Caring for your Windmill Palm Trees

Cold hardy Windmill Palm Trees do not come from the Tropics, but rather originated from the rain forests in the lower levels of the mountains of China. This makes them exceptionally suitable to Southern Vancouver Island’s temperate climate.

Windmill palms need a lot of watering, particularly during the dry, warm summers experienced in Oak Bay. Windmill palms can suffer from drought stress during the first two years in the garden and they should be watered every two to four days during sunny, dry periods in the summer. Watering with a hose or watering can helps to better establish their shallow root ball system.

Windmills will not survive in soil that is not well drained and they prefer slightly acidic soil. For the first two or three years, mulch around the plant in autumn to protect the plant from the cold. After this time, the windmill will be cold hardy.

After 5 years of growing from seed, to a height of between 16 and 18 inches, Windmill Palm Trees start to grow rapidly and should triple in height over the following three years. After eight years from seed they should increase in height between six and 18 inches per year and will start looking like beautiful palm trees!

For more information on caring for palm trees contact Michael Prescott, Palm Tree Enthusiast, at mprescott@shaw.ca.