Palm trees of texas -  Where They Grow Best

Sabal mexicana is the only palm native to Texas. Other common names are Mexican Palmetto and Texas Palm. This fan (palmate) palm grows naturally in the Rio Grande Valley.

HEIGHT: Up to 60ft/18m tall.

GROWTH SPEED: Slow.

It tolerates heat and drought. While withstanding cold temperatures down to 15°F/-9.4°C for a short time. Zones 8b-11.

As members of the International Palm Society (IPS), we attended their sponsored trip to the sanctuary created specifically for this species, in the Brownsville area. Those growing there are the remnant groves from the whole range of South Texas, because of land clearing for farming.

Sabal mexicana palms in the Sabal Palm Sanctuary in Southernmost TX.

Trachycarpus fortunei is the most cold-hardy fan palm widely planted in Texas. Your go-to choice for North and Central Texas. Other nicknames are Chusan Palm and Chinese Windmill Palm.

Quite sturdy, it typically survives temperatures well below freezing. It does best in zones 7b-11 (bearing temps as low as 5°F/-15°C), plus some success in 7a.

HEIGHT: Can get 50ft/15m tall, solitary trunk.

GROWTH SPEED: Medium.

So cold-hardy - these Windmaill Palms are growing in England in the UK.

Chamaerops humilis is popular with those living in West and Central Texas.

A compact, clumping palm with multiple trunks and stiff palmate leaves. It handles dry conditions well, and braves cold snaps, zones 8b-11 - even 8a in the arid west. Tolerates low temps to 10°F/-12.2°C.

HEIGHT: To 20ft/6m, while capable of spreading out 30ft/9m.

GROWTH SPEED: Slow to medium.

Also called European Fan Palm, it's often used as a privacy hedge

Butia capitata is another cold-hardy palm for Texas. Because of its edible fruit, it's also called the Jelly Palm.

• Good for USDA Zones 9-11. So temporary drops to 20°F/-6.7°C are doable.
• Commonly seen in Central and South Texas.

Some have distinctive blue-green color pinnate (feather) fronds. It also keeps a good chunk of old leaf bases that crisscross for an unusual trunk appearance. 

HEIGHT: 35ft/10.5m tall, solitary trunk.

GROWTH SPEED: Medium, sometimes slow.

Washingtonia filifera is mostly found in warmer coastal and southern Texas areas. Suited for Zones 7-11, and temporary temperatures as low as 0°F/-17.8°C.

We were surprised when in South Texas, that this drought-tolerant palm grew all around. That's when we first discovered from a local IPS member that the area was actually mostly arid.

Its older palmate leaves are kept around, when dead and brown. One precaution for those thinking of growing one is that frond stems have harsh thorns.

HEIGHT: Up to 70ft/21m, solitary trunk.

GROWTH SPEED: Slow as a sapling, then speeds up with maturity.

California Palm growing in this Cali parking area.

Most of those common palms we mentioned above, the Texas Sabal Palm, Windmill Palm, Mediterranean Fan Palm and Pindo Palm do well along the Texas coast.

The regions near Texas coasts are mostly in USDA zones 9a-9b. Normally with humid subtropical conditions and sandy/clay coastal soils. Other top species to evaluate:

• Sabal palmetto (Cabbage Palm) is the workhorse of Texas coasts. Cold-hardy to around 10°F/-12.2°C. Zones 8-11 best, can manage 7b with winter protection. Tolerates wind, and both drought and occasional flooding. Naturalized groves live in jungly areas.

Nice round crown on the S.palmetto, handsome isn't it?

• Washingtonia robusta (Mexican Fan Palm), loved ornamentally for fast the tall, dramatic silhouette. Less cold-hardy than Sabals or W.filifera, cold-spell damage occurs below 20°F/-6.7°C. Not very Houston-reliable, but further south along the coast works well.

Mexican fan palms growing all around this Tucson AZ shopping center.

• Phoenix dactylifera (Date Palm) has those delicious edible dates. Most suitable for Texas zones 8-11, where the lowest cold-spell temperatures don't go below 10°F/-12.2°C.

Have you ever tried dates from the P.dactylifera? The grow them here.

• Phoenix canariensis (Canary Island Date Palm) are loved in landscapes. With its wonderful round crown and a classic resort look. Best zones 9-11, like Corpus Christi and south. Trying them in more northerly Texas areas is risky if your winter temperatures can get below 15°F/-9.4°C.

This P.canariensis is doing fine in San Simeon, Northern California

West Texas is a completely different ballgame from the coast. Think El Paso, Midland-Odessa, the Trans-Pecos and Permian Basin.

You're dealing with USDA zones 7b-8a. Low humidity, big temperature swings, alkaline/caliche soils, and occasional hard freezes into the teens or single digits are the challenges.

Cold hardiness and drought tolerance matter here. Those most successful are:

• Mazari Palm (Nannorrhops ritchiana), a great fit because it's a natural in arid, cold desert conditions (since it's native to Afghanistan/Pakistan highlands). Extremely cold-hardy (down to near 0°F/-17.8°C) and naturally drought-tolerant. It spreads, with clustering trunks.

Mazari Palm growing in a botanical garden. It can get 20ft/m tall.

Because many West Texans sometimes use "palm" loosely when they're viewing or speaking of a Yucca or Dasylirion species. These plants do dominate the Texas landscape.

These spiky, desert-tough plants are often mistaken for palms, but they belong to entirely different plant families.

• True palms belong to the family Arecaceae and produce fan- or feather-shaped fronds. 
• Yucca and Dasylirion (or Sotol) are desert succulents in the Asparagaceae family with sword-like or ribbon-like leaves.

One type of Yucca growing near El Paso TX.