The Size of a Palm Tree

Coconut Palm

• The coconut palm tree (Cocos nucifera Linn) achieves a height between 80 and 100 feet, with dwarf varieties substantially smaller. The trunk is slender and extends upright or with a slight curve. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences says the coconut palm is considered to be the most important palm tree in the world, owing to its production of the tree's trademark fruit, the coconut, which begins to bloom on the tree after approximately six years of germination.

Royal Palm

• The royal palm (Roystonea) typically attains a height between 50 and 100 feet, and requires between 50 and 100 years to achieve that size. The canopy spread of the tree varies, ranging between 15 and 25 feet. The tree is native to North America and will achieve its ideal size in U.S. Department of Agriculture Hardiness Zone 10 and Zone 11, an area that encompasses the extreme tropical locales of the U.S.

California Fan Palm

• The fan palm (Washington filifera) grows to a height of at least 45 feet with a canopy spread of approximately 15 feet. An evergreen tree, it grows approximately 15 feet in height every 10 years and develops green or gray fan-shaped leaves --- also called fronds --- that achieve a width between 3 and 6 feet. It appreciates full sunshine and tolerates heat well. The fan palm is commonly planted as a skyline, thoroughfare or entryway specimen.

Pests

• Palms are tropical or subtropical trees and generally grow best in those conditions. Pests of the palm species include aphids, armored scales, banana moth, foliage-feeding caterpillars, mealybugs and root knot nematodes. An especially prolific pest is the giant palm borer, an insect whose larvae and adults can grow to a length of 2 inches and bore holes as much as 1/2-inch wide into the trunk of palm trees. These holes can eventually cause the tree to fall.