Description
The Palm That Makes a Presidential Statement
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.
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.
Craig B. (verified owner) –
Absolutley perfect! Great looking palm and safe fast shipping. Will buy again!
Collin Dunbar (verified owner) –
Joe Feroce (verified owner) –
The plant came exactly how PlantVine showed it in the picture. I’m very pleased with how responsive PlantVine is and how good their customer service is! My Washingtonia robusta took 4 days to ship and was securely packaged and easily removed from the box with no mess. The tree is now on my deck getting full sun and loving it’s life green, happy and healthy!
Kevin C. (verified owner) –
Perfect! Well packed and in great condition.
Stanley L. (verified owner) –
Ryan pranghofer (verified owner) –
Willie Mae Irby (verified owner) –
I received my palm tree in very good condition and it is way larger than l thought it would be and l am very happy with it and the shipping was fast. I will be ordering again. Thank You!
Tyler (verified owner) –
Arrived beautifully. Definitely worth the money. I would buy again.
Jay Cha (verified owner) –
Plants were good … delivery not soo much. Deliver driver just stood the box in my driveway upside down, with no notification of delivery so the box stood like that a good part of the day. Suggestions …mark each box with idiot-proof arrows showing “this side up”; also, that stock of bamboo that was inserted in each plant helped save the plants
Coker Robert ( Bob) (verified owner) –
No problems
Cara M. (verified owner) –
My siblings all threw in on this palm tree as a birthday gift to my mother. She was so happy when she found the shipping box on her doorstep and has taken so many photos of this plant and is so proud of it. Thank you for the healthy and gorgeous plant, you can tell that it was carefully grown, loved and cared for throughout the whole process. Thankful for a company that takes pride and produces high quality plants. My mom won’t stop talking about this palm tree.
Stanton (verified owner) –
plant was beautiful, just what I wanted
Colleen C. (verified owner) –
I ordered 2 Washington palms and was a little nervous because they were being shipped after the hurricane. A slight delay which is totally understandable but when they arrived,PERFECTION! I know I will be ordering from this company again!!
Frank Valentino (verified owner) –
Dinon Phillips (verified owner) –
Rebecca (verified owner) –
Looked like photo
Dennis H. (verified owner) –
Had issues with delayed shipping on 1st palm but customer service shot me another one out and it’s huge and beautiful
MUYIWA (verified owner) –
Received plant in very good condition. Healthy looking plant. This is my second Washington Plant. Love it.
Laura (verified owner) –
It has already grew 3 more fronds. Doing well transplanted in Florida.
Alan Baughn (verified owner) –
Always risky to buy sight unseen but we are completely satisfied with our palm
Jeff (verified owner) –
Plants were of good size and packaged very well.
MUYIWA (verified owner) –
Arrived in great conditon, freshly packaged. So far all good!
michael mislan (verified owner) –
nice size and healthy palm
Anonymous (verified owner) –
So far all good! It arrived in great condition 🪴
Dennis E. (verified owner) –
I liked it so well my wife is getting me another one for my birthday 🎂
Brian L. (verified owner) –
Healthy plant great quality, looks amazing poolside.
Harry (verified owner) –
It perfect came on time and is the exact plant 🪴 at was pictured the photo you guys sent me ahead of time. I will definitely be ordering again. I’ve had a good experience with you guys.
Elizabeth Thompson (verified owner) –
Ryan Dohrwardt (verified owner) –
Just Beautiful!
Kay M. (verified owner) –
Packaged great!! Was in great condition when received! Hoping I can keep them alive!