Washingtonia filifera
Family: Arecaceae / Palmae
California Fan Palm, Desert Fan Palm, American Cotton Palm, Cotton Palm
Origin: California
California Fan Palm can grow 60 ft tall with a crown spread of 15 ft. The massive gray trunk is barrel shaped and ringed with old leaf scars, and may reach over 3 ft in diameter at its widest point. California Fan Palm can have up to thirty gray-green palmate (fan-shaped) leaves, each 3-6 ft across. They spread out to form a loose and open crown. The petioles (leaf stems) of mature palms are armed along the margins with curved thorns; those of young palms are largely unarmed. The individual leaflets are pendulous and swing freely in the wind. Abundant cotton-like threads on and between the leaflets persist even when the palm is mature. People often confuse W.Filifera and W.Robusta .as they are quite similar, particularly when small. The main distinguishing features are that Filifera is shorter and fatter, more big thorns and has cotton threads even when old. Robusta is much more slender, almost no thorns and only has cotton threads when young. W.Filifera is surprisingly cold hardy and will survive a Southern UK winter with slight protection when the plant is about 3 feet tall. A fantastic palm for the beginner, quick and easy to grow from seed (germinate in about 2 weeks) and a must have for the tropical garden. The seeds of California Fan Palm are small cm in diameter, they germinate very easily in a warm place compared to other palms. Washingtonia seeds will typically take about 10 to 21 days to germinate and sprout above the ground, if planted about 1″ below the surface. For best results place some soil in a small plastic bag and hang in a warm place in your house. Prefers full sun when large, well drained situation with regular watering.
