CHAMAEROPS HUMILIS

KAM-er-rops  EUROPEAN FAN PALM, MEDITERRANEAN FAN PALM

slow growing clumping palm. Underutilized beautiful palm for landscapes and in containers. It will tolerate living indoors if kept near bright window or bright artificial lighting. Large specimens you might see for sale were probably collected, they can take 10-20 years to near 10’, and they will be expensive- up to thousands of dollars.

NATIVE: hot dry hills and mountains of the Mediterranean Sea region of Europe and North Africa

TRUNKS – will reach about 5-10’.  Once the lower leaves are trimmed off, the exposed trunk is covered in a thick matting of fiber that itself is ornamental.  PALMATE LEAVES will reach about 3’ across.

CLUMPS can be 15’ across, but usually they are smaller. The petioles have sharp spines so handle with care.

ZONE 9-11  one of a only a few cold hardy palms. I saw this palm in southern Germany near Stuttgart in container in center of plaza. The palm stays there all year, even with snow and freezing temperatures.

SEEDS: Fresh seed germinate in 30-60 days after sowing. Seeds do not store well, plant soon after collecting. Usually about 50-60% germination.  European Fan Palms may take 10-15 years to produce seed. Basically this plant has separate male and female plants, however some have adapted to have different sexed flowers on different stems of same palm. Then the plant can self pollinate itself.

SOIL:  well drained organic soil for germination and palm growth.

SUN: full sun to partial shade

INSECTS: susceptible to scale, and when blooming the bees are busy pollinating.

Birds enjoy eating the seeds, and when they make droppings can create seedlings after few months.

WATER: Water well and allow to dry for short period before adding more water. Palms do not like to have their feet kept wet.

FERTILIZER: If in ground feed with palm fertilizer every 6-8 weeks, if in container feed half as much or less to avoid fertilizer buildup in pot. Hold off on fertilizer in winter months. Due to the makeup of our soil in Florida, palms tend to need supplement feeding of manganese, potassium, and magnesium, so make sure your palm fertilizer has these minor elements. A Tablespoon of Epsom salts to one Gallon of water, poured into soil around roots will add manganese. However this will not last long in the soil so its best to use the palm fertilizers, either granules or water soluble. 

LINDA ALLEN

FLAMINGO PLANTS INC

LAKE WORTH, FL