Bismarckia nobilis 'Silver'

Bismarckia nobilis, the Bismarck palm, is the only species of its genus: a massive fan palm from the savannas of northern and western Madagascar. A straight grey trunk carries a near-spherical head of stiff, costapalmate leaves that, in the form most often grown, are coated in white wax and look silvery blue.

This is that silver form, sold as 'Silver'. It is hardier than the green-leaved form and is one of the most sought-after landscape palms of warm, dry climates for its colour and symmetry.

At a glance

• Native range: Madagascar
• Mature size: about 9–18 m in cultivation
• Growth rate: slow while young, moderate once a trunk forms; fastest where summers are hottest
• Light: full sun, ideally hot sun
• Water: very drought tolerant once established, but best with moderate to generous summer watering
• Cold hardiness: established silver-leaved plants take about −3 to −4 °C briefly; seedlings may lose leaves
• Indoors / outdoors: an outdoor specimen palm; it needs plenty of space

Care

Give it the hottest, sunniest spot available in free-draining soil. Feed with a palm fertiliser rich in potassium, and remove only fully dead leaves. The palm resents disturbance once in the ground, so choose its final position carefully and plant it out from the pot with the root ball intact.

Why Palmpedia: Greenhouse-grown by us in Almeirim, Portugal, and supplied in 15 L to 35 L pots.