Evergreen fans reaching nearly six feet long, borne on a trunk wrapped in coarse fibre: the windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) is grown in the ground or in a pot for its bold foliage and its easy care. Give it full sun and very well-draining soil, and it shrugs off winters down to -15°C.
Windmill palm at a glance
Name
Trachycarpus fortunei
Formerly
Chamaerops excelsa
Family
Arecaceae
Type
tree, palm
Height
30 to 35 feet in the ground, 6 to 9 feet in pots (10 to 12m and 2 to 3m)
Exposure
full sun
Soil
rich enough
Foliage
evergreen
Flowering
May to June
Clearly adapted to growing outdoors, both in pots and in the ground, you’ll find this one appealing for its beautiful foliage and ease of care.
Planting windmill palm
Planting directly in the ground:
Plant in autumn so roots settle before spring
It’s most recommended to plant this palm tree in fall, so that it may have time to grow roots and prepare for spring.
This palm, like most others, loves having very well-draining soil. Make sure to increase drainage by adding sand, clay pebbles, or other similar amendments to your garden soil.
Growing in pots
Only the smaller varieties suit pot culture
Growing windmill palm in pots is possible for smaller varieties, such as Trachycarpus wagnerianus.
Anticipate having to water regularlyin summer so that the soil mix never gets completely dry.
Give the plant good light, but if you’re in warmer regions, it’s best to avoid scorching locations.
Caring for windmill palm
Remove dead, dried and yellow leaves as they appear
Over the first year, a structural pruning is often recommended. The goal of this first pruning is to balance the palm tree out.
Luckily, most specimens purchased in garden centers won’t need any pruning at all.
After that, eliminate dead, dried out and yellow branches whenever you notice them.
Cut dead fronds with clean, sharp secateurs, leaving a short stub of leaf stalk rather than sawing flush, because a palm trunk cannot heal over wounds the way a woody tree does.
Never cut into the single growing point at the top of the trunk: a windmill palm has only one bud, and damaging it kills the whole plant.
Leave green and yellowing fronds in place and remove only those that are completely dead and brown, since living leaves still feed the palm and over-stripping weakens it and slows growth.
Water a newly planted windmill palm through dry spells until it is well established, after which a ground-grown specimen copes with drought far better than one in a container.
Types of windmill palm
Strands on the leaves earned it the name hemp palm
There are many names for this plant, but they nearly all refer to the same plant:
Nepalese fan palm
Chinese windmill palm
Chusa palm (from an island in China where it’s native to)
hemp palm (because of the strands on leaves)
Trachycarpus wagnerianus, the “Waggie”
A dwarf sub-variety of Trachycarpus fortunei is T. wagnerianus. It’s shorter and slower-growing than the original species. When comparing T. fortunei versus T. wagnerianus, the latter has stiffer leaves that are smaller in size, making it a better choice in windy locations and in smaller gardens.
Good to know about the windmill palm
The hardiest palm, unfazed by hard frost
The hardiest of all palm trees succeeds in resisting winters very well, even temperatures dropping to the 5 to 14 °F range (-15 to -10°C). It has even been reported to survive -5°F (-22°C)! Native to China, this palm tree grows gigantic leaves that reach to nearly 6 feet long (1.5 meters).
Growth is relatively slow at the beginning, but then it tends to speed up as years go by.
The advantage of this palm tree is that, overall, it grows rather fast.
Smart tip
Mulching in summer will help it retain the moisture it needs.
Written by Gaspard Lorthiois | Loves helping out, especially when it comes to growing things. Worked in herbal medicine, runs a farm, and dabbles in tech. Master's degree and engineer.
