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Palm · Arecaceae Draft — unreviewed

California fan palm

Washingtonia filifera

Also called desert fan palm.

Stout fan palm native to desert springs, with a thick trunk and a skirt of dead fronds if left unpruned. Hardier than Mexican fan palm.

Size over time

Typical landscape size 9–15 m (30–49 ft) tall and 3–5 m (10–16 ft) wide; medium growth, about 15 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.25) from the BB-3in install size.

051015mPlanting3.0 × 2.0 mYear 37.7 × 3.1 mYear 1011.3 × 3.8 mMature12.0 × 4.0 m

Design notes

  • Unpruned skirts harbour rodents and carry fire; trim dead fronds in low-desert landscapes.
  • Very heavy trunk — budget crane access for large specimens.

Regions

Native range: Desert oases of southern California, western Arizona and Baja California.

Native to these OpenLandscape3D pilot regions:

Southwest

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

Mexican fan palm
Washingtonia robusta · Palm · 15–25 m (49–82 ft)
Mediterranean fan palm
Chamaerops humilis · Palm · 1.5–3 m (5–10 ft)
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)
White fir
Abies concolor · Conifer · 9–15 m (30–49 ft)

Plan with California fan palm

Place it in a design, check it against your zone, light and moisture, and see it at year three and year ten.

Start designing Try a sample garden