Which palm for a constantly wet spot in the yard? (Northern California z10a)

[BayAndroid]

Hi all, 

I have a few palms on deck and I want to find the best one for a wet part of the yard, (the low part of a drip loop that ends at the bottom of a slope). The soil is a sandy type and it's constantly wet. I know Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana would do great here, but I have some other palms that I want to consider for this spot. Would any of these work? (One last note, this is a very sunny location and our climate is Mediterranean, so hot dry in the summer with strong sun and low humidity)

Chambeyronia Macrocarpa / Hookeri 
Dypsis Leptocheilos
Bentinckia Condapanna

Thank you for your input, if none of these are ideal, I would like to know that too, because I have some fall back ideas that should do fine. My main concern is the sun burn. 
 

[idontknowhatnametuse]

Bactris setosa

[kylecawazafla]

Depending on how hot you get, Ceroxylon or Geonoma undata as well. 

[sonoranfans]

On 3/23/2026 at 12:08 PM, BayAndroid said:

Hi all, 

I have a few palms on deck and I want to find the best one for a wet part of the yard, (the low part of a drip loop that ends at the bottom of a slope). The soil is a sandy type and it's constantly wet. I know Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana would do great here, but I have some other palms that I want to consider for this spot. Would any of these work? (One last note, this is a very sunny location and our climate is Mediterranean, so hot dry in the summer with strong sun and low humidity)

Chambeyronia Macrocarpa / Hookeri 
Dypsis Leptocheilos
Bentinckia Condapanna

Thank you for your input, if none of these are ideal, I would like to know that too, because I have some fall back ideas that should do fine. My main concern is the sun burn. 
 

The teddy will do fine I think mine has never sun burned.  Chambeyronia macrocarpas are much less "sun happy"   I get some burn on both C. macrocarpa and C. macrocarpa hookeri(to a lesser extent). I am confused, SF bay area but dry and hot?  Sounds inland.  I lived in berkeley and alameda about 8-10 years ago, and stayed for a few less pleasant months in pleasant hill, that was hot and dry.   Do you have a long cool winter?  No fog?  Chambeyronia oliviformis doesnt have a red leaf but is much more sun tolerant than the other chambys.    

[SCVpalmenthusiast]

Not in the bay, but I have a teddy bear palm in a shady spot that’s always moist. So far it looks great. Much better than my king palm, which has dried fronds. 

Im getting a macrocarpa next week to plant next to it. 

 

[tim_brissy_13]

I’d say in your location the two main challenges will be hot and dry in summer, and cold and wet in winter. Similar to the issues in my climate. As you say, A cunninghamiana is probably well suited, however I’d guess that winter damp soil may be a big challenge for C leptocheilos and B condapanna. Even Chambeyronia macrocarpa would want to have good drainage in winter ideally and also won’t love hot and dry for too long unless you can irrigate. They are pretty tough though so that’s your best from the palms you have.  Here’s some other palms I’d think would be suited to the conditions:

Archontophoenix purpurea, maxima, myolensis

Chrysalicarpus baronii 

Chrysalidocarpus ambositrae, onilahensis (might need soil ammendment for drainage)

Rhapis humilis

Livistona australis, decora

Chamaedorea radicalis, plumosa

 

 

 

[SCVpalmenthusiast]

2 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

I’d say in your location the two main challenges will be hot and dry in summer, and cold and wet in winter. Similar to the issues in my climate. As you say, A cunninghamiana is probably well suited, however I’d guess that winter damp soil may be a big challenge for C leptocheilos and B condapanna. Even Chambeyronia macrocarpa would want to have good drainage in winter ideally and also won’t love hot and dry for too long unless you can irrigate. They are pretty tough though so that’s your best from the palms you have.  Here’s some other palms I’d think would be suited to the conditions:

Archontophoenix purpurea, maxima, myolensis

Chrysalicarpus baronii 

Chrysalidocarpus ambositrae, onilahensis (might need soil ammendment for drainage)

Rhapis humilis

Livistona australis, decora

Chamaedorea radicalis, plumosa

 

 

 

That location doesn’t get very hot because it’s constantly shaded, it faces North East, so it only gets morning sun and is completely shaded by noon. It retains moisture really well. It’s the best microclimate. I have irrigation. I have a drain in that zone so it doesn’t pool. But ideally it would have been better if it was on a perch or hill. Im fairly confident these palms will do well in this area. In my climate it’s about finding the right microclimate. These palms are coming from a nursery in riverside. But we shall see ill posting updates.

[Harry’s Palms]

Ravenea Rivularis loves water. They do fine in sun around here . Harry

[tim_brissy_13]

2 hours ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

That location doesn’t get very hot because it’s constantly shaded, it faces North East, so it only gets morning sun and is completely shaded by noon. It retains moisture really well. It’s the best microclimate. I have irrigation. I have a drain in that zone so it doesn’t pool. But ideally it would have been better if it was on a perch or hill. Im fairly confident these palms will do well in this area. In my climate it’s about finding the right microclimate. These palms are coming from a nursery in riverside. But we shall see ill posting updates.

Sorry I was responding to the OP. 

[happypalms]

Johannesteijsmannia Altifrons! 

[tim_brissy_13]

29 minutes ago, happypalms said:

Johannesteijsmannia Altifrons! 

Come on Richard that situation would spell certain death for a Joey. Wouldn’t enjoy any time of year and wouldn’t last long. 

[happypalms]

18 minutes ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Come on Richard that situation would spell certain death for a Joey. Wouldn’t enjoy any time of year and wouldn’t last long. 

I guess he doesn’t have 1500 of them to throw around like I do! 

[happypalms]

Just now, happypalms said:

I guess he doesn’t have 1500 of them to throw around like I do! 

I tried the sun thing in the bush, very harsh conditions, and you can see what happens to them 🤣

[DoomsDave]

On 3/23/2026 at 9:08 AM, BayAndroid said:

Hi all, 

I have a few palms on deck and I want to find the best one for a wet part of the yard, (the low part of a drip loop that ends at the bottom of a slope). The soil is a sandy type and it's constantly wet. I know Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana would do great here, but I have some other palms that I want to consider for this spot. Would any of these work? (One last note, this is a very sunny location and our climate is Mediterranean, so hot dry in the summer with strong sun and low humidity)

Chambeyronia Macrocarpa / Hookeri 
Dypsis Leptocheilos
Bentinckia Condapanna

Thank you for your input, if none of these are ideal, I would like to know that too, because I have some fall back ideas that should do fine. My main concern is the sun burn. 
 

Those will all rot I think.

 

[BayAndroid]

Thank you all for your replies, I feel like I have the clarity I need for this spot. 

I have some Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana, Maxima, Purpurea and I have Chrysalidocarpus Onilahensis - all in pots and looking for a spot. I guess I'll just find a different spot for the originally referenced palms. 

[DoomsDave]

9 hours ago, BayAndroid said:

Thank you all for your replies, I feel like I have the clarity I need for this spot. 

I have some Archontophoenix Cunninghamiana, Maxima, Purpurea and I have Chrysalidocarpus Onilahensis - all in pots and looking for a spot. I guess I'll just find a different spot for the originally referenced palms. 

The Archontophoenix purpurea and C. onilahensis will also rot in my opinion, in your wet spot.

[awkonradi]

Hi Will, you're in the San Carlos hills, right?  Not sure, but I think some commenters may think your location is as hot as Livermore, or something.

[PlantMorePalms]

Pritchardia minor might do well in that spot, I believe they often live in swampy areas in their native habitat. Mine takes full day sun no problem. 

[BayAndroid]

8 hours ago, awkonradi said:

Hi Will, you're in the San Carlos hills, right?  Not sure, but I think some commenters may think your location is as hot as Livermore, or something.

Yeah, Redwood City Hills. It can get quite hot, but pretty close to the same as San Carlos. The relative humidity is generally pretty low, so I worry more about burning than the average palm talk member. 

[DoomsDave]

Thank you @BayAndroid for sharing; please keep on sharing. 

 

[BayAndroid]

On my climate, here's my data for March 2026 (note, if there's mention of total rain for the season, it's wrong, I need to clean out the rain catch.. it might not be listed on this sheet). I have a Vantage Vue by Davis Instruments. 

It should be noted, the weather this year has in fact been record breaking, however, it feels as though the climate is actively changing and that the averages are becoming less accurate. In 2022, we saw 112 in Redwood City, an all time high. 

784dc10e-015d-4a64-9bdd-6ae22d4f4380.pdf