PlantFiles: Lipstick Palm
Cyrtostachys renda

I have found a shoot (with 3 or 4 leaves) of this palm growing amid a dense flower bush that I am in the process of removing. I can only identify it from photos and from what I have read about it online. It doesn't seem likely to be growing (wild) here in Scottsdale, AZ. Have I mistaken this palm for another similar species native to Arizona? Please advise if there are any "look-a-likes" in this area. My wife wants me to pull it up, but I would like to keep it.

I have managed to keep a clump of this palm alive for seven years now in Ft. Lauderdale- but it is clearly not thriving. We made a very sheltered area to keep the wind off it and have gone out of our way to feed it consistently and keep the water coming, but it is having a very hard time of it.

As this is a pretty pricey palm I would think twice about attempting it- unless like me you think you can grow anything. And even then be prepared to lose it.

Ok, so this is NOT a plant for anyone in the US, unless you live in Hawaii or maybe the Florida Keys... but it's the most beautiful palm in the world, so I just had to add it to the database. It is only hardy down to about 60F, and struggles if left even there too long. It prefers the tropics, and most of the photos uploaded are from Singapore or Thailand. One can readily see why it is called the Lipstick palm... very few other palms show this remarkable orange red color to the crownshaft and petioles. It is a suckering palm and makes a elegant clump of incredible color.