Struggling with palm choices! In Sacramento California

[Hamandah]

I’ve been looking on here so much my head is spinning! 
 

We just redid our backyard but the last thing we need to do how is to landscape and I am struggling! 
 

trying to incorporate a tropical feel with the landscape including some smaller to medium palms that can withstand the Sacramento heat and weather. Also the cold! 
 

this is our yard. Ive been trying to find a variety of palms that aren’t going to go tall like queens but more of a smaller to medium look maybe? I’m new to learning all of this though so it’s a bit overwhelming trying to figure it out. And our landscaper isn’t a “palm” guy so it’s up to me to figure it out. 
 

some I’ve looked at and have noted but have no idea if im going in the right direction.. 

 

-dwarf pigme 

-mule

-pindo

-Christmas tree palm

-Chamaedorea plumosa

-sago 

 

I’m thinking I maybe pick a couple different kinds? I have no idea what I’m doing! we also want to add some tropical type smaller plants and shrubs but are limited with where we live. 
 

 

[happypalms]

Chameadorea radicalis lytocarum weddlianum lanonia dasyantha some winners iam not sure of your winter temperatures as I live in Australia the radicalis and lanonia are pretty cold tolerant with the tropical look the lytocarum will take temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius possibly lower in a protected area in your garden good luck 

[awkonradi]

Dypsis decipiens?

[Jim in Los Altos]

You probably want to stick with palms that are readily available in your area rather than using rarer palm species. Christmas palms won’t grow anywhere in California since they need warm winters like in South Florida. Mules are great but need lots of room to “spread their wings.” Pygmy Date palms are easy to grow as long as they get plenty of water. Pindo palms would work well but also need lots of room. Do you have any nurseries in your area that carry several palm species? Brahea edulis and armata could work as would many of the Livistona species. A really fantastic palm, if available, is the Beccariophoenix alfredii (High Plateau Coconut) which looks much like a true coconut palm but has the cold hardiness you need. 

[Silas_Sancona]

You might look into palms / other tougher tropical-esque stuff some of the Sacramento / Central Valley PT members ( @Hillizard @bar @JEFF IN MODESTO @Josue Diaz ) are growing and start from there.

Pygmy date palms are tough ..Grown extensively here where we see 3+ months of 107-115+ heat.

Chamaedorea plumosa is just one of a few tougher Chamaedorea choices.. radicalis and microspadix are great small-ish " filler " palms that can take some heat ( though they'll look best with a little shade too.

Mules would be a great pinnate / coco-nutty- looking option that are tough as nails..  Pinods are great too, but slower.

Agree w/ @Jim in Los Altos, another excellent Nor. / Central Cal. palm guru worth taking advise from, Though larger Brahea armata ( slow, but real nice ) Brahea edulis ( very nice and a bit faster.  Far nicer looking palm than the common Washingtonia palms planted everywhere ) ...and some other Brahea sps are perfect for your area.

Beccariophoenix is another great, coconut stand in if you can find one to try.

Need some water to look good but don't write off the majesty palms you might see in the indoor section of local big box stores.. Stunning and tough once planted. Will handle some cold too.

If they were more easily available, Sabal sps ( often commonly called Palmettos ) are great larger ( but not huge ) fan - palm options.. S. uresana, a beautiful species, esp. the blue toned form,  handles heat ..and cold like a champ. Trouble is it is hard to find.



Glancing over shots of your overall yard, would consider some tree canopy too both to provide the humans and any pets in the house hold some shade, and also to provide micro climate spaces in your yard for sun sensitive palm and tropical looking plant options.

All sorts of tough, unique, cold hardy and tropical looking tree options that won't get huge, but will add to the look you're seeking to create. Many create minimal litter so you won't be constantly fishing leaves / seeds, etc debris from your pool.



If you like Sago " Palms " ..actually a type of Cycad,  might explore the genus Dioon,  Ceratozamia, and / or  Zamia.. Some neat -and tough- species within each genus that might be fun to try if any seem interesting to you.

With any Cycad, be careful where they are planted, foliage / seeds are extremely toxic to any curious pets or children. Not adding this to scare you away from adding in some to your future landscape, but, is something to be mindful of.

Beyond that, yes, lol, you have come to the right place. Might seem a bit overwhelming now, but, Many great members out there who i'm sure will offer up some excellent advise / ideas to help you get the ball rolling. 

 

[SeanK]

Start with the basics.

Chamaerhops humilis, Phoenix roebellini, and Raphis excelsis. These are all fairly small. Copernicia Alba, Livistona chinensis. 

Christmas palms are too tender. You might be safer with a Bottle or Spindle - only because you can protect those easier. A slender pinnate species is tough to choose, even in z9b. Most PHX palms get too big for California residential properties.

[Brad52]

I was steered to the proper species when I lived near Sac by Dale the owner of Palm Island nursery in Vacaville.  He has more than palms and he always stopped me from buying plants that were not quite cold tolerant enough for example King Palms were on my list but he said no go for Esparto.  Sac proper will have microclimates that may allow more but Dale should be able to help.

[BayAndroid]

Gary Gragg (Golden Gate Palms Nursery) really got me thinking about Trachycarpus Latisectus in this video. 

When new palm people think of fan palms, they typically just think about Mexican Fan Palms, but as you go deeper into the palm world, you start to consider the more tropical looking fan palms too... Check it out

 

[Hillizard]

I'm growing T. latisectus successfully in the Sacto suburbs (see below) , but some shade from hot afternoon sun is beneficial. There are dozens of Braheas, Livistonas and Sabals that handle the winter cold and summer heat here also. You can plant faster growing, subtropical-looking shade trees (E.g. Albizia)  as overstory to protect them from direct sun.

[Josue Diaz]

I would agree w all of the suggestions here. Canopy will be your best friend. Select one or two or three trees that will provide either shade (think high canopy, not small stuff), frost protection, or both. Jacaranda, mimosa, bauhinia, handroanthus... the list is long. These will allow you to plant the more tender stuff and have better success, particularly with species that need a bit of protection from sun and/or frost. I am growing chambeyronia, howea forsteriana and a handful of different chamaedorea beneath a tree canopy in Fresno. None of these would survive without the tree canopy. 

[BayAndroid]

17 hours ago, Josue Diaz said:

I would agree w all of the suggestions here. Canopy will be your best friend. Select one or two or three trees that will provide either shade (think high canopy, not small stuff), frost protection, or both. Jacaranda, mimosa, bauhinia, handroanthus... the list is long. These will allow you to plant the more tender stuff and have better success, particularly with species that need a bit of protection from sun and/or frost. I am growing chambeyronia, howea forsteriana and a handful of different chamaedorea beneath a tree canopy in Fresno. None of these would survive without the tree canopy. 

How long did it take for you to establish your canopy? 

[bar]

Okay, here we go! I've grown tons of different palms in Sacramento.  Sadly, I've moved to a new place in Carmichael, and have to start all over again after 17 years.  But I've got so many palms ready to go into the ground if it ever warms up!

This is a list of everything that I have grown successfully in Sacramento.  Some require proper siting, either with proper shade or winter protection under a broadleaf evergreen or very close to a house.  No particular order here, other than as I remember them!  I'll skip the ones you can find at Green Acres to save time. (* indicates marginally hardy but I've had success)  There are a few I haven't listed because, although I've seen them growing here, I haven't been successful with them.  These are all my personal results, and I'm sure some folks will not necessarily have gotten equal results. 

This list should keep you busy for a long time.  My sources are:

Palm Island Nursery (you'll see this just off I 80 right before Vacaville on your right when travelling west.)

Floribunda Palms in Mountain View, HI

Palm Forum sellers

 

Chamaedorea radicalis, hooperi, woodsoniana, metallica*, microspadix, ernestii-augustii*

Lytocaryum hoehnei, weddellianum (hoehnei grows well, but weddellianum tends to look ratty, if it gets any direct sun)

Chuniophoenix hainanensis, nana

Lanonia dasyantha

Parajubaea torallyi

Arenga engleri (dislikes hot sun, best in morning sun only, until about 11 AM or tends to burn)

Allagoptera arenaria

Rhapis excelsa

Rhopalostylis sapida*

Syagrus picrophylla

Sabal palmetto, minor, ursesana, causarium

Dypsis (now Chrysalidocarpuys) decipiens (a GRR-Grr- GREAT palm for Sacramento area.  Hard to come by, but Floribunda has them now, and rarely does, so hurry)

Chambeyronia macrocarpa*

Brahea armata, dulcis

 

 I hope this gives you enough choices.  I'm sure I could come up with more if pressed.

Bruce

 

 

[Jim in Los Altos]

2 hours ago, bar said:

Okay, here we go! I've grown tons of different palms in Sacramento.  Sadly, I've moved to a new place in Carmichael, and have to start all over again after 17 years.  But I've got so many palms ready to go into the ground if it ever warms up!

This is a list of everything that I have grown successfully in Sacramento.  Some require proper siting, either with proper shade or winter protection under a broadleaf evergreen or very close to a house.  No particular order here, other than as I remember them!  I'll skip the ones you can find at Green Acres to save time. (* indicates marginally hardy but I've had success)  There are a few I haven't listed because, although I've seen them growing here, I haven't been successful with them.  These are all my personal results, and I'm sure some folks will not necessarily have gotten equal results. 

This list should keep you busy for a long time.  My sources are:

Palm Island Nursery (you'll see this just off I 80 right before Vacaville on your right when travelling west.)

Floribunda Palms in Mountain View, HI

Palm Forum sellers

 

Chamaedorea radicalis, hooperi, woodsoniana, metallica*, microspadix, ernestii-augustii*

Lytocaryum hoehnei, weddellianum (hoehnei grows well, but weddellianum tends to look ratty, if it gets any direct sun)

Chuniophoenix hainanensis, nana

Lanonia dasyantha

Parajubaea torallyi

Arenga engleri (dislikes hot sun, best in morning sun only, until about 11 AM or tends to burn)

Allagoptera arenaria

Rhapis excelsa

Rhopalostylis sapida*

Syagrus picrophylla

Sabal palmetto, minor, ursesana, causarium

Dypsis (now Chrysalidocarpuys) decipiens (a GRR-Grr- GREAT palm for Sacramento area.  Hard to come by, but Floribunda has them now, and rarely does, so hurry)

Chambeyronia macrocarpa*

Brahea armata, dulcis

 

 I hope this gives you enough choices.  I'm sure I could come up with more if pressed.

Bruce

 

 

I would assume you had enough shade present in that garden for Rhopalostylis, Chambeyronia, Rhapis, Lanonia, and the various Chamaedorea species you had in the hot Sacramento area. It doesn’t appear that the original poster has any overhead canopy present yet and would have to wait a few years before trying those.  

[Josue Diaz]

7 hours ago, BayAndroid said:

How long did it take for you to establish your canopy? 

In my own yard there was already canopy in most of the back yard but on other gardens I've worked on, jacaranda established good canopy within 5 years.  In my own front yard, approximately 5 years with handroanthus. 

[bar]

Canopy is of course very important.   In my new house, I actually don't have a canopy exactly where I want it.  But at my age, I don't want to wait the five or more years to get one.  A solution is to build some temporary shade structures while the canopy grows.  I'm thinking that one could use those cloth sails if you want to go fancy.  I've done nothing more than four poles plus shade cloth.  It works out very well, and doesn't look too bad if done neatly.  This enables you to get your smaller shade lovers established.  Arenga engleri, for example can take years before it is a respectable specimen.  If I had to wait five or more years before I could put mine into the ground, it would be a decade or more before I had a nice plant.

Then, there are plants that create a canopy very quickly and are tropical looking too.  Bananas for instance, and even Eucalyptus, although they do have issues with limb drop. 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, bar said:

Canopy is of course very important.   In my new house, I actually don't have a canopy exactly where I want it.  But at my age, I don't want to wait the five or more years to get one.  A solution is to build some temporary shade structures while the canopy grows.  I'm thinking that one could use those cloth sails if you want to go fancy.  I've done nothing more than four poles plus shade cloth.  It works out very well, and doesn't look too bad if done neatly.  This enables you to get your smaller shade lovers established.  Arenga engleri, for example can take years before it is a respectable specimen.  If I had to wait five or more years before I could put mine into the ground, it would be a decade or more before I had a nice plant.

Then, there are plants that create a canopy very quickly and are tropical looking too.  Bananas for instance, and even Eucalyptus, although they do have issues with limb drop. 

@bar Have you considered Tipuana as a faster growing tree canopy option?  If given a good start, ( ..and the nursery you bought one from started training them correctly )  In 5 years, one started from a 15 / 24gal can easily be above 20ft.  Provides really nice canopy and pretty much shrugs off the heat. Grown extensively here.  Go through somewhat gawky phase when younger, but clean up nicely as they gain size.  Wood is pretty tough, esp. once older.

As far as Eucs. ..If available out there, Ghost Gum ( Corymbia paupana ) is a fantastic, sturdy Euc. option.  ..One that is grown all over Phoenix. Though i'm sure it occurs, rare you see blow down / limb damage issues w/ them after any of our Monsoon fueled wind events. 

Other massive- sized Euc. sps grown here? ...see at least a half dozen news reports of those toppling over after storms just about every summer.

Wouldn't call Ghosts great canopy makers, but the stark white trunks / branches, bigger, somewhat tropical looking weeping foliage is quite nice against bright blue sky / towering above green foliage. Doesn't have that classic Euc smell, and laughs at the heat.  I myself would consider it more of a moderate grower rather than either really fast or a snail.

[Hamandah]

On 4/5/2024 at 9:19 PM, bar said:

Okay, here we go! I've grown tons of different palms in Sacramento.  Sadly, I've moved to a new place in Carmichael, and have to start all over again after 17 years.  But I've got so many palms ready to go into the ground if it ever warms up!

This is a list of everything that I have grown successfully in Sacramento.  Some require proper siting, either with proper shade or winter protection under a broadleaf evergreen or very close to a house.  No particular order here, other than as I remember them!  I'll skip the ones you can find at Green Acres to save time. (* indicates marginally hardy but I've had success)  There are a few I haven't listed because, although I've seen them growing here, I haven't been successful with them.  These are all my personal results, and I'm sure some folks will not necessarily have gotten equal results. 

This list should keep you busy for a long time.  My sources are:

Palm Island Nursery (you'll see this just off I 80 right before Vacaville on your right when travelling west.)

Floribunda Palms in Mountain View, HI

Palm Forum sellers

 

Chamaedorea radicalis, hooperi, woodsoniana, metallica*, microspadix, ernestii-augustii*

Lytocaryum hoehnei, weddellianum (hoehnei grows well, but weddellianum tends to look ratty, if it gets any direct sun)

Chuniophoenix hainanensis, nana

Lanonia dasyantha

Parajubaea torallyi

Arenga engleri (dislikes hot sun, best in morning sun only, until about 11 AM or tends to burn)

Allagoptera arenaria

Rhapis excelsa

Rhopalostylis sapida*

Syagrus picrophylla

Sabal palmetto, minor, ursesana, causarium

Dypsis (now Chrysalidocarpuys) decipiens (a GRR-Grr- GREAT palm for Sacramento area.  Hard to come by, but Floribunda has them now, and rarely does, so hurry)

Chambeyronia macrocarpa*

Brahea armata, dulcis

 

 I hope this gives you enough choices.  I'm sure I could come up with more if pressed.

Bruce

 

 

Thank you so much! I have a lot of googling to do! I am trying to learn the different names, vs common names. 
are any of these Queen, Mule, Pindo or Pigme date? 
 

I need to search through them to see what they all are! 
 

We’re in Rocklin not too far from you! 
 

Have you been to that Palm place off of baseline/Riego Rd? Palm Trees and Plants on Locust Rd. 

[Than]

On 4/5/2024 at 9:33 AM, Josue Diaz said:

I would agree w all of the suggestions here. Canopy will be your best friend. Select one or two or three trees that will provide either shade (think high canopy, not small stuff), frost protection, or both. Jacaranda, mimosa, bauhinia, handroanthus... the list is long. These will allow you to plant the more tender stuff and have better success, particularly with species that need a bit of protection from sun and/or frost. I am growing chambeyronia, howea forsteriana and a handful of different chamaedorea beneath a tree canopy in Fresno. None of these would survive without the tree canopy. 

Wow Josue, just wow!! What an awesome spot! You know what I would add there to create the perfect tropical jungle feel? A cissus verticillata. 

[Than]

On 4/6/2024 at 8:41 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

@bar Have you considered Tipuana as a faster growing tree canopy option?  If given a good start, ( ..and the nursery you bought one from started training them correctly )  In 5 years, one started from a 15 / 24gal can easily be above 20ft.  Provides really nice canopy and pretty much shrugs off the heat. Grown extensively here.  Go through somewhat gawky phase when younger, but clean up nicely as they gain size.  Wood is pretty tough, esp. once older.

As far as Eucs. ..If available out there, Ghost Gum ( Corymbia paupana ) is a fantastic, sturdy Euc. option.  ..One that is grown all over Phoenix. Though i'm sure it occurs, rare you see blow down / limb damage issues w/ them after any of our Monsoon fueled wind events. 
 

Tipuana is beautiful but deciduous, so canopy only in the summer.

As for Ghost Gum, what a beauty; I am surprised a tree native to the equator grows so well in Arizona! 

[Silas_Sancona]

16 minutes ago, Than said:

Tipuana is beautiful but deciduous, so canopy only in the summer.

As for Ghost Gum, what a beauty; I am surprised a tree native to the equator grows so well in Arizona! 

In many places in CA ...and here...   Tipuana retain their foliage / majority of it through the winter.  My " stick " dropped nothing, despite a experiencing few days below 35, and one morning at 28F.

 

[SeanK]

Glad to see Dypsis decipiens is a go plus currently available.

[Hillizard]

First significant rainfall this year in Sacto suburbs! Rain drops on a frond of my needle palm.