INTRODUCTION

The Canary Island Date Palm is a huge tree, using a very slow growing period to reach heights of 50 to 60-feet. It is at its most eye-catching when it is a single-trunk, and its trunk is covered in diamond shaped pattern from old leaves. The trunk of the tree is typically quite thick, with a crown of 8-15 feet long, and leaves that are very stiff and have sharp spines at their base. The stalks contain clusters of orange-yellow ornamental fruits.

Canary Island Date Palms are often used in parking lot islands, larger tree lawns, sidewalk tree pits, highway medians, and residential streets. They have been successful in urban areas with air pollution and questionable soil quality.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Botanical Name: Phoenix Canariensis
Pronunciation: FEE-nicks kan-air-ee-EN-sis
Common Name(s): Canary Island Date Palm
Family: Arecaceae
USDA Hardiness Zones: 9 through 11 (Fig. 2)
Origin: not native to North America
Uses: large parking lot islands (> 200 square feet in size); wide tree lawns (>6 feet wide); medium-sized parking lot islands (100-200 square feet in size); medium-sized tree lawns (4-6 feet wide);
recommended for buffer strips around parking lots or for median strip plantings in the highway; specimen; sidewalk cutout (tree pit); residential street tree; tree has been successfully grown in urban areas where air pollution, poor drainage, compacted soil, and/or
drought are common
Availability: generally available in many areas within
its hardiness range

USE AND MANAGEMENT

Canary Island Date Palm should be grown in full sun on fertile, moist soil for best growth but is tolerant of any well-drained soil. It can be planted on the inland side of coastal condominiums and large homes due to moderately high salt-tolerance. It does well as a street or avenue tree, even in confined soil spaces. Canary Island Date Palm will require pruning to remove old fronds. Older leaves frequently become chlorotic from magnesium or potassium-deficiency. Preventive applications of appropriate fertilizer helps avoid this. Avoid damage to the trunk by locating it properly in the landscape and keeping landscape maintenance equipment away. Damaged trees are susceptible to Ganoderma rot. Only prune fronds which hang below the horizontal. Do not remove those growing upright since this may slow the growth and reduce vigor.

Propagation is by seed.

 

Pests

Giant palm weevil can kill recently transplanted palms or those which are injured. Once in the palm, remedial control is not possible. Preventing injury is the best way to avoid the weevil. Some landscape managers conduct a preventive spray program following transplanting on these highly valued palms until they are well-established in the landscape. Palm leaf skeletonizer devours leaves.

Diseases

Mildly susceptible to lethal yellowing disease and leaf spot. Stressed and damaged trees often are infected with the Ganoderma fungus. A conk is formed at the base of the tree which appears as a varnished shelf or mushroom. Remove the conk and the tree to help control the spread of the disease to other plants. Prevent injury to the trunk and roots, and plant in well-drained soil. Be sure sprinklers do not irrigate the trunk so it remains wet. A wet trunk and wet soil encourage this disease. There is no control for butt rot, only prevention.