Description:

This robust, small palm with a mostly underground stem, makes a perfect garden or small landscape accent; compact crown features beautiful costapalmate leaves of blue-green; tolerates coastal conditions very well, and will grow in poor soils;

Ornamental Features

Miami Palmetto features showy panicles of white flowers held atop the branches from late spring to early summer. It has attractive bluish-green foliage with hints of powder blue. The lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter. The fruits are showy black drupes displayed from early to late fall.

Landscape Attributes

Miami Palmetto is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.

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

Miami Palmetto is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Miami Palmetto will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This shrub 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 poor soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is native to parts of North America.

Miami Palmetto makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Its large size and upright habit of growth lend it for use as a solitary accent, or in a composition surrounded by smaller plants around the base 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.