Caryota Species, Giant Fishtail Palm, Mountain Fishtail Palm, Thai Giant Caryota

Great tree for SoCal, but I have to correct the previous post. There has been a few that have flowered and died in just my city, Huntingt...Read Moreon Beach, let alone the state.

Whats great about this tree in Southern California is that Southern California does nothave a tropical climate, so it is slower growing s...Read Moreo you can enjoy it longer. So far, none have flowered or died in the state for that reason. They are also grown as far north as San Francisco, although they do better in the suburbs rather than the city itself. Its a great palm to have though. They probably have the full potential of getting to their maximum height.

This is the most beautiful of all the 'hardy' Fishtail Palms (there are some incredibly ornamental species but they just can't grow in So...Read More Cal) and the most massive. In the wild this palm can reach a height of over 100 feet, and the trunk can be 3-4' in diameter. It doesn't seem like it's gonna be that huge in So Cal, as newly trunking palms with about 10-15' of trunk are only 2'- 2.5' in diameter at the most. What makes it so nice a plant are the even spacing of the leaves creating a lacey pattern, unlike the more sloppy pattern of many other fishtails. It also has a huge spread of about 20+ feet, so leave it lots of room. As it grows, it has a dark to almost black trunk near the crown, unlike the more commonly grown fishtail palms like urens, maxima and mitis (white tomentum near the crown in those species). Further down, the trunks become giant, grey, markedly ringed poles of solid material (Caryotas have some of the densest wood in all the palm world- poor choices for making a Tiki out of!)

Like all fishtail palms, it is monocarpic and lives a relatively short life (we think) in the states. Plant it where a crane can reach it since it is nearly impossible to cut down in sections once it dies (extremely hard wood). And they are prone to falling over after they die. Actually they are prone to falling over in high winds while still alive, so careful where you plant this monster.