Palms For California

Pronunciation: biz-MARK-ee-uh NO-bill-iss

Common Name: Bismarck Palm

Bismarckia nobilis is a large, solitary Madagascan palm with immense mildly costapalmate, stiff leaves of either dull green or various shades of waxy blue or grey. It is widely considered one of the most ornamental and majestic palms one can grow in southern California. Green forms of this palm grow rapidly in the tropics, but are rather marginal in most areas of southern California, only managing to grow to adulthood in the most ideal climates (frost-free coastal, or nearly frost free inland low deserts). However, the blue, grey and white forms are much hardier and faster growing in a Mediterranean climate and perform excellently along the coast as well as far inland as the low deserts. Damage to young plants during moderate to severe frosts often results in complete defoliation, but surprisingly many still recover. Plant this one where you want it (remembering it gets enormous) because it is a very hard palm to remove successfully (root trauma often results in the death of the palm). Available from single leaf seedling to large boxes nowadays. Very commonly available, even at large home garden centers sometimes.

Morphology (Identification) Habit: solitary Height: 30 feet Spread: 14'-16' Trunk: 12"-24" and clean Leaf Shape: palmate to mildly costapalmate, very stiff and often with a waxy coating Petiole: no teeth but extremely sharp Foliage: dull green (to lime green if struggling); dull, pale blue; bright light blue (nearly white); grey Reproduction: dioecious Inflorescence: stiff, rope-like and branched Fruit: green turning black in maturity about 2", or 4"-5" if fertilized seed within Seed: sperical about 2" in diameter

Horticultural Characteristics Minimum Temperature: Green form- 28F; Blue or Grey forms- 22F (improves with maturity) Drought Tolerance: moderate to good with maturity Heat Tolerance: excellent Wind Tolerance: fair to good (blue forms more tolerant than green) Salt Tolerance: moderate Soil Preference: prefers well draining, rich soils, but fairly tolerant of high clay content and sandy soils Light Requrement: full sun Growth Rate: slow to moderate, becoming moderately fast with maturity Human Hazards: very sharp petiole blades (easy to injure oneself if pruning without gloves) Disease Problems: few in California

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  Bismarckias of various sizes for sale, California

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  Balboa Park trees

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  mature specimen in Palm Desert

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  very rapidly growing grey plant in Ventura county, only 10 years old

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  mature palm in Orange county, California

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  maturing palm in Palm Desert

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  blue form near Vista, California

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  palm in coastal California mountains

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  Los Angeles arboretum

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  silver form, Vista, California

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  white form, Hawaii

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  pale blue form, Hawaii

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  blue form, Orlando, Florida

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  green form San Diego Zoo

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  mature, healthy green form in Palm Desert

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  struggling green palm in California (eventually died)

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  tall green palm Singapore

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  nice fast growing green palm Thailand

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  green palm in Hawaii

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  another healthy green palm in Hawaii

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  green palms in Hawaii

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  fruiting female in Fallbrook, California

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  female fruits, Hawaii

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  male in flower, Hawaii

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  leaf bases

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  very sharp petiole blades