A guide to Palms for South Texas

by Richard Travis

Third editionCopyright 2005

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This book was first published as a special edition of the bulletin for the Palm Society of South Texas. It was intended to serve as a pictorial guide for the palms suitable for cultivation in South Texas, in particular the two regions where most PSST members live: the Lower Rio Grande Valley and the city of Corpus Christi. These are the two warmest regions of the state, where it is possible to grow a larger number of palms outdoors, especially in the warmest parts of deepest South Texas, which are nearly frost-free. Hopefully this book will prove to be useful to persons who are interested in the cultivation of these beautiful plants in our special part of Texas.

Most of the palms listed here are suitable for general outdoor cultivation in at least part of South Texas. There are a number of species which are only root-hardy or are used temporarily in gardens between the hardest freezes. Potentially tender palms are noted.

The entries here are also (for the most part) confined to palms which are regularly or occasion-ally available for sale in South Texas. There are a few exceptions; Allagoptera and Acrocomia, for instance, are not easily found in local nurseries, but they are offered from time to time and are particularly useful for local use. At the very least most of these rarer palms can be had through mail order palm specialty nurseries if unavailable locally.

There are also a few palms in this guide which are not the best growers in far South Texas but may nevertheless succeed in a special site. Most of these species will easily grow farther north, such as in San Antonio or Austin. A prime example of this would be the commonly available windmill palm, Trachycarpus fortunei. The number of tender palms which can be grown here on a temporary basis is almost limitless and it would be impossible to include them all. All that are covered here are some of the more commonly used and easily grown of the nonhardy palms. The royal palm, for instance, is not at all hardy but is so beautiful and grows so well here that it is worth using on a temporary basis, or protecting in severe cold.

Some brief notes on growing palms outdoors in South Texas

Much of the success to growing palms in South Texas comes down to a sufficient supply of water. This is especially true for recently planted palms, particularly transplanted palms which have been dug from a growing field. While some palms transplant easier than oth-ers, most all appreciate regular irrigation until they have regrown a full crown of leaves. As for growing palms from containers, some people swear by the practice of directly planting container palms in the ground, pot and all. While I have seen successful evidence of this, there is something in my gut that just has a hard time doing this - I at least like to cut the sides and bottom of the pot so the roots will have an easier time making it out.

For the most part, palms grow best in rich, but well-drained, soils. Some palms, often des-ert palms, require faster drainage. Other palms, such as Sabal, can grow in a heavier soil and may even tolerate briefly standing fresh water. A few palms prefer the lighter sandier soils found near the coast, such as Butia.

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Potential problems with palms in South Texas

Chlorosis - occasionally the leaves on palms will turn a yellowish color. This is known as chlorosis and occurs in many plants, especially if some nutrient is missing or is unavailable in the soil. In South Texas, a number of palms will develop an iron or more often a magnesium deficiency. Magnesium deficiencies are especially common in queen palms and can be remedied by an application of Epsom salts (yes the kind you buy at the drugstore). Dissolving some Epsom salt into a tub of water and pouring it at the base of the palm usually does the trick, though it may take a while for the condition to clear up.

Leaf skeletonizers - this is an unsightly but not usually dangerous pest on some palms, es-pecially in humid areas. This little pest was brought to us as a gift from Florida, and appears as a sort of “crud” underneath the leaves. They will chew out the green part of the leaves, with only the veins of the leaf left intact. Treatable with insecticides.

Rhino beetles - a more serious threat to palms, particularly when young, is the rhino beetle. These cute beetles will burrow into the growing point of a palm and can seriously damage or kill a palm, usually when the growing point is still below ground. The telltale sign of rhino beetles in the ground is a perfectly round hole appearing near the base of a palm. I’ve heard of a number of “solutions” for rhino beetles, everything from pouring turpentine to old motor oil into the beetle holes. I’ve tried none of these but have used insecticides with temporary success, but haven’t found a long term solution. Once the palms develop a mature trunk their resistance increases considerably, and certain palms seem more bothered by the beetles than others. Our native palm, Sabal mexicana, is often attacked by these pests but often survives (though they may be stunted for a while). The rhino beetle is a problem on other ornamentals as well, such as many agaves.

Lethal yellowing - the most tragic disease to affect the Lower Valley is lethal yellowing, a “microplasma-like organism” that clogs and chokes the stems of affected palms, eventually killing the tree. In most areas of the world, this disease (or something very similar) is tropical and mostly affects coconut trees, though a number of palms are known to contract lethal yellowing. In the Valley almost all of the palms seriously affected by lethal yellowing are the larger varieties of date palms, the Canary Island date (Phoenix canariensis) and the true date, Phoenix dactylifera. In the case of the true date, the central trunk of the palm may be killed while the lower suckering plants will survive (at least temporarily), while the single-trunked Canary Island date is always killed from an LY attack. Susceptible palms are officially quaran-tined, even some species which are rarely affected.

Cold - while not a disease, cold does more damage to South Texas palms than all other factors put together. This was especially true after the 1983 freeze, when many of the old palms in the Valley were killed. While the death of known tender palms such as queen and royal palms was expected, the massive destruction of the old Mexican fan palms was a bit of a surprise, since these palms had survived previous hard freezes in 1951 and 1962. This may have been due to the advanced age of the dead trees (younger trees had a much higher survival rate) combined with the unfavorable cold wet conditions during and after the freeze,

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which may have encouraged rot in the damaged crowns. Many times, palms will survive a freeze but the trunk will suffer permanent damage. This rot-like damage may not appear right away and it’s not always obvious that cold was the cause of the disfigurement. Wrap-ping the trunks with some sort of insulating material has brought some pretty tender palms through the worst freezes in South Texas. If you want to save a palm this way it is critical to wrap the entire trunk and then bank the base of the palm with dirt or mulch. This does not need to be done in an average winter - many people spend unnecessary work every winter protecting “non-hardy” palms when in reality this sort of treatment is only necessary once a decade in the warmer parts of South Texas (better safe than sorry for some I suppose).

A note about those rare devastating freezes. Since the mid-1800s, the Lower Valley has suffered about 10 really hard freezes. That comes out to about one bad freeze every 15 years, though the time between these events is highly variable. There definitely seem to be certain “cold periods”, such as the late 1800s or the 1980s, and then there have been some long periods where Brownsville has avoided severely cold weather, such as the first half of the 20th century.

Wind - the balmy tropical breezes of South Texas may be welcome at times (like a summer afternoon), but are often irritating to both people and plants, and are generally counterpro-ductive to a nice garden. While our ordinary winds are not so much a problem in devel-oped or tree-protected areas, much of South Texas is exposed plain, and some protection from the wind is needed for many plants. Most devastating is the desiccation that comes with these winds. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix - planting up an area with trees is the only permanent solution, and wind-sensitive palms should be avoided.

Soil & Salt - The soils in South Texas tend to be heavy and alkaline in most places, though a few areas may have sandier soils, especially near the coast. Most of the palms used here don’t have problems with some soil alkalinity (apart from the rare chlorosis, as listed earlier). More troublesome is the quality of the water, particularly in the Lower Valley where much of the irrigation water is pulled right out of the Rio Grande. This water can contain rather high salt levels at times, and irrigating with this water can burn the leaves on many types of plants. Most palms suited to cultivation in the Lower Valley tend to tolerate some salts in the water, though there are a couple of palms in this book which are not so tolerant (as noted).

Richard Travis April 2001 (revised September 2003 and April 2005)

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Cold resistance - reasonable in warm areas of South Texas, tol er ant of most freez es; the leaves and even trunks can freeze in ex treme cold but the roots are hardyDrought - moderateSalt - ac cept able Coast - relatively tolerant, seen at Port Isabel Wind - tolerant Light - sunGrowth rate - moderate Avail abil i ty - fairly common, most ly available from field grown plants. Untrimed plants make nice dense screens of tropical looking foliage

Acoelorraphe wrightii Paurotis palm, everglades palm

Slender, heavily clump ing lush fan palms. Deserves wider use in South Tex as (Flor i da/Car ib be an)

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Acrocomia aculeataGru-gru palm, chunta

Cold resistance - the type from Argentina sometimes known as A. totai is probably the hardiest, followed by the attractive Tamaulipan A. mexicana. There are old specimens of A. totai in the Lower Valley that survived the 1980s; the Tamaulipan form is probably slightly less hardy. May freeze north of the ValleyDrought - pretty good, but better with some irrigationSalt - reasonably tolerant to salty conditions Coast - probably acceptable, seen fairly close to the coast near Tampico Wind - no problem in fully exposed sites Light - sun Growth rate - fast once started (the seed is very slow to germinate) Avail abil i ty - a rare palm on account of its spines and long germination time

Larger plumose feather palms with dark green leaves and large black spines along the trunk and leaves (Mexico to Argentina)

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Allagoptera arenariaSeashore palm

Cold resistance - good in warm areas, the leaves may freeze but established plants re cov er from be low groundDrought - good(?), grows in al ka line sand and prob a bly needs well-drained soilSalt - high tolerance Coast - very good Wind - tolerant Light - sun Growth rate - slower Avail abil i ty - generally only found in specialty nurseries

Low, trunkless clump ing feather palms with dra mat ic stiff grey leaves (coast al Bra zil)

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Arenga engleriFormosa palm, dwarf sugar palm

Moderately sized clump ing feather palms, lush and trop i cal look ing (Formosa)

Cold resistance - good from central coast & south, leaves will die in a hard freeze but plants re cov er from the rootDrought - moderate, pre fers ir ri ga tionSalt - moderate Coast - unknown, probably mod er ate at best Wind - fairly tolerant Light - sun to part shade Growth rate - moderate Avail abil i ty - not hard to find in containersOther - there are more tropical arengas such as A. pinnata and australasica which also do well in the Lower Valley

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Cold resistance - leaves are frost ten der but the plant sprouts new leaves from below ground after a freeze. Best for areas that rarely freezeDrought - moderate (?), not wide ly test edSalt - moderate Coast - probably not Wind - best with some pro tec tion (leaves can shred)Light - tolerant of full sun but looks better with filtered light Growth rate - slower Availability - rare, sometimes found in specialty nurs er iesOther - the best Attalea tried here to date, other species may also prove suc cess ful. Some can get chlo rot ic in our soils

Attalea cohuneCohune palm, American oil palm

In South Texas, trunkless trop i cal look ing feath er palms with large coconutlike leaves (Mex i co/Cen tral America)

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Large but stout fan palms with mag nifi cent green or gray leaves (Madagascar)

Bismarkia nobilisBismarkia palm

Cold resistance - moderate at best, the leaves are tender but the trunks re sist more cold. Not totally hardy, gray forms are reportedly tougher. For areas which experience frost only rarelyDrought - moderateSalt - moderate Coast - probably too windy there to be practical Wind - tolerant of ordinary breezes, there may be trouble in storms Light - sun Growth rate - moderately fast Avail abil i ty - rea son able, of fered in con tain ers, difficult to transplant

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Handsome stout fan palms with beau ti ful grey leaves (Baja Cali-fornia, Mex i co)

Cold resistance - high, har dy to San AntonioDrought - good, needs good drainage Salt - good Coast - not bad if it can get plenty of air movement Wind - tolerantLight - sun Growth rate - slow Availability - rea son able, of fered in containers (they are hard to trans plant)Other - does better in drier ar eas. Blue forms of Brahea elegans and Brahea ‘Clara’ look similar and may do better in more humid regions but are hard to find

Brahea armataBlue Hesper palm

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Brahea brandegeeiSan Jose Hesper palm

Cold resistance - hardy in the Lower Valley, perhaps far ther north as wellDrought - good Salt - good Coast - reasonable (?) Wind - tolerantLight - sun Growth rate - not that fast Availability - rare, of fered occasionally at specialty nurs-eriesOther - more suited to hu mid areas than the blue Hesper palm, re sem bles a small elegant Wash ing to nia robusta. Brahea aculeata has also done well in early trials here

Graceful slender desert fan palm with green leaves (Baja Califor-nia)

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Highly variable green to grey fan palms with one or multiple trunks and near ly spineless leaves (Mex i co)

Cold resistance - high, es pe cial ly af ter establishedDrought - high, needs good drain age Salt - good Coast - untested Wind - tolerantLight - sun to light shade Growth rate - slow Availability - hard to find, sometimes at specialty nurseriesOther - very common palm in the Si er ra Madre near the Texas bor der, the sin gle-trunk ed forms from dry ar eas are sometimes called B. ber land ieri (or B. bella for the Coahuilan form). Most of the clump ing forms seem clos er to “true” B. dul cis found in south ern Mex i co and come from more for est ed humid re gions, of ten grow ing in shade. Hybrids with Brahea decumbens are thriving in San Antonio and should do well here also

Brahea dulcis/berlandieriRock palm

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Medium single feather palm with grey recurving leaves (Southern Bra zil & Uru guay)

Cold resistance - good, har dy to Cen tral TexasDrought - good when es tab lishedSalt - pretty good tol er ance, but dis likes heavy alkaline clay soil Coast - good Wind - good Light - sun to lightest shadeGrowth rate - slower Avail abil i ty - easy to findOther - better adapted to the east ern parts of Texas, a good choice on sandy soil. There are some interesting hybrids with a number of other related genera

Butia capitataPindo palm, cocos australis

xButyagrus nabonnandiiButia x Syagrus, pindo-queen, mule palm

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Cold resistance - good, hardy in far South Tex as and used up to San AntonioDrought - moderateSalt - acceptable, no problem in most sit u a tions Coast - some tolerance Wind - good, looks best with out too much wind Light - best in full sun Growth rate - fast Availability - hard to find and ex pen sive, some are hand-progating it nowOther - perhaps the most trop i cal look ing of the hardier palms, it is un for tu nate ly a ster ile hybrid which makes it hard to mass produce. Some are spectacular

xButyagrus nabonnandiiButia x Syagrus, pindo-queen, mule palm

Medium to robust handsome feath er palm wuth graceful trop i cal looking dark green leaves (hy brid origin)

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Caryota mitisFishtail palm

Cold resistance - leaves and trunks have little re sis tance, recovers from the root after a freeze, strictly for warm areas of the Lower ValleyDrought - not that high Salt - good Coast - reasonable Wind - tolerantLight - sun to light shade Growth rate - moderate Availability - commonOther - the best known Cary o ta for salt re sis tance, easily damaged by cold but recovers well

Clumping tropical looking feath er palm with unusual twice-divided (bipinnate) leaves (Asia)

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Chamaedorea radicalisDwarf bamboo palm

Small trunkless tropical looking feather palm (Tamauli pas & E Mex i co)

Cold resistance - quite har dy for such a tropical look ing palm, used in San An to nioDrought - moderateSalt - low Coast - not recommended Wind - best with shelterLight - part sun to shade Growth rate - slower Availability - hard to findOther - best suited for ar eas north of the Valley but will grow here with good soil and water

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Chamaedorea seifriziiBamboo palm

Cold resistance - the leaves only stand light frost, the trunks can stand a bit more and the roots are gen er al ly hardy. For warm areas onlyDrought - fairly highSalt - moderate Coast - with protection from the sea breeze onlyWind - best with shelterLight - part sun to shade Growth rate - moderate Availability - common in con tain ersOther - the best bamboo palm for the Valley, more tol er ant of the water than other chamaedoreas

Small, thickly clumping feath er palm with many slen der “fi shpole” stems (Yucatan)

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Chamaerops humilisMediterranean fan palm

Small, usually clumping fan palm with bright green leaves, sometimes with a silver cast underneath (Med i ter ra nean region)

Cold resistance - very good, hardy to Central Texas Drought - good once es tab lishedSalt - fairly tolerant Coast - good tolerance Wind - high Light - full sun Growth rate - slowerAvailability - com monOther - a good smaller palm for our area. There are many varieties and cultivars around

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Chamaerops humilis var ceriferaBlue Mediterranean fan palm

A small, beautiful blue variety of the Mediterranean fan palm (North Africa )

Cold resistance - good, about as hardy as the green varietyDrought - should be at least as tolerant as the speciesSalt - probably good Coast - should do as well as the standard form Wind - high Light - part to full sun is probably best to bring out its striking colorGrowth rate - slowAvailability - not common but its popularity (and availability) is slowly increasingOther - a gorgeous blue variant on the standard Chamaerops, it seems to do well in Texas; expect to see it more in the future

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Coccothrinax/Thrinax speciesThatch palms

Cold resistance - varies, low to moderate. Coccothrinax argentata is prob-ably the hardiest and can stand ordinary South Texas cold. None could be considered 100% reliable in severe cold without protection Drought - most have moderate to good drought toleranceSalt - good Coast - well suited Wind - tolerant Light - sun to light shade Growth rate - slow to moderate Availability - rare but availableOther - handsome fan palms which stay a nice size. May need protection in severe cold. C. argentata and Thrinax morrisii are two of the hardiest, Thrinax radiata is one of the most tender

Small attractive fan palms with spineless green leaves, sometimes with grey undersides (Caribbean)

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Copernicia albaCaranday palm, Argentine wax palm

Cold resistance - moderate, Ar gen tine forms should be har dy enough for the Lower Val ley Drought - should be good once es tab lishedSalt - very good Coast - probably well suited Wind - exposed sites should be OK Light - full sun Growth rate - moderate Availability - hard to find, look in specialty nurseriesOther - the hardiest of the wax palms. Some slower grow ing spe cies may be root hardy in the Valley when young. C pruinfera looks similar but tends to have even more “wax” on the leaf

Medium fan palm with spiny stems and green to grey leaves (Brazil to Ar gen ti na)

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Copernicia speciesYarey palms, petticoat palms

Slow, stout feather palms with large imposing green to grey leaves. Trunks are slow to develop (Cuba)

Cold resistance - the leaves can freeze off in severe cold but the growing point stays below ground for many years, which often lets the plant come back after a hard winter. Probably best suited for warmer areas of the Lower ValleyDrought - acceptableSalt - good Coast - most should do reasonably wellWind - tolerant of exposed sitesLight - sunGrowth rate - quite slowAvailability - offered in Florida, most people don’t realize they can grow hereOther - Excellent specimen plants. A number of the Cuban species with large leaves should be tried more in the Valley. The blue forms are really nice

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Dypsis decaryi Triangle palm

Cold resistance - not high, the leaves can damage in a freeze, the trunks can resist a few more de grees. Not re li able anywhere in Tex asDrought - moderateSalt - acceptably tolerant Coast - can survive on the Is land away from the windsWind - fair re sis tanceLight - sun Growth rate - moderate Availability - commonOther - the unusual tri an gu lar ar range ment of the leaves give the palm a rather weird appearance, though some peo ple love the look

Single medium sized feather palm with up ward ly curved grey leaves arranged in a tri an gu lar pattern (Madagascar)

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Dypsis lutescens Areca palm

Very tropical clustering feath er palms with yel low ish stems and light yellow green leaves (Mada gas car)

Cold resistance - very ten der, any freeze can hurt the leaves though old plants may re cov er from the root after cold er weather in the Lower ValleyDrought - moderate at bestSalt - should be decent Coast - should tolerate min i mal ex po sureWind - mostly good re sis tanceLight - part sun to sun Growth rate - slow to mod er ate Availability - very easy to findOther - Often used since it is easy to buy, but too ten der for general use here. Cold dam aged plants re cov er slowly

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Hyphaene coriacea Doum palm, Gingerbread palm

Cold resistance - the leaves only resist light freezes but the trunks on some species are har dy enough for use in deep South TexasDrought - goodSalt - high resistance Coast - most species should tol er ate light ex po sureWind - good re sis tanceLight - sun Growth rate - slow to mod er ate Availability - difficult to find in South Texas, a collector’s itemOther - Some species in Af ri ca and India will branch but this has not been seen yet on plants here in Texas. H. co ri a cea rarely branches but is probably the best species for here. Other species also grow here

Single, clumping or even branching medium fan palms with dramatic, stiff grey-green to grey leaves (Africa to India)

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Livistona chinensis Chinese fan palm

Cold resistance - quite har dy from Corpus and south, the leaves may burn in severe cold but plants recoverDrought - moderate, best with ir ri ga tionSalt - moderately tolerant Coast - very minimal ex po sure is tol er at edWind - good resistance, looks best with some pro tec tionLight - shade to part sun, full sun is tolerated in coastal coun ties Growth rate - slow (but at trac tive when young)Availability - easy to find, best grown from containers. They make a stunning weeping curtain of leaves if planted in a tight row. The hard to find variety sub-globosa is nearly identical but appears to be faster growing

Single, medium fan palms with beau ti ful bright green fan leaves with droop ing tips (China)

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Medium large fan palm with dark green, deep ly divided fan leaves which give a shred ded appearance (Coastal Queen sland, Australia)

Cold resistance - generally har dy in South Texas, some plants were lost in the 1980s but many survived in the Lower ValleyDrought - moderate, best with ir ri ga tionSalt - moderate Coast - some exposure is ap par ent ly toleratedWind - good resistanceLight - light shade to sunGrowth rate - moderate, fast er with irrigationAvailability - not common but avail able in South Texas. A number of other livistonas have a similar appearance but are usually not as hardy. It has recently been renamed L. decora by some botanists

Livistona decipiens Fountain palm, ribbon palm

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Rather large fan palm with waxy green fan leaves, which often have a red tinge when young (Central and Northern Australia)

Cold resistance - somewhat sensitive to severe freezes, especially if wet. The variety rigida appears more tolerant and may be hardy enough for the ValleyDrought - good, but best with some water in droughtSalt - should be good Coast - unknown, probably at least moderately tolerantWind - tolerates exposed positionsLight - best in mostly full sunGrowth rate - usually moderate, sometimes faster Availability - another uncommon palm sometimes seen in South Texas, it is mainly grown for the attractive young red leaves. L. mariae var rigida is probably a better choice due to its slightly higher cold tolerance

Livistona mariaeCentral Australian cabbage palm

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Small to medium fan palm with a stiff but not unattractive appearance (Northern Australia)

Cold resistance - reportedly one of the most tender of the livistonas, it is nevertheless thriving in the Lower Valley, though it’s not yet known whether it can tolerate a hard freeze. The leaves can be damaged in moderate coldDrought - should do fine once established Salt - not fully known, probably has good tolerance Coast - unknown, probably at least moderately tolerantWind - tolerant of windy conditionsLight - sunGrowth rate - slow to moderateAvailability - a local nurseryman has grown it for years in the field so it is surprisingly available for such a rare palm

Livistona muelleriDwarf Australian cabbage palm

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Eventually tall, vigorous fan palm with bright green leaves (Queensland, Australia)

Cold resistance - not fully tested but it appears to be one of the hardiest livistonas, should be cold hardy in the Valley and perhaps farther north as wellDrought - moderate, grows better with waterSalt - should have good tolerance Coast - unknown, but probably acceptable back from the beachWind - exposed sites should not be a serious problemLight - sun to perhaps light shade Growth rate - one of the fastest livistonas here if irrigatedAvailability - rare, sometimes avail able from specialty nurseriesOther - one of the most promising of the fountain palms for South Texas

Livistona nitidaCarnarvon Gorge fountain palm

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Medium sized fan palm with strongly green fan leaves which have very large dis tinc tive spines (China)

Cold resistance - should be har dy enough for warm South Tex as, es pe cial ly the green-spined formDrought - low to moderate, it likes the waterSalt - moderate? not tested much Coast - not likely to be highWind - moderate, looks bet ter with protectionLight - shade when young, it can take full sun after a few years Growth rate - moderate, give enough waterAvailability - not common but avail able in South Tex as. There is a form with red spines which is reputedly less hardy to cold

Livistona saribus Cochin fountain palm, Taraw palm