflets upon leaflets are triangular-shaped, giving rise to the name of the tree. Another unusual feature of fishtail palm is its monocarpic status, meaning that the tree dies upon flowering. Some Caryotas produce suckers at their base so that another generation will grow up where the original tree once stood but others leave no descendants behind. Finally, the fruit of fishtail palms is distinguished by its toxicity, a quality rare among palms. The fruit is not only toxic when ingested but creates skin irritation when touched. The fishtail palm may grow in either sun or shade but will require more water than palms typically require.
Bamboo or parlor palms comprise another group that is appropriate for both indoor and outdoor locations, capable of surviving a mild frost. The Neanthe bella palm (Chamaedorea elegans) is perhaps the best palm for indoor growing since, as a houseplant, it only reaches four feet in height. It is a single-trunked species, however, so growing several parlor palms together in a pot creates a more substantial look. Reed palm (Chamadorea seifrizii) grows taller than Neathe Bella but has the iadvantage of a clumping growth habit; many canes or trunks develop in the pot and they can be pulled apart along with their roots for propagation purposes.
California native of the week: Although not native to California proper, two palms indigenous to the California floristic province (which includes Baja California, the Channel Islands and islands off the coast of Baja, as well a chunk of southwest Oregon) are worth mentioning. Both are frost-tolerant fan palms with silvery-blue fronds. The first is found in Baja and is known as Hesper or Mexican blue palm and its foliage is considered bluer than that of any other palm. It grows slowly to a height of 40 feet, survives winter temperatures down to 15 degrees, and can grow in full sun to partial shade. The only caveat in growing it concerns the sharp, curved thorns studded along frond stems. The Guadalupe palm is endemic to the eponymous island with two qualities lacking in the aforementioned blue palm. First, it is self-cleaning so it is never encumbered with a beard of brown fronds and second, its leaf stems are thornless. Its more modest height of 30 feet, which will take it at least 30 years to reach, makes it highly desirable as a garden ornamental. You can find Mexican blue palm and most of the other palms mentioned above at Palm Plantation (palmplantation.net) in Riverside.
Are you growing a palm tree of which you are especially proud? If so, email details of your success to joshua@perfectplants.com. Your comments and questions, as well as gardening tips and challenges are always welcome.
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