Pritchardia - Fan Palm: Planting and Growing

Botany and description

The genus Pritchardia belongs, like all palms, to the Arecaceae family (or Palmae) and includes 37 species of fan palms, including Pritchardia pacifica from Tonga and Fiji, as well as Pritchardia hillebrandii and Pritchardia remota from Hawaii. Common names for these palms include Hawaiian fan palm, Pacific fan palm, and even Spoon palm. The genus name Pritchardia refers to the British consul W.T. Pritchard who resided in Samoa and Fiji.

Pritchardia palms grow on volcanic soils and in rainy regions of the Pacific. In their native range, the Hawaiian Islands (19 species of Pritchardia) and other Pacific islands (Fiji, Samoa, Tuamotu and Tonga), Pritchardia can reach up to 40 metres in height with a trunk diameter of up to 50 cm.

Growing on Pacific islands, these palms cannot tolerate winter temperatures below 5°C. They should therefore be kept indoors during winter, in a cool room with temperatures between 10°C and 15°C. Consequently, these are palms that we will keep in pots year-round in our regions, but which can be moved outdoors to the garden during the warmer months.

Pritchardia pacifica, Pritchardia hillebrandii (© Forest and Kim Starr), and Pritchardia remota (© David Eickhoff)

Pritchardia palms feature a long solitary trunk (pseudo-trunk) several metres tall, either smooth and bare or covered in fibres. The trunk shows ringed scars.

The flowers appear between July and August. They are hermaphroditic, possessing both male and female organs. The flowers are yellowish and fragrant. The inflorescence is arched with simple or compound branches of varying lengths depending on the species, but always extending beyond the leaves. The fruits develop at the ends of these inflorescences. They are small black berries when ripe, 12 mm in diameter, each containing a single seed. Note that it takes about ten years of cultivation before flowers and fruits appear.

Flowers of Pritchardia, and fruits of Pritchardia arecina (© Forest and Kim Starr)

The leaves are costapalmate (fan-shaped but with a central axis), arranged in a fan shape, plicate, and held by inermous petioles (without thorns) covered with tomentum (a sort of down). Each leaf can measure up to 1.80 m long and as much wide. The fronds are green in colour, light to dark, and waxy. The leaf sheath eventually breaks down into fibres.

Pritchardia palms are widely cultivated as houseplants. The growth of these palms is slow for the first two or three years, but then accelerates, quickly producing a palm with a majestic habit.

Some species of Pritchardia are listed on the IUCN Red List and are currently endangered.

Leaves of Pritchardia pacifica

The most beautiful species of Fan Palm

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Planting Pritchardia

Where to plant?

These palms are not hardy and cannot tolerate temperatures below 5°C. Therefore, they should be grown in pots as houseplants. Winter temperatures should be between 10°C and 15°C: ideally in a bright, minimally heated room such as a conservatory.

Avoid direct sunlight which may scorch their palmate leaves. Filtered sunlight is the most suitable exposure. You can move your Pritchardia outdoors during summer, but always keep it sheltered from direct sunlight.

When to plant?

The Pritchardia should be repotted between May and July.

How to plant?

Choose a large pot (at least 10 L) that is deeper than it is wide, as these palms develop vertical roots. Ideally, opt for a terracotta pot which is more porate. The pot must have at least one drainage hole at the bottom.

The soil should be rich and light. You can make your own mix using 25% compost, 25% potting soil, 25% pumice and 25% sand. Alternatively, ready-to-use Mediterranean plant compost or indoor plant composts are suitable.

• Soak the palm’s pot for a few minutes;
• Place broken pottery pieces or gravel at the bottom of the pot to cover without blocking the drainage hole(s);
• Fill one-third of the pot with your chosen soil;
• Position the root ball in the centre, then fill gaps with remaining soil;
• Firmly press the soil around the trunk with your fingers;
• Water thoroughly until saturated: this helps eliminate air pockets between the soil and roots;
• Place your palm in partial shade, indoors or outdoors if temperatures allow.

Pritchardia pacifica grown in a pot

Maintenance

Watering

Water regularly from June to September to keep the compost slightly moist at all times, without excess. Reduce water intake outside these months: you can allow the top layer of compost to dry out.

Avoid heat sources and direct sunlight which may dry out or scorch the fronds. Place the pot on a bed of gravel or clay pebbles kept moist. You can also spray with non-calcareous water daily to increase humidity for the plant, especially in dry indoor environments.

Pruning

Only remove yellowing leaves! Over-pruning a palm often slows its growth.

Maintenance

Clean the fronds frequently with a damp sponge to remove dust.

Feeding

A “green plant” liquid fertiliser, well-balanced in nitrogen (at least 6 in nitrogen), is most suitable. Apply approximately every month between April and September.

You can also add some crushed horn during spring repotting for specimens that are a few years old.

Possible diseases and pests

Scale insects can sometimes infest indoor palm trees. Greasy products help combat hard scale insects. You’ll need to prepare a solution made of one teaspoon of liquid black soap and one teaspoon of olive or rapeseed oil, all diluted in one litre of water. You can spray this mixture weekly until the scale insects disappear.

Scale insects thrive in warm, dry and confined spaces: taking your palm tree outside (if temperatures allow!) and exposing it to wind and rain will effectively combat these pests.

→ Are scale insects causing you problems? Discover how to effectively and naturally combat these pests!

Propagating Pritchardia

Palm trees are propagated by sowing. You can sow Pritchardia seeds all year round indoors, in a warm and humid atmosphere.

• First, soak your seeds in lukewarm water for at least 24 hours. This facilitates germination;
• Prepare pots by filling them with a well-draining substrate, for example a mix of 1/3 compost and 2/3 sand. Choose sufficiently deep pots (at least 2 L), as with some species, the first radicles that appear penetrate deeply into the substrate;
• Remove the seeds from the water, rinse them, then sow them in your pots;
• Cover them with a thin layer of substrate;
• Lightly firm down with your fingers;
• Water with a fine spray;
• Place a lid or plastic bag over the pot to maintain a humid atmosphere;
• Position your sowings in a bright location, but out of direct sunlight, at a temperature of at least 20°C.

How to pair the Fan Palm?

Even if kept in a pot and spending part of the year in a conservatory or cold greenhouse, the Pritchardia, for example a Pritchardia hillebrandii, can be placed in partial shade during summer and accompany lush, exotic-looking plants in the garden. Notable companions include the  Tetrapanax papyrifera, the Banana plant Musa basjoo or Elephant’s Ear Colocasia ‘Pink China’… If you have a water feature or very damp soil, you could plant Gunnera manicata or even arborescent ferns.

Pritchardia hillebrandii (© Forest and Kim Starr), Tetrapanax papyrifera, Colocasia and Dicksonia antartica

But the highly graphic nature of these palms also makes them very valuable on a terrace or balcony during summer. If space allows, you could pair a Pritchardia thurstonii with a Dasylirion glaucophyllum, a large rosette of blue-green linear leaves borne on a short trunk. A small tree widespread in the tropics, the Frangipani or Plumeria rubra will add colourful, fragrant notes with its pretty pink or red flowers. Finally, if part of this terrace is well-shaded, you could try another rather surprising palm, the Parlour Palm, with its vibrant green bifid leaves.