Windmill Palm, Trachycarpus fortunei, Tree Seeds
Easy to Grow, Tropical, Container Plant, Evergreen, Cold, Heat, Drought and Salt Tolerant
Windmill Palm is native to temperate and subtropical mountainous areas of Asia including southeastern China, Taiwan and the Chusan Islands and is one of the most cold hardy palms available. It is beautifully compact and grows to heights of 20 to 40 feet. Windmill Palm has a rather slender single stem that is 8 to 10 inches in diameter and is typically a bit narrower at the base than at the top. Trunks are usually covered with a loose mat of coarse gray or brown fiber. In older individuals the fiber sloughs away to reveal a smooth ringed surface. It has light to dark green palmate leaves that are lighter, almost silvery (glaucous), on the underside. They are held on thin 3 foot flattened stems that are finely toothed along both edges. Leaves are circular, about 3 feet in diameter and segmented about halfway. They are flat with leaf segment tips held stiffly, but occasionally you will see individuals with droopy tips. Leaves are arranged into a symmetrical crown that is about 8 to 10 feet wide. Specimens grown in full sun and/or under poor conditions may have much smaller, more compact crowns. Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants (dioecious). They are densely arranged on 2 to 3 foot long branched stalks. Bright yellow inflorescence erupts from a packetlike bud in late winter and early spring and is held within the crown. On female plants the flowers are followed in late summer by round or oblong blue fruits that are about 1/2 inch in diameter.
Windmill Palm is commonly grown as a landscape specimen in central and northern Florida, the southeastern U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and in mild areas along the west coast. It has been sighted in northerly latitudes from Charlotte, North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia to Vancouver, British Columbia. This picture perfect hardy palm is an internationalist who decorates postcards from Lake Como in Italy, the southern coasts of the British Isles and the Crimean Peninsula.
For live plants, we can't send them to Alaska and Hawaii. If the order has already been placed, we will cancel it.
Happy Gardening!
