Looking at Plants

Trachycarpus fortunei

COMMON NAMES

Windmill Palm, Chusan Palm, Chinese Windmill Palm

Trachycarpus (tray-key-CAR-pus) – from the Greek for rough fruit

fortunei (for-TYOO-ee-eye) – named for Robert Fortune (1812-1880), Scottish horticulturist

GROUP 

Monocot

FAMILY 

Arecaceae

ORIGIN

China, Taiwan, Chusan Islands

DESCRIPTION

Windmill Palm is a palm tree that averages 10 to 20 feet in height with a 4 to 6 foot width. In the wild of its native habitat it can get much larger. It has an upright, solitary trunk with a symmetrical crown. It has a slow to moderate growth rate.

Leaves are evergreen, palmate, about 3 feet in diameter, fan-shaped, divided about ½ the way, and alternate in arrangement. It is medium green on top and light green to silvery underneath. It has palmate veins and 2 to 3 foot long finely toothed petioles.

The trunk averages 8 to 10 inches in diameter and is usually narrower at the base than the top. It is covered with a mat of coarse brown fiber. As it matures, some of the fiber will drop off revealing a clear trunk.

Flowers are small, fragrant, and yellow in color. It is dioecious. The flowers are borne on 2 to 3 foot long, branched inflorescences within the crown. It usually blooms in early summer.

Fruit on the female trees are round to oblong and bluish in color. They are about 1/2 inch in diameter, 3-parted, and are borne in late summer to early fall.

HARDINESS

It is hardy in USDA zones 7b to 11, down to about 10 degrees F when mature.

Cold Damage on Palms – University of Florida

LIGHT

It does best in part shade, but it will tolerate some full sun.

SALT

Moderate Salt Spray Tolerance – it will tolerate some spray, but it is best to have more protection such as a fence or building as an additional barrier behind the first row of plantings or the first dunes.

SOIL

It will grow on a wide range of well-drained soils in the pH range of 6.0 to 7.5. It doesn’t like overly wet soils.

WATERING

It has moderate drought tolerance once established, so some water is needed for survival in dry spells. As with most plants, though, ample irrigation in droughts keeps it healthier and looking better.

PROPAGATION

Seed with 8 to 12 week average germination

PRUNING

Prune off completely dead fronds to keep it tidy.

Pruning Palms – University of Florida

FERTILIZING

As with most palms, it is best to use a fertilizer specially blended for palms as it provides the proper nutritional balance and minor elements that are needed by the tree.

Manganese Deficiency in Palms – University of Florida

Potassium Deficiency in Palms – University of Florida 

Magnesium Deficiency in Palms – University of Florida

Boron Deficiency in Palms – University of Florida 

Iron Deficiency in Palms – University of Florida

Nitrogen Deficiency in Palms – University of Florida 

PESTS

Boisduval Scale - University of Florida

Palm Aphids - University of Florida

Palm Leaf Skeletonizer - University of Florida

American Grasshopper - University of Florida

Awl Nematode - University of Florida

Banana Moth - University of Florida 

DISEASES

Gliocladium Blight - ID Tools.org

Pestlotiopsis Leaf Spot & Petiole Blight - University of Florida

Thielaviopsis Trunk Rot - University of Florida

Ganoderma Butt Rot - University of Florida

Lethal Yellowing - University of Florida

DEER

Resistant

There are very few totally “deer-proof” plants. There are also, relatively speaking, few plants that are considered a preferred food supply of deer. Most plants fall in the big gap between. One of the biggest variables is the available preferred food supply in a given area. If their preferred food is scarce, they will munch on most anything.

OTHER

Normal “Abnormalities” in Palms – University of Florida  

USES

General use landscape palm – especially for smaller sites and areas a little farther north than most other palms

TOXICITY

ASPCA lists Trachycarpus fortunei – Windmill Palm as non-toxic to dogs and cats.

A search of California Poison Control, Texas A&M University, Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System, University of Wisconsin, Poisonous Houseplants and Ornamentals - Merck Vet Manual, Purdue University - Guide to Toxic Plants in Forages, Poisonous Plants of the Southeastern United States - Alabama Cooperative Extension, Florida Poison Control, University of California, and The Cat Fanciers Association did not show this plant on any of their lists.