Chusan palm

Trachycarpus fortunei · also: Windmill palm, Palm

The Chusan palm comes from the mountains of China and is the hardiest palm for our gardens. It has a straight, unbranched trunk covered in brown fibres and a head of large, fan-shaped leaves, and grows 5–10 m tall here. A mature palm can briefly withstand −15 °C, but young palms and palms in pots are more vulnerable, and wet frost in the heart is the real danger. In a sheltered spot, in open ground or in a large pot, it instantly gives a garden or patio a southern look.

Updated on 9 October 2026

Light
Sun or partial shade
preferably some sun
Moisture
Normal
no wet feet
Legal basis
Any garden soil
any pH
Hardiness
down to -15 °C
protect young plants
Size
5–10 m
tall
Flowering
May–June

Key facts
Pruning months	April–September
Height	5–10 m
Native to Belgium	No, planted
Good for bees, butterflies and birds	Little
Poisonous to people and pets	Not known to be poisonous
Flowering	May–June

Identify

Chusan palm: how do you recognise it?

Habit: Palm of 5–10 m with a single straight, unbranched trunk and a head of fan-shaped leaves; fairly slow-growing.
Leaf: Fan-shaped, 50–90 cm across, cut into 30–50 narrow, stiff segments, on long stalks with fine teeth; evergreen.
Trunk: A straight, unbranched trunk wrapped in coarse brown fibres from old leaf bases.
Flower: Large, yellow flower panicles among the leaves in May–June; separate male and female plants.
Fruit: Bluish-black, kidney-shaped berries (1 cm) on female plants.
Difference from dwarf fan palm: The dwarf fan palm (Chamaerops humilis) stays low and multi-stemmed, with spiny leaf stalks, and is less hardy.

Flowering: May–June · Pruning: April–September

Looks like it, but isn’t

Dwarf fan palm (Chamaerops humilis): stays low and multi-stemmed, with spiny leaf stalks; less hardy.

In your garden

Why grow it?

A southern silhouette that overwinters outdoors here: the hardiest palm.
Evergreen and attractive all year round; fits a small garden or a large pot.
Little work: you just remove old leaves.
Grows in sun and partial shade.

Chusan palm: where does it grow best?

Sun or partial shade, sheltered from wind: in the wind the leaves tear and become ragged.
Any well-drained soil; it must not have wet feet in winter.
In a sheltered spot, a courtyard or against a wall, it comes through harsh winters best.
It takes up little room: allow 2–3 m across. A large pot works too, but it is less hardy there.

Light: Sun or partial shade
Legal basis: Any garden soil
Moisture: Normal
Size: 6 m tall, 2.5 m wide
Hardiness: down to -15 °C, protect young plants

Goes well with

Japanese aralia: Large, glossy, evergreen leaves for partial shade: together an exotic corner.
Bamboo: A rustling evergreen backdrop. Choose a clump-forming kind or install a root barrier, otherwise it will spread.
Sacred bamboo: A low evergreen shrub from East Asia, with red autumn and winter colours and red berries.

Maintenance

Chusan palm: when and how to plant it?

Plant in spring (April–May), so that it is well rooted before winter.
A palm with a trunk of a few dozen centimetres copes better with winter than a very young plant.
Make sure drainage is good: on heavy soil, mix gravel or coarse sand into the planting hole.
In a pot: choose a large, heavy pot with drainage holes and fill it with potting compost mixed with gravel.
Water regularly during the first summer.

Care

Watering: Regularly in the first summer; after that, in open ground, only during long droughts. In a pot, regularly in summer and very sparingly in winter.
Feeding: A little fertiliser now and then from April to August, especially in a pot.
Old leaves: The lower leaves turn yellow and brown: that is normal. Cut them off once they are completely dead.
Fibres: Leave the brown fibres around the trunk: they protect it from frost.

Tip: Plant it in a courtyard or against a sunny wall: on frosty nights it stays a few degrees warmer there than in an open garden.

Chusan palm: when to prune it?

Pruning months: April–September.

When: Remove brown, dead leaves whenever you like, preferably not in the depths of winter.

How:

Cut an old leaf off close to the trunk; leave the fibres, as they protect the trunk.
Don’t cut off green, healthy leaves: the palm needs them, and they protect the heart.
Never cut out the growing point in the heart: the palm will die, as it cannot form a new crown.

Caution: For a young palm in a harsh winter, tie the leaves together and protect the heart from wet frost.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Sowing: Female palms with a male nearby sometimes bear viable seeds. Sow them fresh in a pot in a warm place indoors; they germinate after a few weeks to a few months, and the seedlings grow slowly.
No cuttings: Cuttings or division are impossible: it has a single trunk and produces no offsets.

Chusan palm: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −15 °C: protect young plants.

A mature palm in open ground can briefly withstand −15 °C. From about −10 °C, especially with wet frost and cold wind, the leaves can be damaged.
Protect young palms in severe frost: tie the leaves together upright, wrap them in horticultural fleece and make sure no water sits in the heart and freezes. Don’t use plastic, as the palm will rot underneath, and remove the protection once the frost is over.
In a pot the root-ball freezes much sooner: wrap the pot thickly, or in severe frost (from about −5 °C) move it to a cool, light, frost-free place such as a cold greenhouse or a garage with a window. A heated living room is not suitable.
Brown leaves after a harsh winter are not necessarily fatal: as long as the heart is healthy, the palm will make new leaves in summer.

Diseases and pests

Bud rot: The youngest leaf in the heart comes loose or rots, after wet frost. Often fatal; protect the heart from water in harsh winters.
Brown, torn leaves: Caused by wind, frost or drought. Cut them off once they are completely dead, and choose a sheltered spot.
Yellow leaves: Old, lower leaves turn yellow naturally. If young leaves turn yellow too, the soil is too wet or short of nutrients: improve drainage and feed in summer.
Red spider mite: Fine webbing and dull, speckled leaves on a palm overwintering in a warm, dry room. Move it somewhere cooler and spray the leaves.

Through the year

January: In severe frost: tie up and wrap the leaves, move potted palms to a frost-free place.
March: Remove the protection once no more severe frost is forecast.
April: Plant; cut off dead leaves; start feeding.
May: Move potted palms outside; cut off dead leaves; older palms flower.
June: Feed; water potted palms regularly; remove dead leaves.
July: Water during dry spells; cut off brown leaves.
August: Last feed; cut off dead leaves.
September: Last removal of dead leaves before winter.
November: Get the fleece ready; move potted palms to a frost-free place in severe frost.

Use

What can you use it for?

Garden and landscape: Gives a garden a southern look; also in a large pot on the patio.
Also used for: In China the fibres were made into rope, brushes and rain capes.

You and this species

Did you know?

The hardiest palm for our gardens: it can briefly withstand temperatures down to −15 °C.
In China the fibres were made into rope, brushes and rain capes.
The species name fortunei honours Robert Fortune, a Scottish plant hunter who brought many plants from China to Europe in the 19th century.
In southern Switzerland (Ticino) it has escaped into the wild and self-seeds in the woods.
Fortunei refers to Robert Fortune, the Scottish plant hunter who brought the palm to England and also smuggled tea plants out of China for the British East India Company.
In the Swiss canton of Ticino it has escaped from gardens and is running wild in the forests, helped by milder winters.

All species · Identification key · Pruning calendar