Difference between revisions of "Phoenix canariensis"

Revision as of 20:32, 5 August 2014

Pronunciation: FEE-nix kuh-nair-ee-EN-siss

Common Name: Canary Island Date Palm

Phoenix canariensis is one of the most massive of all the palms for southern California and also one of the most prized, as well as common. Excellent landscape for parks, public gardens and avenues, but a a bit large for most private gardens. Creates a very dense shade beneath which even grass can struggle to grow it's so dark. Despite producing huge volumes of colorful dates, they are fairly inedible, though squirrels love them. One of the fastest growing of all palms in southern California

Appearance and Biology

Habit: Solitary with a huge crown of up to 100 leaves
Height: 70'+
Trunk: single 3' in diameter; clean but covered with leaf scars (may retain a sparse petticoat of dead leaves if not pruned regularly, which most are); often top 3'-4' below crown of leaves the trunk is pruned less severely leaving a dense bulge of leaf bases giving one the vague impression of a pineapple; bottom 1'-4' of trunk is often covered with adventitious roots, particularly where planted in lawns with sprinklers
Crownshaft: none
Spread: 30'
Leaf Description: pinnate; long (15'-20') and arching; leaves have two barely offset planes of densely packed 1', stiff, induplicate leaflets, all ending in a sharp, but not too painfully sturdy, point; color of leaves a bright, deep, glossy green;
Petiole: almost non-existent unless one considers the base of the leaf armed with modified, sharp, spiny leaflets as part of the petiole (hard to tell then where the petiole ends and rachis begins); very sturdy (almost woody), curved underneath and flat on top
Reproduction: monoecious and very promiscuous (Phoenix interbreed freely in California due to their vast numbers and many hybrids are created all the time)
Inflorescence: 3'-4' slightly arching, orange and many-branched; arising from within leaf bases within crown- often a palm will have multiple levels of inflorescences in various stages of flowering or fruiting
Fruit: 3/4" green to yellow to orange or sometimes nearly red
Seed: 1/2" oblong brown

Horticultural Characteristics

Minimum Temp: 18F with some foliar damage (less with advancing age)
Drought Tolerance: good once established (can take up to 3 years)
Dry Heat Tolerance: good
Wind Tolerance: fair to good
Salt Tolerance: moderate
Growth Rate: fast to very fast with age
Soil Preference: very adaptable to just about any soil type
Light Requirement: full sun
Human Hazards: extremely hazardous leaf bases with sharp, stiff spines up to 1' long that can penetrate a boot, at various angles (caution when trimming!)
Disease or Horticultural Problems: fusarium wilt a big problem with this species- only trim palms with clean loppers and saws (disinfect if trimming multiple palms); mineral deficiencies can be common in sandy or overused soils
Transplants?: fairly good transplant success even in large, mature palms- however, if trunk injured during move, can take palm up to 3 years to die (important when agreeing to guarantees under 3 years); palms with little or no trunk tend to set back if not handled extremely carefully, though
Indoor?: no a good choice for obvious reasons
Availability: extremely common

avenue trees
San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
Los Angeles coastal
Pasadena area, California
San Fernando Valley, California
Los Angeles
Los Angeles arboretum
Los Angeles arboretum
crown
tall palm (about 70')
crown
look of palms in Florida
San Fernando Valley, California
trimmed trunk
leaves trimmed less close leaving a bit of petiole
trimmed trunk Disneyland
trunk base
leaves cut leaving some petiole
armed leaf bases
smoothly trimmed trunk
pruned like a 'pineapple'
overpruned tree
leaves tied up after recent transplant
Phoenix canariensis versus a hybrid plant (right)
Phoenix canariensis (left) versus Jubaea (right)
mineral deficiency look

@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 File:Phoenix canariensis small colorful Shrmn Oks.jpg|San Fernando Valley, California
 File:Phoenix canariensis trunk cut.JPG|trimmed trunk
-File:Phoenix canariensis trunk trimmed naturally.JPG|leaves trimmed to true trunk
+File:Phoenix canariensis trunk trimmed naturally.JPG|leaves trimmed less close leaving a bit of petiole
 File:Phoenix canariensis trunk Disney.JPG|trimmed trunk Disneyland
 File:Phoenix canariensis trunk root ball Pasadena.jpg|trunk base
 File:Phoenix canariensis cut leaves.JPG|leaves cut leaving some petiole
-File:Phoenix canariensis leaf bases.JPG|cut leaf bases
+File:Phoenix canariensis leaf bases.JPG|armed leaf bases
-File:Phoenix canariensis trunk again.JPG|trunk
+File:Phoenix canariensis trunk again.JPG|smoothly trimmed trunk
 File:Phoenix canariensis pineapple leaf bases.JPG|pruned like a 'pineapple'
 File:Phoenix canariensis heavily pruned Van Nuys.jpg|overpruned tree
 File:Phoenix canariensis tied Up SB.JPG|leaves tied up after recent transplant
-File:phoenix variation 1.jpg|both Phoenix canariensis, but sparser tree probably hybrid
+File:Phoenix camparison 2.jpg|Phoenix canariensis versus a hybrid plant (right)
-File:Phoenix camparison 2.jpg|Phoenix canariensis versus dactylifera
 File:Phoenix canariensis vs Jubaea H.jpg|Phoenix canariensis (left) versus Jubaea (right)
 File:Phoenix with magnesium deficiencies.jpg|mineral deficiency look
 </gallery>

Difference between revisions of "Phoenix canariensis"

Geoff Stein - Author & Editor

Revision as of 20:32, 5 August 2014