The Blue Latan Palm is one of the best ornamental fan palms. While young plants have beautiful red petioles and leaf margins, mature plants produce a compact crown of very leathery, stiff, blue fan leaves with leafstalks covered in thick, white wool. They grow a slender trunk over the years. It is the most vigorous and robust of the three species in the genus and will thrive in a position in full sun in most tropical and frost-free subtropical areas.
A single-trunked palm, eventually 20 to 35 feet tall with a 15-foot spread, Latan Palms are noted for their distinctive, coarse-textured costapalmate leaves. The large, very thick and stiff leaves, up to eight feet in diameter, are held aloft on five-foot-long petioles. The surface of each leaf is covered with a whitish, waxy or wooly down, providing a silvery appearance to the palm. The three to six-foot-long flower stalks are present among the leaves in spring and some of the glossy brown, two-inch-wide fruits are always ripening. The 10-inch-wide trunks have thick, swollen bases. Latan Palm makes a striking specimen planting and is well-suited to seaside locations due to its moderate salt-tolerance. Plant it in an area where you would like to attract attention.
Growing Instructions
Seeds need up to several months to sprout. Clean seeds, carefully scratch hard layer with a knife or similar and pre-soak in warm water for 1-3 days. Put each seed in a mid-sized to large pot (6" minimum). Latania likes deep soil. When they germinate, they create a thick sinker, that often appears on the soil surface first. After a few days the sinker turns into the soil again and checks the soil. 1-2 weeks after the sinker the seedlings appears (usually close to the sinker) on the surface. sinker appears usually after 1-3 weeks, seedling after 2-5 weeks. Plants creates very thick roots that grow fast deep into the soil.