[quote=Aecetia]TG-
Whatever you decide, I would not recommend the phoenix robellini palms. They require a lot of care and they have nasty thorns. There is a Chilean Wine palm (Jubaea chilensis) that looks nice and is self- cleaning, but you cannot make wine out of the sap without killing it and they are protected in Chile, so where are you going to get it?[/quote]
The Chilean Wine palm can be found at any local palm nursery, but it’s not a good choice for most people. It’s too large (world’s largest palm by mass) and a very slow grower. A small 5 gallon plant from a nursery could take a decade before it has a foot of trunk. It’s a beautiful, drought tolerant, and extremely cold hardy (down to 14F) palm. It loves the So Cal climate except near ocean salt spray. Its fronds will grow out to 30′ in diameter, and it can get up to 80′ high, but that won’t happen until your great grand children are retired. If you have space, it’s a great “plant and forget” tree for posterity.
