42 Best Palm Trees in Florida | Florida Palm Trees Species

These Florida Palm Tree Species can make your garden look a bit tropical! Check out our list of the Best Palm Trees in Florida!

There are over 2,500 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! We have compiled a list of Florida Palm Tree Species and the 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

Best Palm Trees in Florida

1. Lady Palm

Botanical Name: Rhapis excelsa

Lady Palm produces a cluster of green fronds on thin trunks. This cold-tolerant variety grows up to 10-12 feet tall. Keep it in the 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 to 35-45 feet tall and does well in partial shade to full sunlight. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

3. Parlor Palms

Botanical Name: Chamaedorea elegans

Parlor palm has delicate fronds with a 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

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 pace and provides shade quickly, making it one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

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 also 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

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. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

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 full sunlight and shade and grows up to 10-20 feet tall.

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. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

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.

11. Alexander Palm

Botanical Name: Archontophoenix alexandrae

Alexander is a single-trunk palm that can grow up to a height of 20-30 feet. This self-cleaning palm does well in full to partial sunny locations.

12. Canary Island Date Palm

Botanical Name: Phoenix canariensis

Native to the warm Canary island, this date palm attains a height of 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 sun to shaded locations. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

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 Bismarck’s palm. The fan-shaped fronds can spread 10-15 feet across, and the tree can reach up to 20-30 feet tall. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

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, making it one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

18. Queen Palm

Botanical Name: Syagrus romanzoffiana

Queen’s Palm has glossy pinnate leaves that droop gracefully in a canopy. It produces bright orange dates in clusters. The tree grows 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 long fan-shaped 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. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

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, making it one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

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.

For the list of best flowers to grow in Florida, click here

23. Scrub Palmetto

Botanical Name: Sabal etonia

With huge fan-shaped leaves growing atop the solitary thin stems, this palm tree is distinct in its features. The beautiful spiky fronds are ideal for ground cover, and it is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

24. Keys Thatch Palm

Botanical Name: Leucothrinax morrisii

Keys Thatch Palm is called Brittle Thatch Palm, as the palm leaves grow on a single, slender stem. This lovely species native to Florida can grow up to 2-3 feet or even as tall as 30-36 feet.

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25. Golden Cane Palm

Botanical Name: Dypsis lutescens

Golden Cane Palm is another palm species that thrives well in Florida landscapes. This multi-stemmed plant has a bamboo-like appearance, with airy fronds and leaflets growing in a V-shape. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

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26. Dwarf Palmetto

Botanical Name: Sabal minor

This species of dwarf palm tree is known as Dwarf palmetto and does not grow taller than 2-3 feet. It is a cold-hardy species and can thrive in temperatures as low as 0°F or -18°C.

27. Needle Palm

Botanical Name: Rhapidophyllum hystrix

Needle Palm is a mini or short bushy palm tree and not a tall and majestic one. With fronds growing in a fan shape, you can easily identify this species because of its thick trunk. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

28. Cabbage Palm

Botanical Name: Sabal palmetto

The Cabbage Palm is the state tree of Florida. This tall palm tree native to Florida can grow up to 80-90 feet. With a gray and bronze-colored fibrous trunk, this tree has the usual fan-shaped leaves and a rounded crown on top of the one single trunk.

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29. Florida Thatch Palm

Botanical Name: Thrinax radiate

The Florida Thatch Palm has a slender, single trunk and palmate-leaved crown. This cold-sensitive species works excellently in coastal places in landscapes or containers. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

30. Saw Palmetto

Botanical Name: Serenoa repens

The Saw Palmetto Florida Palm can be identified because of its distinct features like sharp spiky branches, fan-like leaves, and yellow-white blooms. This is a cold-hardy palm species that can grow everywhere in Florida.

31. Mexican Fan Palm

Botanical Name: Washingtonia robusta

Mexican Fan Palm is a fast-growing palm tree species ideal for Florida weather. With a small round crown, the plant features rich green fan-like leaves sitting atop a tall trunk. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

Learn about planting Sago palm seeds here

32. Alexander Palm Tree

Botanical Name: Ptychosperma elegans

Alexander Palm is a small-medium palm tree popular in Florida as it can work well in warm and humid tropical climates. With multi-stemmed trees that are self-cleaning, this tree can grow up to 6-40 feet tall, depending on the location it grows.

33. Florida Silver Palm

Botanical Name: Coccothrinax argentata

With a smooth, thin trunk, Florida Silver Palm features dark blue-green leaves with a fascinating silver underside. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

34. Bismarck Palm Tree

Botanical Name: Bismarckia Nobilis

A silver Bismarck palm tree is native to Madagascar and was named after the first chancellor of the German empire, Otto Von Bismarck. It grows well in South Florida, where the soil is well-draining and moderately wet.

35. Pindo Palm

Botanical Name: Butia Capitata

Pindo Palm is a native of Brazil, but you can easily spot one in Florida. This is another cold-hardy palm that can grow up to 15-25 feet tall. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

Check out the best cold-tolerant palm trees here

36. Arikury Palm

Botanical Name: Syagrus schizophylla

Arikury Palm tree is an ideal small accent palm species that can be perfect for gardeners with limited spaces in Florida. With a drooping and arching habit, the long fronds can grow up to 4-6 feet long.

37. Proctor’s Silver Palm

Botanical Name: Coccothrinax proctorii

Proctor’s Silver Palm is also known as the Cayman Thatch Palm. The silvery-gray drooping, fan-shaped leaves grow on top of the slim stem in a triangular or open crown. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

38. Yellow Latan Palm

Botanical Name: Latania verschaffeltii

This Florida Palm Tree Species is a slow-growing exotic tree that is also one of the Best Palm Trees in Florida. With green, huge, fan-shaped leaves, they grow on plump yellow stems and look similar to the Bismarck Palm.

39. Christmas Palm

Botanical Name: Adonidia merrillii

The Christmas Palm is another Florida Palm Tree Species suitable for small and compact gardens in Florida. It is a fast-growing species with arching green leaves, a slender gray trunk, and tiny cream blooms growing in clusters.

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40. Caribbean Royal Palm

Botanical Name: Roystonea oleracea

Caribbean Royal Palm is considered an imposing, stately palm tree because of its huge, upright, cylindrical trunk. With huge feather-like palmate leaves that are 10-16 feet long, this tree can create a majestic crown. It is one of the best Palm Trees in Florida.

41. Blue Latan Palm

Botanical Name: Latania loddigesii

The stunning Blue Latan Palm tree is another Florida Palm Trees Species and one of the Best Palm Trees in Florida. With a dense crown, the tree also features a slender gray trunk and huge, stiff, silver-blue-colored, fan-shaped leaves.

42. Bottle Palm Tree

Botanical Name: Hyophorbe Lagenicaulis

The Bottle Palm Tree is another flowering plant native to Mauritius and is now naturalized in Hawaii and Florida. It is highly valued because it is grown as an ornamental tree to show off the short, thick, bottle-like trunk that looks thicker at the base.

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