Phoenix Palm Trees for Landscapes and Offices




Commercially, the Phoenix genus of palm trees is broad and very desirable for use in landscape situations of the south, and to decorate offices. Huge specimens of the Canary Island Date Palm, Phoenix canariensis, show considerable cold hardy qualities in northern parts of southern states such as zone 7. Phoenix sylvestris can also be used as landscape specimen for landscapers who look for slender trunks. The Medjool date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, can be planted as a fruit tree to produce delicious dates, or it can be planted as a tropical landscape specimen. The size of the dwarf pygmy date palm tree is in great contrast to the giant Canary Island date palm tree. The pygmy date palm tree, Phoenix roebellenii, is a very popular container choice for outdoor display that can be moved indoors during cold weather.





Medjool Date Palm – Phoenix dactylifera


In ancient history, this famous Medjool date palm fed the many areas of the Mideast. A food, the dried date, was easily preserved to sustain travelers who promoted caravan trade throughout the East and Western civilizations. Like grain, olives, raisins, and wine, these commodities, along with dates, flourished in stable empires of the past with properity that overflowed abundantly. The Hebrew Scriptures repeatedly mentioned the Medjool date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, as God's gift to the chosen people, the Jews. Groves of the Medjool date palm trees still grow in the ancient lands of the Israelites, and newer groves have been established and grow productively in the Western United States, where dates are harvested yearly for gourmets to buy at markets. The Medjool date palm trees grow into enormous specimen trees with time and are choice landscape trees at vacation resorts for that tropical look. The Medjool date palm tree is cold hardy in most southern areas of the United States in zones 7-11.