Japanese name: ワシントンヤシモドキ Scientific name:Washingtonia robusta
[Overview]
A single-trunked palm that grows 25–30 m tall, with a trunk 30–50 cm in diameter.
Compared with the Washington palm, the trunk is thinner and swollen at the base like a bottle.
Dead leaves hang down and remain on the trunk for a long time.
The leaves are palmate, 1–1.4 m long and 1.4–1.8 m wide, and white thread-like fibers hang from the edges of the leaflets.
The leaf stalk is 1.2–1.5 m long and has brown thorns.
The hastula (the junction between the leaf stalk and the leaf) is 4.5–8 cm long and equilaterally triangular.
A spadix 2–4 m long bears many white flowers.
The corolla is tubular and 3-lobed, there are 6 stamens, and the filaments are all of the same thickness.
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.
Rainfall is sufficient.
From spring to autumn, apply slow-release fertilizer placed on the soil.
Pests and diseases include anthracnose and scale insects.
