8-10 foot palms good with large shade span

[saturation]

Hi, looking to add some new palms to my back yard just inside my new fence. I was hoping to locate some palms here in Miami with the following characteristics:

- low shedding (no additional seeds dropping)

- palm fronds span wide to get maximum shade

- 7-10 feet tall

Basically. Short enough to maintain myself and low maintenance with a lot of shade! Hopefully not asking too much. 

Any ideas on palms?

[aztropic]

1. Palms never stop gaining height; if they do,they are dead. Best you can do is look for a really slow growing species like a Copernicia.

2. Most palms are going to produce seeds. You can cut off the bunches of seeds each year to prevent a mess. Some species like Bismarckia or Phoenix have separate male/female plants,so you wouldn't have to worry about seed drop with proven male trees, although those 2 species might not be the best choice for Miami.

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

[Jim in Los Altos]

They are common so easy to find and relatively inexpensive, Chrysalidocarpus lutescens (Golden Cane Palm and AKA Areca Palm in the trade). They grow in clumps and provide good screening as well as decent shade.

[happypalms]

I would be going with dypsis baronii and black petiole if you can get one. If the canes get too tall you can remove one or two with the new suckers replacing the gap. 

[donalt]

try becarriophoenix alfredii......slow growing. fronds span 25 feet (or more).....creates a shaded area below. resembles coconut palm but without the seed drops. if you plant two, they will create a large shading canopy as well as backdrop.

[Bkue]

Is privacy a concern? Just shade? How much room do you have? How quick do you want satisfaction? Lots of options. Some real estate and shade as primary, Bismarcks are good. Livistonia if short on room. Royals are great for statement but limited on shade. Meet the rest of the requirements though. Areca’s are great once mature for shade depending on sun direction and can’t be beat for privacy. That said, they are self cleaning but need frequent pick up and constantly sprout new low growth. 
 

in short, need more more info on desired outcome. 

[Chester B]

The OP asked for a palm 7-10 feet tall, let's not get crazy here.  No very many palms stay that size.  Phoenix roebellini planted as a triple will somewhat fit the bill.  

It basically sounds like you are looking for an umbrella, I don't think you'll find a palm that meets your requirements.  You're going to have to upsize in height.

[saturation]

@Chester B Yes, was hoping for an umbrella in the format of a palm tree that doesn't get out of control in size or droppings....Good responses so far, just seems like most of the palms are going to grow out of control. What about bottle palms? Any thoughts?

[tim_brissy_13]

2 minutes ago, saturation said:

@Chester B Yes, was hoping for an umbrella in the format of a palm tree that doesn't get out of control in size or droppings....Good responses so far, just seems like most of the palms are going to grow out of control. What about bottle palms? Any thoughts?

Bottle palms (H lagencaulis) might fit the size you’re looking for but would be next to useless for shade. They only hold onto 4-5 fronds even when happy. 
 

As mentioned, there’s not really anything that matches up completely. I’d be looking at a medium to small, slow growing fan palm that does well in your area perhaps planted as a multiple for extra shade. Schippia concolor, Leucothrinax morrisii, Thrinax sp, Coccothrinax sp., Livistona muelleri. Maybe Chelyocarpus sp, Cryosophila sp, Sabinaria or Itaya but not sure how they would do in the sun where you are. Or a combination of the above might look good. 

[iDesign]

If you can find one, I Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) lafazamanga is a great alternative to lutescens. I love mine. ❤️
 

@Looking Glass would have more insight on how they do in Florida, but here in Southern California it looks very similar to lutescens but is lower maintenance since it doesn’t keep splitting like crazy. Mine handles a surprising amount of sun (though it’s not in all day full sun), and does well in winter. Here’s a photo from a year (or two?) ago…


 

And here’s a shot from this week, with a young lutescens pulled near for comparison…



Main differences I’ve seen is that color in lafazamanga is more lemon yellow than lutescens’ orange yellow, and it doesn’t split as much. Mine also did a little better in winter, but it’s possible lutescens might take full all-day sun better (haven’t torture tested mine to know).

[iDesign]

1 hour ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Bottle palms (H lagencaulis) might fit the size you’re looking for but would be next to useless for shade. They only hold onto 4-5 fronds even when happy. 
 

As mentioned, there’s not really anything that matches up completely. I’d be looking at a medium to small, slow growing fan palm that does well in your area perhaps planted as a multiple for extra shade. Schippia concolor, Leucothrinax morrisii, Thrinax sp, Coccothrinax sp., Livistona muelleri. Maybe Chelyocarpus sp, Cryosophila sp, Sabinaria or Itaya but not sure how they would do in the sun where you are. Or a combination of the above might look good. 

I can also endorse Schippia concolor as a very low maintenance (and beautiful) palm, although it’s not likely to be a large shade provider unless you can find one at a very large size. Mine was brought in from Hawaii and hardly grows. This photo is from a year or two ago, but it looks the same. On the plus side, it always looks pristine and is one of the lowest maintenance palms I own. Another favorite of mine (though small)…

[saturation]

On 4/27/2025 at 6:19 PM, Jim in Los Altos said:

They are common so easy to find and relatively inexpensive, Chrysalidocarpus lutescens (Golden Cane Palm and AKA Areca Palm in the trade). They grow in clumps and provide good screening as well as decent shade.

Looks similar to a Christmas palm. Makes me wonder if a Christmas palm could work?

[TropicsEnjoyer]

1 hour ago, saturation said:

Looks similar to a Christmas palm. Makes me wonder if a Christmas palm could work?

They also do not hold that many fronds, maybe like 6-10 at a time, and they do not naturally clump so unless you have like 3 maybe it’ll be decent for shade.

[Looking Glass]

On 4/27/2025 at 4:23 PM, saturation said:

Hi, looking to add some new palms to my back yard just inside my new fence. I was hoping to locate some palms here in Miami with the following characteristics:

- low shedding (no additional seeds dropping)

- palm fronds span wide to get maximum shade

- 7-10 feet tall

Basically. Short enough to maintain myself and low maintenance with a lot of shade! Hopefully not asking too much. 

Any ideas on palms?

Problem with that, is small palms are more like 20+ feet tall eventually.   Around here, even Pygmy Dates will be 10 feet tall within 3 years of planting a small specimen.  

One day I’ll get to re-doing my back area with similar ideas in mind (non-messy, smaller scale palms, that are happy in the dry season as well as the summer)

For super common stuff, that isn’t too big, with tropical flare, Bottle Palms, Spindle Palms, Pygmy Dates, and Christmas Palms work.  They are just super common and can be a little boring.   Every real estate person just plops these in at medium size and calls it a day, with no thought or idea how they will grow, or what care they will need, over the year, but look good for the sale pics…  

When I do the back here, I’ll be concentrating on Cuban, Caribbean and native palms, and similar stuff.   These will give unique vibes, not get too big too fast, and be very happy without needing icu-level care, and preserve a natural feeling for this area, without trying to mimic a tropical jungle or Hawaii. 

Hotel pics….

I’ll be looking at stuff like…

Thrinax radiata, Leucothrinax, Cocothrinax, Pseudophoenix Sargentii, Dictyosperma album, Lantania loddegessi, Serenoa repans, Chamaerops humilis, Allagoptera arenaria, and others.  Stuff that isn’t too huge, won’t get too big, too fast, and will be able to thrive.   

You don’t get too much shade from any single palm, but strategic layering of heights positioned around the movement of the sun works well.  Whatever you choose, envision the mature size of the adult tree over time, not the small or medium sized planting specimen you initially put in.  
 

4 hours ago, iDesign said:

If you can find one, I Chrysalidocarpus (Dypsis) lafazamanga is a great alternative to lutescens. I love mine. ❤️
 

@Looking Glass would have more insight on how they do in Florida, but here in Southern California it looks very similar to lutescens but is lower maintenance since it doesn’t keep splitting like crazy. Mine handles a surprising amount of sun (though it’s not in all day full sun), and does well in winter. Here’s a photo from a year (or two?) ago…

And here’s a shot from this week, with a young lutescens pulled near for comparison…

Main differences I’ve seen is that color in lafazamanga is more lemon yellow than lutescens’ orange yellow, and it doesn’t split as much. Mine also did a little better in winter, but it’s possible lutescens might take full all-day sun better (haven’t torture tested mine to know).

Laffazamanga seems pretty easy here.  Takes full sun here, and grows with little fuss.   Not as crazy of an clumper.    Unless you want a solid, weedy wall, I’d pick it over Lutescens, for most applications.   

My ignored seedlings are still going strong.  

[TropicsEnjoyer]

7 hours ago, Looking Glass said:

Lantania

I love these, and if anything, they are actually pretty suitable umbrella palms since they grow slow and have wide crowns with those big fan leaves. Only issue might be that they’re not very hardy.

[Cannonball]

Chryosophilla Albida is an amazing palm, medium size and fairly low maintenance, the inflorescence are remarkable also. You could under plant with the disappointingly re named Lytocaryum Weddellianum.

If you have a protected area, from wind, then Licuala Peltata var Sarawongi is a gorgeous specimen palm. This too could be under planted with a variety of understorey palms or Cordyline or Crotons.

I'm in a sub tropical environment and these will all do well if you have a similar situation. 

[NorCalWill]

A 7-10 foot tall palm that provides a lot of shade might be hard to find, but Palmpedia is a good resource to learn about the different growth characteristics of palms to help find what might work for you.

https://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Category:PALM_GENERA