Fan palms have wide, fan-like fronds.
Palm trees grow in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and forms, but their foliage is either feather or fan-shaped. Feathery palms have pinnate leaves, while fan palms have palmate foliage. Fan palms range from 5 to 100 feet tall and have a variety of sun, soil and moisture requirements. Choose companion plants that best complement the cultural needs of your landscape's particular fan palm species.
Mexican Fan Palm
The Mexican fan palm (Washingtonia robusta) grows to 100 feet tall and prefers partial shade to full sun. It grows best with regular irrigation and is hardy to U.S. Department of Agriculture Zone 5. Companions for the Mexican fan palm include Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima), a 2-foot-tall, drought-tolerant grass that thrives in full sun. It is hardy in Zones 6 to 9. Annual flowers add bright color to palm plantings. The Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) grows to 5 feet tall and blooms from summer through fall with orange and yellow blossoms. It tolerates drought and prefers full sun exposures.
California Fan Palm
The California fan palm (W. filifera) grows to 60 feet tall with a 20-foot spread. It requires excellent soil drainage and infrequent irrigation. California fan palms are hardy to USDA Zone 4. Companion plants for these palms must tolerate arid conditions. Needle grass (Stipa tenacissima) grows well in full sun and dry soil. This ornamental species grows in upright clumps of silver-green fronds and is hardy in Zones 6 to 8. Mexican orange (Choisya ternata) shrubs grow to 10 feet tall. These evergreens have fragrant, lustrous foliage and bloom in spring and summer with white, aromatic flowers. Hardy in Zones 7 to 10, they grow best in sunny, well-drained sites.
European Fan Palm
The European fan palm (Chamaerops humilis) is the only indigenous European palm. This cold-hardy tree grows to 15 feet tall and has silver- to light-green foliage. It is hardy in USDA zones 8B to 11 and grows well in moist, fertile soil and full sun or light shade. Also hardy in zZones 8 to 11, the Chinese hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) grows to 8 feet tall and blooms with 8-inch white, yellow red or pink flowers. It grows well in sun and well-drained soil. New Zeland flax (Phormium texax) grows in 9-inch-tall clumps of red-brown foliage. This ornamental grass produces trumpet-shaped blossoms and is hardy in Zones 8 to 10. It prefers full sun to partial shade and well-draining soil.
Chinese Fan Palm
The Chinese fan palm (Livistona chinensis) thrives in USDA zones 9B to 11. This straight-trunked tree grows to 50 feet tall and has pendulous, 6-foot fronds. Chinese fan palms thrive in full sun to partial shade and well-drained, fertile soil. For shady sites under a Chinese fan palm, plant sickle ferns (Pellaea falcate). These drought-tolerant ferns thrive in Zones 10 to 11 and have erect, lustrous fronds that grow to 18 inches tall. Ixora (Ixora coccinea) shrubs also thrive in shady sites in Zones 10 to 11. These 6-foot-tall evergreens have lustrous, dark foliage and bloom with pink, red, orange and yellow flowers.
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