Plant Profile: Chamaerops humilis

Lights on at dusk showing off the beautiful leaves of the Chamaerops.

The Mediterranean Fan Palm, Chamaerops humilis, was the palm that captivated my attention and imagination at the garden centre.

This is it in its pot when I finally brought it home:

A verdant explosion of of very tropical feeling fan leaves!

This palm forms clusters of trunks radiating outwards from the base which makes it an effective addition to the garden, providing a striking mound of tropical foliage.  The fan shaped leaves can  individually be between 2 - 3 feet long and wide.

Because of its clumping nature, this palm can often be as wide as it is high.  Depending on the effect that you are trying to achieve, creative pruning of this palm can give you a variety of effects: a cluster of (in miniature) of 'paradise island' palms each leaning out from the base, a mound of leaves acting as a sort of low hedge, or pruned into a single truck and resembling a Trachycarpus fortunei var. wagneriana.

Native to sparsely scrub-covered hills around the western Mediterranean these palms need well drained soil, though regular watering in the growing season (along with fertilizer) will increase its very slow growth rate.

More recently, I have added a Chamaerops humilis var. cerifera syn. Chamaerops var. argentea (Moroccan silver palm) from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.  This varient of the species is reported to be even more cold hardy.  It is smaller in overall stature than the green form but the stunningly beautiful silvery leaves make it a striking addition to the garden. (I will do a separate profile for cerifera in future.)

So, my first palm, planted and in place.  And the transformation of the garden was begun.

More information about this palm (and some extra lovely photos of them growing) can be found on the following pages:

http://architecturalplants.com/plants/id/chamaerops-humilis

http://www.junglemusic.net/Chamaerops_humilus/Mediterranean_Fan_Palm.html