Palms for Hot Places: Introduction
PALMS, DESERT PLANTS????? Believe it or not there are many arid land palms in the world. Many palms originate from hot dry tropics, some even from deserts. Where I write you from, in Arizona, we have the california fan palm (Washingtonia filifera) native to the state. In urban areas here many are becoming naturalized, and if haven't quite reached the truely "naturalized" status, at least abundantly volunteer in the city. Such examples are the date palms-the true date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), and the canary island date palm (Phoenix canariensis). Also volunteering about is the Mexican fan palm (Washingtonia robusta). These palms volunteer so much that many people consider them weeds because they are constantly pulling the seedlings up which volunteer throughout the irrigated landscape.
Many other palms are grown in arid cities. In Tucson we often find the following species in landscapes:
Mexican blue palm (Brahea armata)
pindo palm (Butia capitata)
Mediterranian fan palm (Chamaerops humilis)
pigmy date palm (Phoenix roebelenii)
cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto)
Queen palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana)
Windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei)
These species are very common and do very well in arid climates, surprisingly with very little care. Many do not even get irrigated and practically (or virtually) live on rainfall. There are more that are only rarely grown (in botanical gardens or by collectors) that deserve some attention from the trade. Some of these species should be used over some of the common species. I have been making a list of such plants for two years. Forgive the botanical jargon...I will be writing ariticles on each species with common names and care, etc. in following articles.
Acrocomia aculeata
Arenga australasica
Arenga engleri
Arenga pinnata
Brahea aculeata
Brahea armata
Brahea aculeata
Brahea brandegeei
Brahea dulcis
Brahea edulis
Brahea elegans
Brahea nitida
Burretiokentia hapala
Caryota urens
Ceroxylon ventricosum
Chamaedorea radicalis
Chamaedorea plumosa
Chamaedorea stolonifera
Chamaedorea tepejilote
Chambeyronia macrocarpa
Dypsis sabanofensis
Dypsis pinnatifrons
Howea forsteriana
Hyphaene compressa
Hyphaene coriacea
Hyphaene petersiana
Hyphaene theibaca
Hyophorbe indica
Jubaea chilensis
Livistona australis
Livistona chinensis
Livistona rotundifolia
Livistona saribus
Phoenix reclinata
Phoenix rupicola
Parajubea coccoides
Ptychosperma elegans
Rhapis excelsa
Rhapis gracilis
Rhapis humilus
Rhopalostylis bauer
Rhopalostylis sapida
Sabal bermudana
Sabal 'blackburniana'
Sabal etonia
Sabal minor
Sabal 'riverside'
Sabal rosei
Sabal uresana
Syagrus coronata
Syagrus picrophylla
Syagrus schizophylla
Thrinax parviflora
Trithrinax biflabellata
Trithrinax acanthocoma
There are many more species that can be grow indoors and many more that can be grown in major microclimates (like patios, protecting them from winter lows). Many more need to be tried.
WHY PALMS???
CONFESSION: I used to not like palms. I used to think of them as LA strip kind of plants, and I thought they were best left in the landscapes of casinos and cheap motels. I changed my mind when I began to see them in nature, and seeing more and more species with their individual charaturistics. Now I love them. Palms are interesting in growth form, and ecologically interesting. Though most people think they are only good for pigeons and rats, they host many other species of animals and insects and most do not harm the plants as palms have evolved with things living in their canopies. They are also great mounting media for orchids and other epiphytes-plants that grow on trees (for those of you lucky enough to live in frost free areas or with big greenhouses).
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