Florida Thatch Palm Thrinax radiata

Florida thatch palm is a solitary Caribbean fan palm with a slim, pale, straight trunk and no crownshaft, carrying a compact crown of stiff fan-shaped fronds that are bright green above and noticeably lighter, almost silvered, beneath. Small white fruit follows the flower spikes. It stays tidy without much attention, and the trunk stays slim enough to plant close to a wall, which is why it turns up in beachfront courtyards, pool surrounds and narrow planters where a messier palm would need constant work.

A coastal palm with a hard cold limit

This is a true coastal species from the Caribbean and the Florida Keys, so wind and salt-laden air are well within its range, and it suits beachfront gardens through Queensland and northern New South Wales. Soil is the first requirement. It needs an open, free-draining profile, because the roots will not tolerate a waterlogged one and root rot is the usual end for a palm planted into a heavy or poorly drained bed. A raised bed or a mound is worth the trouble on clay. Cold is the second and firmer limit. Frost, or a long cold wet winter, checks it hard and it is not quick to recover, which rules out the tablelands and cold inland districts. Choose a grade close to the height you want the effect at rather than expecting a small plant to stand in for a large one. In a group, stagger the spacing so the trunks do not line up like fence posts, and give each crown room to sit clear of walls, because the fronds are stiff and scuff against a hard surface.

Thatch palm or the rainforest fan palm

The other fan palm here is Borassodendron machadonis, and they are opposites. Borassodendron is a rainforest understorey palm wanting shelter, humidity and constant warmth, with enormous segmented fronds and leaf stalks sharp enough to cut. Thrinax is the outdoor workhorse: exposed, salty, windy sites, a neat crown and no hazards to design around. Take the thatch palm for a pool surround or a coastal courtyard that gets weather, and the Borassodendron for a protected tropical garden. Neither suits a cold inland site. If you want similar coastal toughness without a palm, dragon tree covers it. Larger specimens are in mature trees.

Frond removal and palm feeding

Remove fronds only after they have gone fully brown, cutting close to the trunk without gouging it, and never lift the crown by stripping green or yellowing fronds, because a palm draws nutrients back out of ageing leaves and an over-trimmed crown narrows and weakens. Old leaf bases shed on their own, so leave them to loosen rather than cutting them off flush. Feed in spring and again in mid summer with a controlled-release palm fertiliser carrying magnesium, potassium and manganese, spread across the root zone and watered in. Yellow banding on older fronds usually means magnesium rather than a watering problem. Keep mulch off the trunk base.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 4 sizes, from 250mm up to 160L, priced from $87.95 to $1209.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to when to plant in Australia.