Chinese fan palm overview
The fountain-shaped Chinese fan palm. USDA 9a to 11, drooping green fans, and a name often mixed up with windmill palm.
Region of origin
Southern Japan to Guangdong, China
Native countries
Historical discovery
Nikolaus Jacquin published Latania chinensis. Robert Brown and Carl Martius placed it in Livistona in 1838.
Names
Common names
Chinese fan palm, Fountain palm
Synonyms
- Latania chinensis Jacq.
Cold hardiness
Survives about 22°F / -6°C. Outdoor range USDA 9a–11b. Hover or click a zone, state, or country. Switch the U.S. map between states and hardiness zones.
Highlighted USDA zones 9a–11b. Green countries can be grown outdoors.
United States
In range Too cold
World
Native Can be grown
Alaska and Hawaii are state outlines with their overall zone range. A country is painted if its mildest inhabited winter is at least one USDA step milder than this palm’s hardiness.
Scientific facts
- Nurseries also call windmill palm a Chinese fan palm. Check the Latin. Windmill is Trachycarpus fortunei.
- Leaf tips hang, which is why people say fountain palm.
- Young plants are common in pots. They want to be trees.
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Other helpful resources
Full care guide
The Chinese fan palm is the fountain-shaped Livistona, not the hairy windmill palm that shares a nickname. Native from southern Japan to Guangdong. USDA 9a to 11. Damage around 22°F (-6°C). If the tag says Chinese fan, read the Latin before you buy cold hardiness.
Common Names:
Chinese fan palm, fountain palm. Windmill palm is a different plant (Trachycarpus fortunei) that is also sold under the Chinese fan name.
Scientific Name:
Livistona chinensis (Jacq.) R.Br. ex Mart.
Origin:
Southern Japan to Guangdong, China.
Appearance:
A solitary fan palm with large, shiny, costapalmate leaves whose tips hang, so the crown looks like a fountain. The trunk is gray and relatively smooth compared with windmill's fiber coat.
Growth Rate:
Moderate. Faster in frost-free heat with water.
Max Growth Height:
Often 30 to 40 feet, up to about 50. A tree, not a parlor palm.
Foliage Spread:
About 10 to 15 feet.
Cold Hardiness and Hardiness Zone:
USDA 9a to 11. Around 22°F (-6°C) you get burn. It is less hardy than windmill palm. Zone 8 buyers who wanted a Chinese fan often needed Trachycarpus, not this.
Soil Type:
Any well-drained soil. Even moisture while young.
Fruit and Flowering:
Blue-green to blue-black fruit. Attractive, then messy.
Can it Grow Indoors:
Only when young, in a bright space. It outgrows rooms.
Light Requirements:
Full sun to light shade. Young plants like a little afternoon shade inland.
Water Requirements:
Regular water to establish. Mature trees take short dry spells.
Maintenance Level:
Medium. Old fans are heavy. Feed in the growing season with palm-specific fertilizer. Keep the Latin name on your records so you do not prune it like a windmill in zone 8.
Common Diseases/Pests:
Scale, weevils on stressed transplants, and nutrient issues in sand. Leaf spotting in still, wet shade.
Plant Care:
Sun, drainage, zone 9 or warmer. If you need zone 8, buy Trachycarpus fortunei and ignore the shared nickname.
Chinese fan palm Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Chinese fan or windmill?
Livistona chinensis is this fountain palm. Trachycarpus fortunei is the hairy, hardier windmill. Both get sold as Chinese fan. Trust the Latin.
2. Can I grow it in zone 8?
Not as a reliable outdoor tree. That is windmill, pindo, or needle palm.
3. Good indoor palm?
As a juvenile in bright light. Plan an outdoor life in a frost-mild climate.
4. How fast does it grow?
Moderate. Not a queen palm, not a kentia crawl.
Buy Livistona chinensis when you want a fountain fan in zone 9 or warmer. If the winter is colder, you wanted a windmill, and the nickname lied.