The Canary Island Date Palm, otherwise known as the Phoenix Canariensis or Canary Date Palm, Slender Date Palm, is a popular palm plant loved by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and slow growth, this palm will likely liven up your garden with its green-colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Canary Island Date Palm is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Canary Island Date Palm Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Canary Island Date Palm can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Canary Island Date Palm needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
- Light: Keep your Phoenix Canariensis in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Canary Island Date Palm in soil with well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of loam.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Canary Island Date Palm will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Canary Island Date Palm belongs to the Arecaceae family, the genus Phoenix and the species Canariensis, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Phoenix Canariensis (FEE-niks kuh-nair-ee-EN-sis).
As with other Phoenix’s, the Canary Island Date Palm is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year-round in your garden.
Growing Region
You might be wondering why your Canary Island Date Palm’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Phoenix Canariensis will be most used to the heat zones in the 10 – 12 region, and in climate zones that range between 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, H1, H2.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Canary Island Date Palm is a relatively slow grower, which makes things easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Canary Island Date Palm? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Phoenix Canariensis can grow up to 40′ – 60′ (12m – 18m) in 40′ – 60′ (12m – 18m) and 20′ – 40′ (6m – 12m) in 20′ – 40′ (6m – 12m).
Watering
In terms of watering, the Canary Island Date Palm is a fairly complicated plant to take care of. This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Phoenix Canariensis needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively low needs in terms of water.
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Canary Island Date Palm in soil with well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Canary Island Date Palm since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
The Canary Island Date Palm’s ideal soil potting mix is made out of loam.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to acid soil.
Light and Placement
In terms of light & exposure, the Canary Island Date Palm requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this palm will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Phoenix Canariensis in
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Canary Island Date Palm will be present year round in your garden. Moreover, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
The Canary Island Date Palm produces some beautiful yellow flowers.
Foliage
The leaves from the Canary Island Date Palm have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Canary Island Date Palm is well known for its tolerance to salt and drought conditions, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Phoenix Canariensis will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Canary Island Date Palm? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Phoenix Canariensis owners agree that this palm will look great in most tropical gardens of all types. Other owners consider that they compliment well most gardens of coastal garden, and in Mediterranean garden styles.
In particular, the Canary Island Date Palm’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, and in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a houseplant, container, or a specimen.
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Canary Island Date Palm, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant.
