Brahea armataMexican Blue Palm

The Brahea armata, commonly known as the Mexican Blue Palm, is a solitary fan palm from the dry canyons of Baja California, and one of the bluest palms in cultivation. Stiff, waxy, silver-blue costapalmate fronds are held in a compact crown above a stout grey trunk marked with old leaf bases.

It is slow, extremely drought-hardy and unusually cold-tolerant for a desert palm, which makes it a durable feature specimen rather than a quick result. Designers use it as a lit accent in courtyards, entrances and gravel gardens where the foliage colour carries the composition.

Specifications

• Height8 to 12 metres over many years
• Width3 to 4 metres (crown spread)
• Native toBaja California, Mexico
• FoliageStiff, waxy, silver-blue costapalmate fronds with toothed petioles; evergreen
• Growth rateVery slow

Conditions

• SoilRequires sharply drained sandy, gravelly or rocky soils; tolerates poor and alkaline ground and rots in wet clay
• LightFull sun
• WaterLow; strongly drought-tolerant once established and easily overwatered
• ClimateThrives in hot arid and semi-arid regions and tolerates frost well for a desert palm

Additional Features

• FormCompact symmetrical crown on a single stout trunk, with old leaf bases retained unless cleaned
• UsesArchitectural feature and entrance planting, courtyard and podium specimens, gravel and xeriscape gardens, lit accents
• SpacingPlant 4 to 6 metres apart in groups, or singly where the crown is to be read in the round
• Low MaintenanceRequires minimal pruning; remove dead fronds periodically and leave the trunk skirt or clean it to taste
• Pest ResistanceGenerally robust where drainage is sharp; avoid unnecessary trunk wounds
• Drought ToleranceVery high once established, holding frond colour through extended dry heat
• Seasonal AppealThe silver-blue frond colour is the strongest of any palm at this scale and holds through summer
• Frost ToleranceTolerates cold better than most arid-zone palms, widening the sites it can be used on

The Mexican Blue Palm is a long-term investment specimen, chosen for a frond colour no other palm of its size can supply.