Walton's Plant Library

Other Names:  Blue-Stem Palm, Bush Palmetto

Description:

This dwarf native palm makes a perfect garden or small landscape accent; tolerates drought and adapts to a wide variety of soils; very cold hardy; young plants will flower and bear fruit

Ornamental Features

Dwarf Palmetto has attractive bluish-green evergreen foliage on a plant with the bulk of the canopy held atop a towering trunk or stem. The lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter. It features showy panicles of creamy white flowers with shell pink overtones held atop the branches in mid fall. The fruits are showy black drupes displayed in late fall.

Landscape Attributes

Dwarf Palmetto is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a towering form, with a high canopy of foliage concentrated at the top of the plant. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Dwarf Palmetto is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Dwarf Palmetto will grow to be about 5 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It is quite adaptable, prefering to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is native to parts of North America.

Dwarf Palmetto makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.