PlantFiles: Cliff Date Palm
Phoenix rupicola

So far the potted plant has done very well. I think it needs a very even supply of moisture to avoid discolored fronds. Mine in summer was getting a little off colored until I put a saucer under it...as long as there is some water in the saucer the palm has stayed a rich,glossy green. Night temperatures in the low 30's havent bothered it. I can see that this isnt as good a water saver palm as most Phoenix sp. As usual,the more exotic looking, the more needy the plant compared to its bretheren.
At the least its about the right size for small to average yards.

This is probably one of the most tropical of the Phoenix palms, and the most tropical looking of them. It has soft, droopy leaves with hardly any spines at the leaf bases (though they're still there, so careful). It has the greenest leaves of the Phoenix and is a very graceful tree. I have had some trouble growing this species- it's a bit touchy in zone 9b and it's quite slow, too.... but it does grow here very well for some people. In southern California this Phoenix is the most prone to yellowing of all the Phoenix, looking like it's suffering from severe potasium deficiency. Whether or not that is actually the case, I don't know. Sometimes P canariensis will show the same yellowing, but rarely. In fact, the yellowing is so prevelant, that it's sometimes used as an identifying factor when trying to figure out what species certain mature Phoenix are. Even the hybrid P rupicolas tend to have yellowy leaves.

This species is from India