Japanese name: ワシントンヤシ Scientific name:Washingtonia filifera
[Overview]
A single-trunked palm that grows 15–20 m tall, with a trunk 50–60 cm in diameter.
Dead leaves hang down and remain on the trunk for a long time.
The leaves are palmate, 1–1.2 m long and 1.2–1.7 m wide, and white thread-like fibers hang from the edges of the leaflets.
The leaf stalk is 1.1–1.3 m long and has yellowish brown thorns.
The hastula (the junction between the leaf stalk and the leaf) is 12–14 cm long and long-triangular.
A spadix 2–4 m long bears many white flowers.
The corolla is tubular and 3-lobed, there are 6 stamens, and every other filament is swollen in the middle.
The flowers are fragrant.
The fruit is elliptical and ripens to blackish brown, with the stigma remaining at the tip.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
It prefers fertile soil in a sunny, well-drained site.
It tolerates temperatures down to about −5°C.
Place potted plants in a sunny spot outdoors from spring to autumn, and in a sunny spot indoors in winter.
For potted plants, from spring to autumn water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; in winter keep it on the dry side; throughout the year mist the leaves with a sprayer.
For plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
From spring to autumn, apply slow-release fertilizer placed on the soil.
Pests and diseases include anthracnose and scale insects.
