The Spindle Palm is a delightful palm with an unusual, stout, spindle, shaped stem. It has a crown of several arching, bright green leaves and very elegant and ornamental flower clusters. It is endemic to Rodriguez Island, Mauritius, which is in the western Indian Ocean near Madagascar. It is very rare in the wild but is widely cultivated throughout the warm regions of the world. The spindle Palm is particularly prized for its spindle shaped trunk and elegant fronds. The trunk is enlarged in the middle and tapered at either end. The base of the trunk is slightly enlarged. It is smooth and light gray-green with conspicuous leaf scar rings. The trunk is topped by a large and very ornamental crownshaft. The crownshaft is stout, smooth and bluish-green or bluish-gray in color. It is enlarged at the base. The trunk is up to 20 feet in height. The crown has 3-10 fronds. Fronds are compact and dark green to lime-green above and grey below with a yellow petiole. The flower clusters emerge from large, lanceolate buds below the crownshaft. The fragrant flowers are ivory to orange in color. Fruits are about ¾ of an inch long. They are orange to red in color when immature and are black when mature. It can be grown in tropical and tropical regions and is hardy in zones 10 and 11. It is often grown in coastal regions and is a wonderful accent plant in the landscape. It is used as a street tree and a specimen tree and it is also is very effective when planted in small groups.

Growing Instructions

1. Soak the seed in water for several hours.
2. The seeds like moist, well-drained soil. Prepare a mixture of half potting soil and half sand, perlite or vermiculite. Put the soil in a pot. Water the mixture so that it is moist but not wet.
3. Put the seeds on the soil.
4. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil.
5. Water the seeds.
6. Place the pots in an area with warm temperatures in full sun or part shade.
7. When the seedlings are a few inches tall, they can be transplanted.