Trachycarpus fortunei is my favorite plant in the garden (this week)...

This week's favorite, my Trachycarpus fortunei, has been in the ground for 4 years, in a container for a couple before that. And why is it my favorite this week? It finally actually looks like it's becoming a palm TREE!

When we first moved to Portland, and I started to notice palms around town, their hairy trunks were a little off-putting.

But as I've become accustomed to the shag it seems perfectly natural, especially in the winter when it looks like they're wearing a warm sweater. For those who don't like the look you can strip them, as shown in this post from Mark & Gaz at Alternative Eden.

We planted our palm to mirror the one our neighbor John planted against his house...

Of course that was years ago and that palm (John no longer lives there) is now over the roof...

This is my only Trachycarpus fortunei, although I have two Trachycarpus wagnerianus, one of which you see in this photo...

The stats on Trachycarpus fortunei

• hardy in USDA Zones 7-11
• likes sun but is okay with partial sun, not drought tolerant
• evergreen and reaches an eventual height of 15' -30' (depending on who you listen to, and no doubt the climate of where it's planted)
• native to to central China, south to northern Burma and northern India
• flowers are yellow (male) and greenish (female), with male and female flowers produced on separate trees - my neighbors tree blooms yellow, mine has yet to bloom

All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.