11 Palm Trees Garden Ideas: Elevating Your Landscape

Palm trees garden ideas are the ones that would include an elevated feature around your landscape. It’s just a matter of finding that ideal one to accentuate your house, current landscape, or existing plants you have around.

Palms grow in a variety of shapes, sizes, and form, and today we bring the most amazing ones and ways you can use them in your landscape design.

List of Palm Trees To Add to the Garden

If you’re lucky to live in warmer climates of nine to 12, you should definitely consider adding a palm to your landscape, because this is where they would grow happily with no health issues. These sun-loving giants or dwarfs, have the potential to elevate any driveway, garden, or lawn unlike anything, and they are making a comeback!

1. Queen Palm

Queen palm of the Arecaceae family (Syagrus Romanzoffiana) as the name suggests, has a very aristocratic appearance. 

– Features

This elegant evergreen has a straight, slender trunk with a graceful canopy arching up to 15 feet wide. Each glossy, dark, and green leaf of a frond has several leaflets. The trunk is ringed with old scars and presents irregular bulges over all its length. This giant will grow white and creamy flowers from beneath the leaves in spring and summer. 

On another note, remember that the queen palm produces yellow and orange edible fruit, in the form of dates that will fall to the ground when ripe. 

– Growing Conditions

The Syagrus romanzoffiana plant palm grows up to 70 feet tall and 30 feet wide, with a yearly growth rate of 24 or more inches. They are easily grown in well-drained sandy soils and enjoy full sun and regular watering. This tree will tolerate cold strikes as low as 24 degrees Fahrenheit, but the leaves can get damaged.

– Garden Landscaping Idea

These are best used to accentuate houses and driveways. If you have a single-story home, this one will create that luxurious and elevated effect that would be standing with a tall posture in front of your home.

Syagrus Romanzoffianas enjoy the company of many other plants, they love to sit at the top of the green lawns, and you can even place ferns around them to break up the soil and protect the roots in the summer.

2. Canary Island Date Palm

Phoenix Canarensis or Canary island date palm is a beautiful and gigantic evergreen palm tree with a sturdy trunk. 

– Features

At the top it is a rich and luscious green, oval crown of up to 100 feather-shaped fronds. Each of the leaves is around 15 feet long, divided into many leaflets. The thick trunk is gray-brown and adorned with diamond-like former leaf bases.

Nonehtless, the flowers are produced in abundance on these, and female palms produce beautiful dates during the warm months of the year. Canary Island Date Palm is easy to grow and drought tolerant, and is perfect for coastal areas. 

– Growing Conditions

Phoenix caranensis palm trees grow up to 60 feet tall and 40 feet wide. This plant can grow accustomed to plenty of growing conditions but will do best in fertile, medium-moist, well-drained soil under full sun. These will enjoy harsh winter colds of below 18 degrees Fahrenheit, although some damaged leaves can occur. 

– Garden Landscaping Ideas

Canary Island Palm is one of the most widespread trees in the warmer regions of the world. Often they are used in landscaping as street trees, accents, or specimen design ideas.

Our recommendation is definitely to grow it as part of your curb appeal due to its luscious covering. They will also do well in backyards as a barbecue talk piece, as they are lifted high and look over the wind. 

3. Pygmy Date Palm

This is a widely cultivated and slender species of the palm tree. Phoenix roebelenii is also called the Pygmy date palm is a dwarf evergreen with a slim trunk and a dense crown of fine, green, and gracefully arching fronds. 

– Features

Each leaf is around three feet wide and has many linear leaflets. Although this palm sometimes grows a single trunk, it can grow a bunch of them, creating a small forest appearance. 

In addition to this, its creamy and yellow blossoms adorn both the male and female trees, but only the female specimens will produce small, red, and dark fruits. This one is well-suited to be grown inside a container and is a great patio plant. 

– Growing Conditions

Phoenix roebelenii grows up to 10 feet tall and eight feet wide, and is considered one of the cutest palm trees you can grow. They would enjoy the moist and fertile soils and thrive under the full sun, and this is the key to their growth. 

Nevertheless, you should protect the leaflets from the full sun in the afternoon as they may become burned, if, of course, the sun is very direct and harsh. Furthermore, you can try to provide regular watering before the plant becomes established. 

– Garden Landscaping Idea

The pygmy palm grows great in containers and will love a shady balcony or a shady garden to bring up the mood and to set it in a cozy atmosphere.

Otherwise, that cluster-growing form is a great one to create a small palm forest scene on your walkways or lawns. They also look wonderful as a centerpiece in the flower bed, which you can create out of other tropical plants. 

4. Jelly Palm

Jelly palm or Butia capitata is a beautiful small evergreen with a trunk crowned with awesome blue-green and gray leaves. These are long and curl up towards the trunk. 

– Features

The compound leaves grow up to six feet and form a dense crown which creates a weeping effect. Each leaf has up to 60 pairs of leaflets growing in a V shape. However, the trunk of the tree is heavily patterned with old leaves stubs. 

– Characteristics

This variety is sometimes even known as the Pindo palm, it produces a cluster of fruity-scented flowers in the summer season. The blossoms are later followed by edible fruits, larger than dates and with a wonderful pineapple-like flavor. 

– Growing Conditions

The small Butia capitata grows to around 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide, making for a compact look of this tree. They’re easily grown in moist, but well-drained soils under full sun or shade. This is one of the hardiest feather palms and will tolerate colds of up to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. 

On the other hand, in order to see it growing healthy and producing fruit, you must make sure that the soil is completely dry, and then water it about three inches deep.

– Garden Landscaping Idea

Jelly palm is an attractive piece of work and will do the best standing as a single specimen or grouped with other larger palm species. One of the ideas to accentuate the Pindo palm is to put some white or red gravel as topsoil around it, to visually separate it from the lush green lawn above which it sits. 

However, you must also plant another one of it at least 10 feet apart, because the ground of the tree would be messy when it is producing its fruits in summer.

5. European Fan Palm

This one is considered among the hardiest of palms. The Chamaerops humilis is a bushy evergreen that forms a rounded shrubby-looking tree. 

– Characteristics

It can both be grown as a stemless or multi-trunk as it usually protrudes from its base. By regularly removing the suckers, you can easily grow it as a single-trunk palm. 

– Features

This one is crowned with blue-green and silver-green fan-shaped leaves up to 24 inches long. Each leaf has some 20 segments at the end. 

In spring, these palms produce yellow flowers. These flowers later give way to round small brown fruits which will ripen in autumn. This one is one of the most adaptable species and can survive both in the heat and the cold.

– Growing Conditions 

This one thrives in coastal areas and is the only natively European palm. The chamaerops humilis plant trees grow up to 15 feet tall and 20 feet wide when the proper requirements are given. They are easily grown in rich, well-drained, and moist soils under full sun. 

Although they will tolerate partial shade too, but won’t do well in poor soils. In addition, remember that the soil must be completely dry for the attempt of watering it the next time, about two inches deep.

– Garden Landscaping Idea

European fan palm is grown for its sturdiness and makes for a beautiful hedge plant palm in coastal areas. In landscaping, it has multiple uses, being grown in containers, as a single specimen tree, or in a clump formation with others of its species.

We definitely recommend you go with the latter and make it a small palm forest feature in your garden or front lawn, because you can plant a few next to each other and your garden would have an exquisite look. 

6. Chinese Windmill Palm

Extremely hardy, this palm forms a small tree with divided fan-shaped leaves. The leaves grow up to three feet wide and grow atop a huge trunk densely populated with fibers from old leaves. Windmill Palm or Trachycarpus Fortunei is incredibly easy to grow, but for it to produce fruits you’re going to need both the female and the male specimen. 

– Features

The palm produces large, dangling clusters of yellow flowers in the summer, which turn into dark blue fruits. It achieves a strong landscape presence due to its attractive foliage all year long. 

– Growing Conditions 

The Trachycarpus Fortunei is a cold hardy plant that can survive up to five degrees Fahrenheit colds. It grows up reaching 10 feet tall, and six feet wide.

They are vigorous in fertile and well-drained soils and enjoy full sun and partial shade. They do, however, need some protection from strong winds and harsh winter frosts, so that they would still thrive in the warmer times or blooming season.

– Garden Landscaping Idea

The Chinese windmill palm is great to be grown in containers due to its relatively small height. As a landscaping tree, it will be ideal in floral beds, borders, or as a part of a Mediterranean garden setting. This one has an opportunity to be grown in climate zones of seven to 11, so you could use it in a somewhat colder area.

7. Mexican Blue Palm

Brahea armata or Mexican blue palm is grown for its amazing foliage color. This one is a relatively slow grower and starts flowering only at the ripe age of 20 years old. 

– Features

It’s a vertically growing tall tree with a thick trunk, adorned by fibrous leaf bases and a crown of stunning blue and green fan fronds. The fronds grow up to five feet long and are divided into 40 lobes, armed with toothy leaves. 

The creamy white and yellow flowers would appear in the summer, giving way to incredible sounded yellow fruits that fade to black when ripe. 

– Growing Conditions

Brahea armata grows up to 40 feet tall and 25 feet wide. They’re easily grown in well-drained soils and full sun. These palms will tolerate poor and dry soil and need little to no irrigation once established.

Make sure that the soil is kept moist, and you can water it once a week, however you must be very keen on this notion, because you shouldn’t over water it, as the roots will get weak.

– Garden Landscaping Ideas

Mexican blue palm makes a strong statement to any landscape design. Being a somewhat smaller palm, these will do great being planted on grassy islands in your garden, next to your swimming pool, or atop flower beds where they’ll provide great shade to the plants beneath. 

8. Areca Palm

Areca palm is a variety of the Dypsis family of palms. The name for this palm comes from the triangular shape from which the fronds stem. Overall, this plant is a Madagascar native and is considered an endangered species.

– Features

It’s small to a medium-sized palm tree with a solitary trunk upon which a three-level crown of green to blue-green leaf fronds grows. The leaves extend horizontally and overarch at the tip end. This one has an amazing effect – when you look at it, it’s almost like a cooling fan. The trunk is thick and smooth, with leaf scars. 

In spring, small yellow flowers emerge near the lower parts of the leaves. After the blooms are finished, they give way to small rounded green fruits. 

– Growing Conditions

This palm tree grows in an upright habit and is up to 30 feet tall and 15 feet wide. However, they’re easily grown in full sun and well-drained soils, where water shouldn’t sit on top, hence you must water it regularly but not too often.

Once this one is established it can tolerate prolonged droughts, but again, as you maintain the correct watering, which is every 10 days, and much less during winter.

– Garden Landscaping Idea

Areca palms are often seen on streets planted in rows, but serve as wonderful landscaping trees. You can plant palm for almost any purpose, but will best serve as a front-of-the-house decorative tree. They’re easily grown in containers and people often grow them in-house as decorative specimens. 

9. Sago Palm

The sago palm or Cycas Revoluta is an adorable slow-growing tree with an astonishing rosette of pinnate leaves extending up to five feet long. They’re very salt resistant and can survive cold bursts as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit. 

– Characteristics

Each leaf is divided into narrow deep green leaflets with revolute edges. Female plants won’t be able to produce any fruits if you don’t plant any males around, making this plant a dioecious variety. Mature male palms produce golden-brown flowers, and females produce tight clusters of red fruits. 

– Growing Conditions 

Sago palm trees grow up to 10 feet tall and around five feet wide. They’re growing best in well-drained and moist soils and partial shade.

However, this palm tree is one that needs regular moisture, but you should allow the top layer of dirt to dry between the watering sessions so that it wouldn’t feel stress. However, they do appreciate being mulched and are very drought-tolerant once established. 

– Garden Landscaping Ideas

They’re best grown on a raised bed as solitary specimen plants, as you can place plenty of these palm trees in your garden to keep making it feel like a cozy little forest garden. You can easily grow them in containers to decorate your swimming pool or backyard lawn. 

They will look amazing as an addition to your floral bed design, but you should avoid overcrowding them to avoid suffocation and allow leaves to extend properly.

10. Mexican Fan Palm

Washingtona robusta or the mexican fan palm is a very fast-growing specie of palm plant. It’s a tall evergreen with a small rounded crown of beautiful fan-like fronds up to five feet long. 

– Characteristics

The dead leaves fall against the trunk, rather than falling off, creating another characteristic scene.

Small, fragrant white flowers grow in mass and give way to large quantities of small fruits. The palm leaves are almost always seen divided in half, with growth happening on the top side and leaning leaves downward. 

Note that these are considered an invasive specie in some parts of the world and have even made unwanted ecological impacts on environments – California being an example.

– Growing Conditions

Mexican fan has an upright growing habit and grows a huge 80 feet tall trunk that is 10 feet wide on the top. You can grow it with little to moderated watering, in addition, to direct eight hours of sunlight on a daily basis. Furthermore, it would require loamy soil to thrive in its growth.

– Garden Landscaping Idea

This is one of the most planted palms around the world. The usual design ideas include them growing on beaches and walkways, and this is its key feature to make your garden look very luxurious. As a landscaping plant, you can grow them in pairs in front of the house or garden for the best effect for your hacienda. 

11. Lady Palm

Rhapis excelsa or the lady palm is very similar to bamboo. It is a small upright, slender cane with delicate, glossy fan-shaped leaves. Each leaf grows up to 20 inches long and is divided into narrow lobes. 

– Characteristics

The canes are covered with strong fibers which fall as the plant matures. In summer, small yellow flowers are produced among the leaves. Lady palms are hardy and can endure frostbites as low as 18 degrees Fahrenheit. 

– Growing Conditions of Lady Palm

This bamboo palm is ridiculously easy to grow in well-drained soils and partial shade. They grow up to 15 feet tall and around the same width. If you grow them in direct sun, the leaves could turn to a bright yellow hue and burn without regular water. 

– Garden Landscaping Idea for Lady Palm

Bamboo palm is best grown in bunches, creating a beautiful fence landscape design. Also, they’re useful as foundation plants or to create a shadowy border, because the aesthetics that it would give would be remarkable. 

Conclusion

There’s no doubt about it – palms are incredible landscaping trees that can create a strong impression on any design.

Here’s what we covered today:

• Some palm trees you can even grow in colder climates, such as the queen palm, Canary Island Date Palm. 
• If you decide to go with a massive palm, a slender pygmy date, or a subtle lady palm for your front house or border design, you can go for the Pinto Palm.
• Remember that most of these trees will require moderate watering, however, to keep it healthy, you must not overwater it.
• It is very important that you note that these trees need direct light, however, some of them would result in burn if the tree leaves are harsh.

Palms will provide plenty of joy and shade to anyone whichever design idea you go for, so grab yourself a specimen and enjoy growing it!