Palm · Arecaceae Draft — unreviewed
Mediterranean fan palm
Chamaerops humilis L.
Also called European fan palm.
Clumping, shrub-scaled fan palm with several short trunks. Suits courtyards and large containers where a full-size palm will not fit.
Size over time
Typical landscape size 1.5–3 m (5–10 ft) tall and 1.5–3 m (5–10 ft) wide; slow growth, about 25 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.12) from the #15 install size.
Design notes
- Spiny leaf stalks — prune with gloves and keep back from paths.
- Takes brief cold to about −9 °C as well as both desert and humid heat.
Regions
Native range: Western Mediterranean.
Not recorded as native to any of the three pilot regions.
Native status describes where the species occurs naturally. It is not a promise that it suits a particular garden; site conditions decide that.
Related plants
Date palm
Phoenix dactylifera · Palm · 12–20 m (39–66 ft)
Cabbage palmetto
Sabal palmetto · Palm · 9–15 m (30–49 ft)
Windmill palm
Trachycarpus fortunei · Palm · 4–9 m (13–30 ft)
California fan palm
Washingtonia filifera · Palm · 9–15 m (30–49 ft)
Mexican fan palm
Washingtonia robusta · Palm · 15–25 m (49–82 ft)
Glossy abelia
Abelia × grandiflora · Shrub · 1.2–1.8 m (4–6 ft)
Plan with Mediterranean fan palm
Place it in a design, check it against your zone, light and moisture, and see it at year three and year ten.