Location

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Foxtail Palm

• ​​Common Name: Foxtail Palm
  
• Scientific Name: Wodyetia bifurcata
  
• Family Name: Arecaceae
  
• Origin: Australia
  
• Height: 8’ - 30’
  
• Width: 15’ – 20’
  
• Growth: fast
  
• Zone: 9B - 11
  
• Light Needs: full sun or partial shade
  
• Salt Tolerance:  moderately
  
• Soil/PH/Texture: prefers a well-drained soil with a slightly acidic pH. (pH5.6 – 7.8)
  
• Soil Moisture: average water needs, does best when watered regularly
  
• Drought Tolerance: moderately but has better growth when watered regularly at its base, is also humidity tolerant.
  
• Pests/Diseases: resistant to most insects and diseases but are vulnerable to various fungal diseases triggered by over-watering.
  
• Growing Conditions: easy to grow and low maintenance
  
• Characteristics: The leaves or fronds are pinnately compound. can reach lengths of 8’ to 10’, are attached to a petiole that is about 6” to 12” in length. The dark green leaflets are each ½’, grow whorled around the rachis, and split into segments at the tips. The trunk is light gray white, somewhat enlarged mid-length, and has dark leaf base scars encircling it. The stem’s swollen base becomes slender towards the top, and, when mature, accounts for as much as 3’ of the palm’s total height. The inflorescence occurs just below the crown shaft, is heavily branched, and bares white male and female flowers. Fruits are 2” long, egg shaped, and red/orange when ripe.
  
• Propagation: by seed easily, do not plant more than ¼” below soil surface
  
• Wildlife: attracts birds
  
• Facts: Wodyetia is the Latin term for "Wodyeti", the surname of an Australian aboriginal man who was the last of his kind to be versed in the plants and animals that occur in the area of Queensland where he was from. The common name is about the fronds' appearance, which some people think resemble the bushy tail of a fox. Seed is poisonous if ingested.
  
• Designer Considerations: use as a specimen tree, accent tree, on a highway median, along sidewalks, borders, grouped in 3, along residential or commercial buildings, or in a container on your patio or deck.
  

Foxtail Palm