Description
Washington Palm, Mexican Fan Palm
The Washington Palm is so fast growing, it can conjure up a tropical look in record time. It is also one of the most cold-tolerant palms you’ll find. Its fan-shaped leaves give the plant its common name, the Mexican Fan Palm. Left in a natural state, the browned fronds form a “petticoat” of thatch, which many gardeners trim off.
Once established, the palm is moderately salt and drought tolerant. It prefers a sunny, well drained spot, and loves a breezy location.
Washington Robusta is known by several names, such as Washington Palm and Mexican Fan Palm. This plant is a flowering species of the famous palm family of Arecaceae. Despite its name, the plant is not native to the United States or even Washington.
Washington palm is loved because of its unique leaves and easy-to-grow quality. People can grow it at home to create an aesthetic ambiance or in a park for shade. The best part is that this plant can grow 2 to 4 feet per year.
History
Washington Robusta is native to northwest Mexico and Baja California Peninsula. This plant is reportedly naturalized in California, Florida, Texas, Hawaii, France, Italy, Israel, parts of the Canary Islands, etc. It was named after US president George Washington.
As it is native to Mexico, the plant is popular with the following names:
- Mexican Washington
- Skyduster
- Mexican fan palm
Care
Washington Palm can reach more than 98” if you give them good care. Here are some things that you need to consider while caring.
Light
If you want to grow them well, you need to keep them under the full sun. However, they can also thrive under shade. Fortunately, Mexican fan palms are also winter hardy, and you don’t need to worry about them in freezing temperatures. Your plant can tolerate temperate of -8° C or 18° degrees Fahrenheit.
Soil
This plant can grow in several types of soils but healthily grows in fertile soils only. These lovely plants can grow in slightly acidic or alkaline soil. You need to check that the soil is well-draining, as your Washington Palm can’t tolerate waterlogged or soggy soils.
Fertilizer
The fertilizers you use for the Washington Robusta depend on the soil. But in general, you need to use 1 ½ pound of 8-1-10-4 palm tree fertilizer for 100 sq feet of area. You also need to apply fertilizer every three months.
In the case of fertilizers, make sure that your fertilizer contains a good portion of phosphorous, nitrogen, micronutrients, and potassium. Also, it’s best to use controlled-release fertilizer every month when they are growing.
Water
Though Mexican Fan Palm is considered a desert plant, it thrives in areas with subsurface or permanent surface water. In other words, it doesn’t have high drought tolerance until it grows fully.
Water your plant moderately throughout the year, except for freezing days. Try to keep your tree completely dry in cold weather.
Common Issues
Since these Mexican plants have a habit of living in difficult conditions, you have to worry less about pests and diseases than other plants.
Pests
Washington Robusta is susceptible to several pests such as scales, aphids, spider mites, and mealybugs. You can control pests by using insecticidal soap spray. If you plan to have a good height that makes it impossible to reach every leaf, you can go for the systemic insecticides drenched in plant soil. Just make sure to check the instruction before using them.
Disease
These plants are highly susceptible to diseases, but potassium deficiency can lead to some problems. For instance, you can notice leaf tip necrosis, premature death of some levees, and lead discoloration.
Don’t remove the discolored or partially necrotic leaves, as they provide potassium to your plants. Poorly draining soil or excessive watering can lead to root decay and rot. So, water your plants accurately.
Pruning
Your Washington Palm surely needs a pruning session once in a while. The older and dried palm leaves serve as a home to many harmful creatures like rats.
Therefore, it’s vital to prune the plant to get rid of dead fronds. But the plants themselves will begin to shed leaves when they are 30’ feet. This means you don’t need to prune larger plants.
Propagation
Whether you want to grow Washington Palm in your garden or outside your office, you can begin the journey with the plant seed. They will easily grow through seeds and don’t require great effort.
When you keep them warm and uniformly moist, between 29° and 35° C, the seeds will germinate in less than two weeks.
Potting/ Reporting
You can plant these species directly in a pot or ground. Spring and early summers are the best time to plant them, as they will get excellent sunlight to grow.
Don’t plant your tree deep in the ground than the growing point of the tree. Remove or add soil as needed.
Kay M. (verified owner) –
Packaged great!! Was in great condition when received! Hoping I can keep them alive!
david b. (verified owner) –
Awesome palms ! Exactly what we were looking for !!
Benjamin G. (verified owner) –
My Washingtonia Robusta arrived in great condition. It was the large size, and I’m impressed!
Anonymous (verified owner) –
The plant came beautifully. Happy with my purchase.
Sean P. (verified owner) –
Great Trees
Ryan Pranghofer (verified owner) –
Love it! And thank you for monitoring the weather to make sure my palm tree arrived safe!
Larry (verified owner) –
Plants were at my home 2 days after shipping notification. They were packed well and healthy
Stephen Giovanelli (verified owner) –
Well packed beautiful plant
Alice –
How big is the extra large washingtonia?
Rich Jennings (verified owner) –
Very nice palm. Very well packaged.
Jorge R. (verified owner) –
Good price, the plant was very well packed and delivered
Miriam Green (verified owner) –
The Large size has plenty of impact! I put it on a low plant stand and it is right up to my eye level.
Brian (verified owner) –
Sandra Mosch (verified owner) –
The tips of all the palms were bent for delivery so they have turned brown but plant is gorgeous, thank you.
Phillip Robinson (verified owner) –
Great palm your organization is second to none. Plantvine member since this year. Much appreciated.
William F. (verified owner) –
high quality, and very lush and green palm tree. Its going to do very well in my landscape!
Janie Chenault (verified owner) –
Great customer service, delivered exactly what was promised.
Devin BROWN (verified owner) –
This was my first time ordering from plantvine but it will certainly not be my last. The palms arrived in great condition. These Washingtonia Robusta are absolutely stunning, and I will be ordering more.
I am extremely please with how fast plantvine was able to expedit the shipping (palms arrived 3 days after email confirmation). Plantvine thank you so much for the level of care you put into providing a quality product, it shows.
Clyde B. (verified owner) –
Great palms! In perfect health and very large. I recommend Plantvine to everyone. Thank you!
Mario Garcia (verified owner) –
Michael Flood (verified owner) –
Great deliever
Tony D. (verified owner) –
Plants arrived happy, healthy, and hydrated, despite the 100+ degree heat. They’re settling into our backyard and looking great. Thanks!
Edward P. (verified owner) –
Beautiful palm
Eugene L. (verified owner) –
It came nicely packaged and in very good shape.
Gloria (verified owner) –
Palm tree came packed with no damage to the palm tree. Pleased that the palm tree looks very healthy
Tonia J. (verified owner) –
The tree was in perfect shape. Thanks so much for providing such quality trees. I have already told my friends about how wonderful your customer service and trees are. Please keep up the good work.
Heather (verified owner) –
I love everything about my order – the palm was affordable, the shipping was faster than expected, and my plant arrived large, gorgeous and in excellent condition. Plantvine went above and beyond with keeping me updated throughout the entire process and making sure I was a satisfied customer. This is my first experience with this company, but it definitely won’t be my last!
Sam (verified owner) –
Plant arrived in great shape. So far it is doing well, except the skunk likes digging around it, guess it thinks it’s at ‘the beach’…….
Curtis G. (verified owner) –
We ordered 2 Mexican Fan Palms for our home in Seattle and we couldn’t be happier with what we received! The palms are beautiful and much larger than expected. We are definitely going to be ordering more!
Daryl (verified owner) –
Awesome