This species quickly grows to heights of 50–70 ft., with a spread of 20–25 ft., and has a smooth light gray trunk up to 2 ft. in diameter. It is ideal for landscaping streets, parks, and commercial properties, but becomes too large for typical residential landscapes. The bases of royal palm leaves are tightly overlapping and form a smooth green five-foot-high region above the trunk called the “crownshaft.” Royal palms are considered self-cleaning: naturally dying old leaves will cleanly drop off by themselves, at a rate of about one leaf per month. While this eliminates the need to trim off old dead
leaves, the sheer size (10–15 ft. long) and weight (up to 50 lb. when fresh) of these leaves can cause injury to people and damage to property when they fall. Inflorescences consisting of hundreds of tiny cream-colored flowers are followed in late summer by dark red to black fruits that are readily consumed by birds and thus widely dispersed.
The royal palm is a large majestic palm that is native to south Florida and Cuba. It is considered cold hardy to about 28°F or USDA Cold Hardiness Zone 10A.
They grow well in wet soils, yet are quite drought tolerant once they become established. The species is prone to potassium (K), manganese (Mn), and boron (B) deficiencies, especially on calcareous native or fill soils. Potassium deficiency symptoms in royal palms appears as leaflet tip necrosis and curling (frizzling) that is most severe on the oldest leaves. Potassium deficiency also causes premature leaf loss and reduces the number of leaves a palm can support. In severe cases of K deficiency, affected palms may have only a couple of stunted, off-color, and frizzled leaves. Such palms may also show a tapering of the trunk (pencil-pointing), and they often die from the deficiency.
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