Phoenix canariensi
Common: Canary Island date palm, Pineapple palm
Family: Palmae
Origin: Native to Canary Islands
Sunset Zone: 9, 12-24
Temperature: Hardy to 20 F. Slow to develop new head of foliage after hard frost damage.
Light: Full sun
Soil: Most soils, well drained
Water: Withstands considerable drougt but does best with regular water
Grow on slopes, in parks and big spaces, along wide streets; not for small city lots. Gives tropical and desert effect. Massive-scaled, heavy-trunked. Grows slowly until it forms trunk, then speeds up a little. Young plants do well in pots for many years, looking something like pineapples.
To 60' tall with 20-40-ft. spread. Composed of a great many gracefully arching dark-green fronds, orange at base. Trunks patterned with bases of old leafstalks. Males produce bracts or leaves surrounding flower clusters. Females produce inedible dates on long broomlike structures. Dates appear orange, then darken to brown before they drop.
Can be grown from seed, but very slow. As tree, needs staking, thinning of surplus branches to prevent tangled, top-heavy growth. Ungroomed trees have messy fruit drop with many seedlings. Dry rot makes trunks and frond stubs unsightly.