Mexican Fan Palm?

[gdumea]

Hey guys,

 

Just bought this palm labeled as a Mexican Fan Palm at Home Depot in Brownwood TX. It looks more like a hybrid with a thicker trunk and hairier fronds than my Mexican Fan Palm at home. Any ideas as to how hybridized it may be?

[gdumea]

Here is mine at home for perspective, what other palm talkers deemed an almost pure robusta, completely hairless, totem pole trunk with no fat bottom, toothless on stems, etc.

[Las Palmas Norte]

W. robusta, but you'll almost certainly get as many variations in answers as replies.

[MarcusH]

I would say Robusta leaning . Gloss green fronds and short leaflet cut outs that's a typical character.  It takes quite a few years to tell how pure your Robusta is.  Can't really tell much in the first few years.

[MarcusH]

Planted my Mexican fan palm in March 2022. This is what it looks like back then and now.  Definitely Robusta leaning but I don't know how pure it is. Probably a hybrid .

[KsLouisiana]

On 8/9/2024 at 7:21 PM, MarcusH said:

Planted my Mexican fan palm in March 2022. This is what it looks like back then and now.  Definitely Robusta leaning but I don't know how pure it is. Probably a hybrid .

Marcus, how is it doing this year? I know y'all didn't get too too cold in the great Louisiana freeze...

[MarcusH]

On 6/25/2025 at 10:34 PM, KsLouisiana said:

Marcus, how is it doing this year? I know y'all didn't get too too cold in the great Louisiana freeze...

It's doing pretty good . Most fronts burned this year but other than that it keeps growing like a chanp.  

[KsLouisiana]

On 6/27/2025 at 3:52 AM, MarcusH said:

It's doing pretty good . Most fronts burned this year but other than that it keeps growing like a chanp.  

That's amazing growth. Mexican fan palms have become my favorite. Not a single MFP died here in that brutal freeze. Mine fully recovered and I found some at HD for $20 and had to get a couple. I feel like the price hasn't gone up in 20 years lol

[MarcusH]

On 7/1/2025 at 8:13 PM, KsLouisiana said:

That's amazing growth. Mexican fan palms have become my favorite. Not a single MFP died here in that brutal freeze. Mine fully recovered and I found some at HD for $20 and had to get a couple. I feel like the price hasn't gone up in 20 years lol

 They're more cold hardy than people think. Keep in mind that the vast majority of Robustas at the BB stores are hybrids . My Robusta is a hybrid . The only thing about Robustas is that they aren't really leaf hardy,  at least mine isn't.  Burns in the low 20s. 

[JohnAndSancho]

I recently planted some volunteers in my yard, and the first few fronds got absolutely cooked by the sun, but they're steady pushing new growth. I think they've only been in the ground 2 or 3 weeks, I don't remember. Not very long. I also had one on my patio named Dirty Sanchez - during most cold events I might have thrown a blanket over him - he looked pretty awful for a while, but I was really stupid and thought it'd be really cool to get a picture of it covered in snow and he probably had a fungal infection. Also had some root rot issues in the pot, they outgrow pots so fast - anyway. Cool palms and tougher than a $5 steak. 

[OutpostPalms]

On 7/7/2025 at 10:41 AM, JohnAndSancho said:

I recently planted some volunteers in my yard, and the first few fronds got absolutely cooked by the sun, but they're steady pushing new growth. I think they've only been in the ground 2 or 3 weeks, I don't remember. Not very long. I also had one on my patio named Dirty Sanchez - during most cold events I might have thrown a blanket over him - he looked pretty awful for a while, but I was really stupid and thought it'd be really cool to get a picture of it covered in snow and he probably had a fungal infection. Also had some root rot issues in the pot, they outgrow pots so fast - anyway. Cool palms and tougher than a $5 steak. 

here’s one of my robustas during “snowmagedon” last January.
 

Some of mine show some hybrid qualities. Here’s one of mine (might be the same one from the snow pic actually) when first planted. Has a good bit of hair on the fronds. 

[KsLouisiana]

On 7/7/2025 at 9:26 AM, MarcusH said:

 They're more cold hardy than people think. Keep in mind that the vast majority of Robustas at the BB stores are hybrids . My Robusta is a hybrid . The only thing about Robustas is that they aren't really leaf hardy,  at least mine isn't.  Burns in the low 20s. 

That's true....but they already look good by April. So ya might get a few ugly months every few years. I'm okay with that!

[KsLouisiana]

On 7/9/2025 at 7:36 AM, OutpostPalms said:

here’s one of my robustas during “snowmagedon” last January.
 

Some of mine show some hybrid qualities. Here’s one of mine (might be the same one from the snow pic actually) when first planted. Has a good bit of hair on the fronds. 

How did they recover after that snow storm?

[OutpostPalms]

6 hours ago, KsLouisiana said:

How did they recover after that snow storm?

All the ones this size came back after turning all brown and currently look like nothing ever happened. They saw 15F and 7” of snow. Once in a lifetime event. I had some baby ones barely past seedling stage that got knocked out but almost half them came back too. No protection on them. Here’s a pic from today.
 

 

[KsLouisiana]

3 hours ago, OutpostPalms said:

All the ones this size came back after turning all brown and currently look like nothing ever happened. They saw 15F and 7” of snow. Once in a lifetime event. I had some baby ones barely past seedling stage that got knocked out but almost half them came back too. No protection on them. Here’s a pic from today.
 

 

That's awesome! Thank you for the update. They look amazing