Palms For California

Pronunciation: liv-ih-STONE-uh deh-CORE-uh

Common Name:Ribbon Palm, Ribbon Fan Palm, Weeping Cabbage Palm, Fountain Palm

Livistona decora is one of the most commonly grown Livistonas in southern California and for good reason. It is a wonderful specimen tree, and relatively fast and easy to grow. Often hard to distinguish from Livistona australis, even when grown side by side, Livistona decora tends to be have more finely and deeply split leaves. The tree overall, seems a tad less robust, though. This is one of the most popular Livistonas in California. Most know it as Livistona decipiens, but its name was changed to an earlier, proper name early in 2000.

Synonym: Livistona decipiens

Appearance and Biology Habit: solitary with a crown of 30-50 leaves Height: 60' Trunk: single; 1' thick; clean except sometimes near bottom where some leaf bases are retained; grey-brown Crownshaft: none Spread: 7'-8' Leaf Description: moderately costapalmate; leaves divided nearly down to hastula and leaflets droopy at about half their length; leaves are nearly an entire circle (4/5); bright green; 45-55 leaflets per leaf; 6'-8' long Petiole/Leaf bases: thin, drooping somewhat; 4'-5' long; armed with black 1.5cm extremely sharp spines; bright green; curved on bottom and flat on top; leaf bases unsplit Reproduction: monoecious but 'functionally dioecious' Inflorescence: 3'-4' long from the upper leaves; flowers yellow Fruit: 1/2" spherical green to black when ripe Seed:

Horticultural Characteristics Minimum Temp: 20F Drought Tolerance: moderate Dry Heat Tolerance: good Wind Tolerance: moderate to good depending upon humidity Salt Tolerance: low Growth Rate: moderate to fast with age Soil Preference: very widely adaptable to most soil types Light Requirement: full sun Human Hazards: very sharp petiolar teeth- caution when trimming Disease or Horticultural Problems: rare 'leaning palm syndrome'; otherwise few problems Transplants?: fair Indoor?: unknown Availability: somewhat rare but widely available at most palm nurseries