These Best Palm Trees in Florida are going to make your garden stand out elegantly! Pick one as per your need and choice!
There are more than 2500 species of palm trees that exist in a range of height, shape, size, and leaf color! Before you move ahead and pick one to grow, you have to keep in mind the Sunshine State’s subtropical and tropical climate! Here are Best Palm Trees in Florida that are perfectly suited for the common occurrence of the weather in the state!
Check out our article on the best dwarf ornamental trees here!
Palm Trees for Shade
1. Lady Palm
Botanical Name: Rhapis excelsa
Lady Palm produces a cluster of green fronds on multiple thin trunks. This cold-tolerant variety grows up to 10-12 feet tall. Keep it in full shade as the direct sun may cause leaf burn.
2. Red Sealing Wax Palm
Botanical Name: Cyrtostachys renda
Red Sealing Wax has bright red fronds with emerald hues on the top and light green at the bottom. It grows up to 35-45 feet tall and does well in partial shade to full sunlight.
3. Parlor Palms
Botanical Name: Chamaedorea elegans
Parlor palm has delicate fronds with dainty texture. It can reach a height of 8-10 feet and produces a cluster of flowers, but it’s rare in indoor palms.
Here is the list of the best palm varieties you can grow!
Palm Trees for Full Sun
4. Coconut Palm Tree
Botanical Name: Cocos nucifera
One of the highly popular palms, it grows the refreshing coconut that we all love! It thrives in full sun and well-draining soil. It grows up to 40-60 feet tall.
5. African Oil Palm
Botanical Name: Elaeis guineensis
This palm variety is perfect for the South Florida landscape. It can attain a height of 50-60 feet. African Oil Palm grows at a medium to a fast pace and provides shade quickly.
6. Chinese Fan Palm
Botanical Name: Livistona chinensis
Chinese fan palm features fountain-like green-blue leaves that droop from the crown. It can grow up to 30-50 feet tall, but you can keep it as a potted houseplant. It thrives well in full to partial sun.
Here’s everything you need to know about different types of coconuts!
Small Palm Trees
7. Pygmy Date Palm
Botanical Name: Phoenix roebelenii
This miniature palm variety offers a bushy crown. It grows up to a height of 7-10 feet. The palm prefers well-draining soil and does well in partial sunlight.
8. European Fan Palm
Botanical Name: Chamaerops humilis
European fan palm has silver-green leaves with spines that look like a fan. It can do well in both full sunlight to full shade and grows up to 10-20 feet tall.
Palm trees for Poolside
9. Buccaneer Palm
Botanical Name: Pseudophoenix sargentii
This palm variety is ideal for warmer regions of South Florida where it can reach up to 10-25 feet high. This drought-tolerant and low-maintenance palm thrives in full sun.
10. Montgomery Palm
Botanical Name: Veitchia arecina
This tropical palm is popular in Southwest Florida. It features stiff, feathered, and emerald green fronds. Montgomery Palm grows up to 25-35 feet tall.
Other Large Best Palm Trees in Florida
11. Alexander Palm
Botanical Name: Archontophoenix alexandrae
Alexander is a single trunk palm can grow up to a height of 20-30 feet. This self-cleaning palm does well in full to partial sun locations.
12. Canary Island Date Palm
Botanical Name: Phoenix canariensis
Native to the warm Canary island, this date palm attains a height up to 30-60 feet. Its trunk resembles the pineapple skin. Canary Island Date Palm thrives in full sun.
13. Fishtail Palm
Botanical Name: Caryota mitis
This palm has blue-green leaves with rough edges that look like a fishtail. It acquires a height of 10-30 feet. This low-maintenance palm is drought-tolerant and thrives well in full to shaded location.
14. Foxtail Palm
Botanical Name: Wodyetia bifurcata
Foxtail has fluffy dark to light green leaves that resemble the fox’s tail. It has an attractive thin trunk and grows up to 25-35 feet in height and prefers full sunlight.
15. Latania Palm
Botanical Name: Latania lontaroides
This sun-loving palm has silver-green foliage that resembles the Bismarck palm. The fan-shaped fronds can spread 10-15 feet across, and the tree can reach up to 20-30 feet tall.
16. Paurotis Palm
Botanical Name: Acoelorrhaphe wrightii
Paurotis has a slim trunk and bright green, fan-shaped leaves. This easy-care species is cold hardy throughout South Florida. It grows 20-30 feet tall in full sun to partial shade.
17. Piccabeen Palm
Botanical Name: Archontophoenix cunninghamiana
Piccabeen has long sweeping fronds, making it wind-tolerant. It can grow up to 20-60 feet tall and prefers full sun to partial shade.
18. Queen Palm
Botanical Name: Syagrus romanzoffiana
Queen palm has glossy pinnate leaves that droop gracefully in a canopy. It produces bright orange dates in clusters. The tree grows up to 40-50 feet tall and prefers a sunny location with well-draining acidic soil.
19. Ribbon Fan Palm
Botanical Name: Livistona decipiens
This cold and salt-tolerant palm has an upright trunk with fan-shaped split long leaves. The ribbon palm can reach up to 20-30 feet in height. It does well in full to partial sun and well-drained soil.
20. Royal Palm
Botanical Name: Roystonea regia
Also popular as Florida Royal Palm, it is a fast-growing, single-trunk palm variety that can grow up to 50-90 feet tall. The tree features feather-like fronds and thrives well in full sun.
21. Silver Bismarck Palm
Botanical Name: Bismarckia nobilis
This single trunk silver-blue palm tree can fairly withstand dry and hot conditions. It can grow up to 25-40 feet tall and prefers wet but well-draining soil with full sunlight.
22. Sylvester Palm
Botanical Name: Phoenix sylvestris
This low-maintenance hardy palm has attractive diamond-like cuts on its trunk and produces edible sweet fruits. It attains a height of 20-50 feet and does well in sunny and shaded locations.
what palms can i grow in palmcoast,fl. really like bottle palms,queen palms,date palms.
Grow weed . You can always sell it off if you get in a pinch.
You should be fine with a Sylvester, and Queen, but I would suggest a mule palm instead of the queen palm. also, consider a washingtonia robusta and the Chinese fan palm. it’s always ideal though to go down to the your local nursery, what they are selling there should work in your area. Good luck😃
We live on Amelia Island, about 90 minutes North of Palm Coast. “On the island” ( not off the Island), every Palm does well except Coconut and Royal Palms. I have two large Bottle Palms, growing for over 15 years. The Dwarf Sugar Palm is really great as a screen.
All said: I love the Native Sabal Palm. But the Sylvester is a beauty as well.
Greg, don’t try to grow a Bottle Palm in Palm Coast. I probably would freeze within one or two years. But there are plenty of other palm cultivars that will be fine in Palm Coast. Just do a little research on each one you would like to grow.
I fell in love with another woman…what a bummer.
I wish to buy the seed for some of the palms . I leave in Ghana , is it feasible