Mediterranean Fan Palm

Chamaerops humilis is the scientific name of Mediterranean Fan Palm. It is also known as the European Fan palm. This little green palm is very attractive and has gained immense popularity due to its amazing characteristics. Gardeners have chosen this to add tropical flare to their landscape. The trees belong to Palmae family that have large pinnate leaves symmetrically crowned on its unbranched trunks. It is a shrub with many stems growing out of a single base. These palms occur naturally, mostly in the northernmost areas like Hyères les palmiers, Mediterranean coast, Capraia island.

Information about the Trees

Description

The trees grow to the height of fifteen inches in the form of clumps. The leaves are triangular and 'fan-shaped' and twenty four inches wide. The colors of the leaves vary from blue, gray, green to yellow. As the plant matures, the main trunk is surrounded by multiple trunks. Their growth rate is very slow. It grows approximately six inches every year if given proper care and feeding. The occurrence of these hardy trees is found all over the Mediterranean mountain region at the elevation of about 3,000 feet. The height of this palm is between eight to fifteen feet and it spreads for six to ten feet. It has moderate density with fine texture. Some general information of this palm are given in the table below.

General Information
Scientific Name	Chamaerops humilis
Common Name	European Fan Palm
Family	Palmae
Plant Type	Tree, Shrub
USDA Hardiness Zones	8 to 11
Planting Month for Zone 8	Year Round
Planting Month for Zone 9	Year Round
Planting Month for Zone 10 and 11	Year Round
Availability	Areas within its hardiness range

Other than these things, they grows well in a condition of part shade and part sun. The soil required to culture these trees can be alkaline or acidic and clay or sand. The plants should be grown with the gap of 36 to 60 inches so that they do not hinder each others growth. The fruits of these trees are round in shape and brown in color with hard and dry cover. This plant has high drought tolerance so, can be grown even in dry, hot desert regions.

Tree Care

Some tips have to be followed for proper fan palm tree care. As we already know that the required exposure to the sun is from full to part. The water should be given regularly in summers and less in winters. The root balls should not dry out, but also make sure that it is not loaded with excess of water. The soil should be well-drained and fertile. Repot the tree after a gap of two to three years. The palm should be regularly fed with fertilizers during its growing period and no fertilizers are required in winters. Pruning these trees is a must to preserve its fresh and attractive look. To give it a look of a beautiful specimen plant, the leaves should be trimmed to clear the trunk. Remove the brown and tatty leaves from the bottom.

If you wish to see images of what these trees look like, you can go on the Internet to get an idea. You can even get the information where you can purchase them from the nursery from your local garden stores or the Internet as well. The European Fan Palm has become popular mostly because of its clod hardiness and drought resistance quality. They look wonderful when grown beneath taller palm trees or live oaks. Containers and urns are best for growing these trees, at first. They can bring a tropical look to your landscape if that's what you are looking for!!