Growing palm trees in Alabama
Alabama is two palm climates in one state: USDA 7b around Huntsville (nights near 8F) and 9a on the Gulf around Mobile (nights near 22F). Winter low is the number that matters, so a queen palm rated near 25F that looks fine at a Mobile nursery will brown out after a Birmingham freeze. Needle palm and dwarf palmetto are the natives that live almost anywhere; windmill, European fan, and pindo are the next bets as you move south. Pick a city below to score each palm against that winter.
Alabama climate
Pick a city or a USDA zone. The palm list follows that winter.
Alabama covers USDA 7b to 9a. Highlighted zones are in the state.
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Hardiness zones
Zones in Alabama
Palms for Alabama
Click a lane or a filter. Cards link to the species page when we have one.
Headings below are palms that clear the warmest-city winter. The rest are houseplants.
Nothing here lives in the ground through winter. Keep these in pots and bring them inside before the first freeze.
Nothing in this lane for that filter. Clear a chip or pick a warmer city.
Needle palm
Rhapidophyllum hystrix
Hardy to about 0F · USDA 7a+
The sure thing. Native, trunkless, and fine in Huntsville if the spot drains.
Dwarf palmetto
Sabal minor
Hardy to about 5F · USDA 7a+
Native wetland fan. Looks like a cabbage palmetto that never grew a trunk.
Windmill palm
Trachycarpus fortunei
Hardy to about 5F · USDA 7a+
The tall palm that actually works in north Alabama. Hairy trunk, not a Chinese fan palm.
European fan palm
Chamaerops humilis
Hardy to about 12F · USDA 8a+
Clumping Mediterranean fan. Safer in Birmingham than a queen. Give it sun and drainage.
Pindo palm
Butia odorata
Hardy to about 15F · USDA 8a+
The cold-hardy feather palm people want when they buy a queen. Edible fruit. Still a gamble in Huntsville.
Cabbage palmetto
Sabal palmetto
Hardy to about 15F · USDA 8a+
Gulf native. Statewide only if you live south of Montgomery and accept ugly winters up north.
Saw palmetto
Serenoa repens
Hardy to about 10F · USDA 8a+
Low clumper for sandy south Alabama. Not a Huntsville plant.
Sago palm
Cycas revoluta
Hardy to about 15F · USDA 8b+
A cycad, not a palm. Common in Alabama yards. Toxic to dogs. Wrap in the north.
California fan palm
Washingtonia filifera
Hardy to about 18F · USDA 8b+
Tougher than Mexican fan. Still a south-Alabama and courtyard plant, not a mountain plant.
Canary Island date palm
Phoenix canariensis
Hardy to about 20F · USDA 9a+
The big date look on the Gulf. A 20F night marks it. Skip it north of Montgomery.
Medjool date palm
Phoenix dactylifera
Hardy to about 20F · USDA 9a+
Same cold story as Canary date. Fruit is a long shot in Alabama humidity.
Chinese fan palm
Livistona chinensis
Hardy to about 22F · USDA 9a+
Often confused with windmill. This one wants the coast. Check the Latin on the tag.
Caranday wax palm
Copernicia alba
Hardy to about 18F · USDA 8b+
Collector fan for south Alabama heat. Not a box-store plant.
Houseplants only here
These do not take the winter low in the warmest part of Alabama. Keep them in pots.
Washingtonia robusta
Hardy to about 23F · USDA 9a+
The skinny skyline palm. Fine in Mobile until a hard freeze. The old Alabama table was too kind to it.
Syagrus romanzoffiana
Hardy to about 25F · USDA 9a+
Sold everywhere. Lives in Mobile some winters. Dies in Birmingham. Buy pindo if you want this silhouette.
Bismarckia nobilis
Hardy to about 25F · USDA 9b+
Silver and huge. A Gulf showpiece that looks stupid after one freeze. Not a statewide tree.
Ravenea rivularis
Hardy to about 22F · USDA 9b+
A houseplant that people plant outside and then replace. Keep it in a pot.
Wodyetia bifurcata
Hardy to about 27F · USDA 10a+
Florida look. Alabama winters are too long. Container only, and even then it sulks.
Adonidia merrillii
Hardy to about 30F · USDA 10a+
Pretty red fruit, no cold tolerance. A porch palm that comes inside.
Phoenix roebelenii
Hardy to about 28F · USDA 10a+
Fine in a bright room. Not an Alabama landscape palm.
Cocos nucifera
Hardy to about 35F · USDA 10b+
The dream plant. Not an Alabama outdoor plant, including Mobile.
Roystonea regia
Hardy to about 28F · USDA 10a+
Miami cement trunk. Alabama does not have that climate.
Archontophoenix alexandrae
Hardy to about 28F · USDA 10a+
Another tropical street palm. Keep it as a young indoor plant or skip it.
Chrysalidocarpus lutescens
Hardy to about 30F · USDA 10a+
The grocery-store palm. Bright room, no draft, no backyard in Alabama.
Chamaedorea elegans
Hardy to about 35F · USDA 10b+
The easy indoor palm. Works in a Huntsville apartment and a Mobile condo.
Howea forsteriana
Hardy to about 28F · USDA 9b+
The hotel lobby palm. Best indoor look if you can spend a little.
Rhapis excelsa
Hardy to about 22F · USDA 9a+
Shade indoor fan. Can live on a Gulf patio in a pot. Still comes in for freezes.
Chamaedorea seifrizii
Hardy to about 32F · USDA 10b+
Clustering indoor palm. Handles lower light than areca.
Pachypodium lamerei
Hardy to about 40F · USDA 10b+
A spiny succulent, not a palm. Indoor or summer patio only.
Beaucarnea recurvata
Hardy to about 25F · USDA 9b+
Not a palm. Fat base, dry soil, bright window. A better houseplant than majesty.
Ravenala madagascariensis
Hardy to about 32F · USDA 10a+
A banana relative with a fan of leaves. Not an Alabama outdoor plant.
What actually limits palms here
- Arctic blasts that drop Huntsville and Birmingham below what a Gulf-coast tag promises
- Heavy red clay up north that holds water against palm roots
- Salt and hurricane wind on the Mobile and Gulf Shores strip
- Big-box queen, majesty, and coconut palms sold far north of where they live
Alabama actually has native palms. Needle palm hides in ravines across the south. Dwarf palmetto shows up in wetlands well north of the coast. Cabbage palmetto is a Gulf plant, not a statewide street tree.
Alabama palm questions
Can I grow a coconut palm in Alabama?
Not in the ground. Coconut wants nights that stay near 60F. Even Mobile gets too cold. Grow it in a pot and bring it in, or pick cabbage palmetto if you want a tall feather look on the Gulf.
What actually lives outside in Alabama?
Needle palm, Dwarf palmetto, Windmill palm, European fan palm, Pindo palm, Cabbage palmetto, Saw palmetto, Sago palm, and 5 more live outside in the warmest part of Alabama. Pick a colder city and the list shrinks. Everything else stays in a pot.
Will a queen palm live in Birmingham?
Usually no. Queen palm is rated near 25F. Birmingham still sees teens. People plant them anyway, then replace them after the first real freeze. Plant pindo or windmill instead.
Which palms are actually native to Alabama?
Needle palm and dwarf palmetto. Cabbage palmetto belongs on the Gulf, not in a Huntsville cul-de-sac. Saw palmetto is a Florida and south Georgia plant that only makes sense near the coast.
What should I grow in a Huntsville apartment?
Parlor, kentia, lady, and bamboo palm. They are indoor plants everywhere in Alabama. Windmill can live on a bright porch and come inside for the worst nights.
When do I wrap palms in Alabama?
Wrap a young hardy palm when a night near its kill number is coming. Wrapping does not turn a tropical palm into an outdoor plant.