California
Fan PalmCalifornia
Fan PalmThe California Fan Palm is a large-scale tree with a wide, heavy trunk. Very slow-growing to 20 to 40 feet. The crown can spread to 15 feet. Old leaves drop to trunk and from a tick thatch.
Hardy to about 15 to 18F. Young plants are more susceptible to cold. Slow to recover from frost damage.
Moderate to occasional, but reseeds rapidly in a constantly wet situation.
Part to full sun.
Tolerant of saline and alkaline soils. Fastest grown in moist soil.
Periodic grooming.
Occasionally gets bud rot, which is almost impossible to diagnose until it is too late. Slow to develop. Trunks are occasionally infected with a rot near the base or a borer that can damage and kill drought-stressed trees. Tall plants are expensive to groom. Dry thatch can be a fire hazard. Tres recover from fire but will always have a blackened trunk.
Long blossoms like streamers emerge from crown in summer and produce abundant small white flowers.
Blue-black fruit appears on female trees.
Too large for the average residence. Boulevards, parks and public spaces. Groves are impressive and dramatic. Rows make walls in landscape. Tiny young plants in containers stay small for a long period.
Native of the Southwest. Member of the Arecaceae (Palmae) family.
There are two strains of this palm: The California arid climate type retains its leaves all the way down the trunk unless they are removed. The Arizona stands are sometimes self-pruning and can drop old drying leaves.
Desert Transitional, Subtropical.