Other Names:  Hispaniola Palm

Description:

This robust, stout palm makes a perfect landscape accent; tolerates drought and adapts to a wide variety of soils; quite resistant to cold and frost as well; has a reasonably fast growth rate

Ornamental Features

Dominican Palmetto features showy panicles of creamy white flowers held atop the branches in mid fall. It has attractive bluish-green evergreen foliage. The lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter. The fruits are showy black drupes displayed from late fall to mid winter.

Landscape Attributes

Dominican Palmetto is an evergreen tree with a strong central leader and a towering form, with a high canopy of foliage concentrated at the top of the plant. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Dominican Palmetto is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Vertical Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Dominican Palmetto will grow to be about 40 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 feet. It has a high canopy of foliage that sits well above the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. As it matures, the lower branches of this tree can be strategically removed to create a high enough canopy to support unobstructed human traffic underneath. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 80 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America.

Dominican Palmetto is a fine choice for the yard, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.