Plants We Love: Dwarf Fan Palm

This small palm adds great texture to warm gardens and can be grown in a container or as a houseplant elsewhere.

Plant name: Dwarf Fan Palm

Botanical name: Chamaerops humilis

Virtues: A small palm that will stay in bounds. Adds great texture and shape to the landscape. Can be grown in a container. Can be grown as a houseplant.

Foliage: Generally green with a bluish tinge, though some specimens have grayish or even yellowish leaves. Leaves are dissected into many narrow leaflets.

Habit: Shrubby tree. Can have one trunk or several, forming clumps. Can reach 15 feet tall.

Season: Year-round.

Origin: The Mediterranean.

Cultivation: Plant in full to partial sun. Requires regular water during growing season for best growth, but tolerates drought once established. Tolerates poor soil. Can survive short spells just under 32°F. USDA Zones 12–14.

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