ADD ANY OF THESE GORGEOUS EXOTIC PALMS TO YOUR CENTRAL FLORIDA LANDSCAPE!
Over the years, we’ve been fortunate to amass a wealth of knowledge and experience about which trees thrive in Central Florida. We carefully consider factors like a tree’s hardiness, its ability to adapt to Florida’s soils and temperature changes, and more.
While not all exotic palms from around the world flourish here, the four highlighted are proven successes. You can also discover other recommended varieties at Our Tree Store.
Our clients appreciate that at The Tree Planters, we are a trusted resource for diverse tree varieties and offer expert advice tailored to their landscaping needs and budgets. We are always eager to assist with any questions you may have.
Here, Joel Mizell, the owner and founder of The Tree Planters, shares his insights on the Bismarck, Sylvester, Senegal Date, and Canary Island Date Palms—each an exquisite choice for Central Florida landscapes.
The Bismarck Palm is relatively new to the Central Florida area. This beautiful palm was introduced about 10 years ago and continues to gain popularity with each passing year.
This Bismarck Palm stands out as an eye-catching centerpiece for many landscapes. I recommend allowing the Bismarck Palm to have plenty of space to encourage its growth.
We thoroughly evaluated the Bismarck Palm to ensure that it performs well in the Florida climate and that it can handle the cooler winter temps in Central Florida and other areas north.
If you have any questions, please contact me and I will be happy to see if the Bismarck Palm is right for your landscape needs.
I have handled thousands of Canary Island Date Palms throughout my lifetime and many were extremely large. I believe The Tree Planters transplanted the tallest of this species of palm in Florida, it had an impressive 50-foot trunk height!
At The Tree Planters, we purchase the largest of these palms from homeowners and they are anywhere from 15 to 80 years old. It is rumored that the originals of this palm were brought to Florida from the Canary Islands by pirates!
The Canary Island Date Palm grows at a normal rate of 6″ a year, under certain ideal conditions it can grow as fast as 12″ a year. Let me offer a few words of caution before you make the decision to add this exotic palm to you landscape. The Canary Island Date Palm has dangerous thorns and should be handled with care. If you purchase a short palm it can be a hazard to children and pets.
The Canary Island Date Palm does much better in arid climates and can easily be overwatered. They do especially well when planted on high ground so the water will run off them easily. I’ve had several that died because of overwatering by homeowners.
The Canary Island Date Palm stands alone as the King of Palms!
The Sylvester Palm is a great, more compact, replacement for the more expensive Canary Island Date Palm. One of The Tree Planters prettiest cold hardy palms, the Sylvester Palm produces a sweet edible fruit and the sap from flower stalks is used to make an alcoholic drink in the palm’s native land of India. That would explain it’s nickname the “Toddy Palm”.
The Sylvester Palm is a hardy exotic palm that tolerates moderate cold temperatures. It is easy to maintain with regular trimming and a good quality palm fertilizer.
Contact me with any questions and I can help you decide if this is a good choice for your landscape.
The Senegal Date Palm is one of my favorites of the exotic palms. Sometimes you will here them referred to as a Reclinata Palm. There are several types of Reclinatas and each one is different than the next, with no two looking alike, even when germinated from the same mother tree.
Without special attention the trunks of this palm will decide on their own which way they will grow. However, when they are encouraged to angle away from each other properly, often by selectively removing unnecessary trunks, these trees can be spectacular. Keep in mind that unless you have a Reclinata that is cross pollinated with another Phoenix family of palm, it will take some work to keep it under control. These palms tend to self propagate, creating a miniature jungle of new growth at the bottom of the tree. We are always on the lookout for specimen Reclinatas that have a good cross pollination factor.
These are usually big, hard to handle, clumsy when planting and should be handled by professionals such as our crew at The Tree Planters.
Joel is the owner of The Tree Planters, Central Florida’s expert tree installers. His experience from over 55 years as a tree installer in Central Florida shows in every project he tackles.
No job is too small or too large. The Tree Planters can be trusted to provide quality of their trees and excellent service.
Central Florida’s Premiere Tree Installer, The Tree Planters located in Lakeland, is your #1 source for large, rare and exotic palms and trees. At The Tree Planters, we have installed and transplanted thousands of large trees of every variety all over Florida for over 50 years. Every tree we sell, we plant. Every tree we plant, we guarantee for One Full Year.