Washingtonia robusta
Mexican fan palm, Skyduster
From: £169.95
A vigorous, spectacular palm with a wide crown of impressive fan shaped fronds on a tall stout trunk. An impressive specimen for a large conservatory but also survives outdoors in mild gardens with winter protection, as any frost scorched leaves can be quickly replaced by rapid new growth in Spring.
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Order today for shipping on Wednesday 11th September.
These images are for illustration purposes only. Plants are delivered in nursery pots and other individual features may not be present due to seasonality.
Plant Biography
The Mexican Fan Palm is a tall, vigorous palm that quickly grows a stout trunk, albeit thinner than its sister species Washingtonia filifera. Widely grown worldwide, the Skyduster is probably most familiar from the avenue plantings in California. Trunks are topped by a crown of large (1.5m wide or more) fan leaves that have loose threaded margins and often a purplish brown patch at the base of the leaf stalk – another feature lacking in Washingtonia filifera. Although often scorched by frost below around -5C or so Washingtonia robusta quickly regrows when the weather improves and replaces the damaged leaves.
Care & Size Guidance
Although tender to frost when young, Washingtonia robusta acquires hardiness with age. Mature plants can now be seen growing throughout the milder regions of the U.K.
Responds well to regular feeding with a palm fertiliser from April to September.
Expert Tip
Read more about hardy palms
Essential FAQ Garden Palm Trees
All the important questions you’ve always wanted to ask are here answered for you by experts.
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Read articleHow to treat cold-damaged palms in the UK
When it comes to cold damaged palms, the old adage is true: prevention is better than cure! If at all possible, protect palms from freezing temperatures in the first place with horticultural fleece. That said, if you have a palm that has suffered with cold damage, keep reading to find out what you can do to give it the best chance of recovery and survival.
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Bought the 70Ltr pot, repotted into a 120Ltr pot. Looks amazing, nearly 3metres tall! Kept in sheltered corner with 5 direct hours of sunlight a day!
John A Putney –
Very pleased with the quality of this plant – we have had palms from The Palm Centre on a few occasions and they are always excellent. This one was particularly large and very healthy. I would also like to mention the Courier Service – the guy who brought the plants went out of his way to be helpful. Our house is tucked away down a long drive; he found us – no problem, he had a special trolley to wheel the pallet down the drive – no problem, he unloaded the pallet – no problem AND he took it away – no problem. He was the happiest most helpful Delivery Driver we have seen for weeks so a big THANK YOU to him and to the team at The Palm Centre for some lovely plants once again.
Debra F. –
Ordered a 10 litre Mexican Fan Palm along with several other plants (palms, bananas, tree ferns). Arrived very securely packed along with the other plants. I was surprised by how tall this was (perhaps 4-5 ft). One negative was one of the leaves being in quite a bad state. Otherwise the plant is a beautiful architectural delight. Repotted in a new, larger pot it enhances our outer space significantly.
Qamar Z –
Bought the 15 ltr pot and is ample. Really nice palm and superb colour with excellent palms on it. Cant recommend these guys high enough, will definitely be buying again.
Wayne –