Looking to plant some palm trees either in your garden, around your home, or perhaps even consider one as an indoor plant? In this guide, you'll learn all you need to know about how to care for palms, no matter the type! You'll learn about their watering requirements, hardiness zones, soil types, pruning needs, and more!Palm trees add the perfect tropical touch to a landscape. Their tall, slender trunks and feather-like fronds, which sway gently in the breeze, create the illusion of a beach setting. Sadly, not all areas are endowed with tropical soil; you may need to learn a thing or two about growing and taking care of them.
Proper palm tree care varies depending on the type grown, the location (indoors or outdoors), and the climate. People living in the northern regions, for example, need to grow particular varieties like the cabbage palm and Chinese palm trees and provide special care.
Before looking at how to care for palm trees, we explain the process of selecting a young one and the best place to plant it. In the following guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about their care, both indoors and outdoors.As highlighted earlier, palm tree care begins with the proper selection of a species. There are tropical, subtropical, desert species and those that grow in cold-weather regions like Alaska.
Other varieties thrive in moist and dark environments, while others do well in hot climates. Here are popular varieties and where to grow them:
These varieties tolerate heat as most of them are from desert climates or warm Mediterranean climates. They include:
Date palms: This variety is excellent for commercial use. In the United States, it thrives in sheltered in regions located within USDA zone 8 like California, Nevada, and Arizona
King Palm: This kind is best grown in warm climates and moderately humid; too much humidity can burn their leaves and cause them to develop brown spots. King Palms also grow pretty fast, hence being best for outdoor use.
Parlor Palm: This variety is ideal for regions within zones 9-10, i.e. areas with temperatures of -6.7C- 4.4 C. The Parlor Palm doesn’t grow as fast; hence it is great for the indoors.
Windmill palm: This variety is also great for indoor use because of its slow growth. It’s fan-shaped, has green fronds, and the trunk looks like it has been covered in burlap. This palm thrives best in USDA zones 8-11 (-6.7 C – 10 C)