Growing palm trees in Arizona
Arizona is desert heat and mountain freeze in one map, USDA 5b to 10a. Yuma sits near 33F while Flagstaff still sees nights near -7F. Mexican fan, California fan, and date palms are the low-desert street trees. Pick a city below, because a Phoenix nursery tag does not travel to Flagstaff.
Arizona climate
Pick a city or a USDA zone. The palm list follows that winter.
Arizona covers USDA 5b to 10a. Highlighted zones are in the state.
United States
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Hardiness zones
Zones in Arizona
Palms for Arizona
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 in the Southeast. Trunkless, and fine if the crown 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 cooler-city import. More useful near Tucson than in a reflected-heat courtyard.
European fan palm
Chamaerops humilis
Hardy to about 12F · USDA 8a+
Clumping Mediterranean fan. 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.
Cabbage palmetto
Sabal palmetto
Hardy to about 15F · USDA 8a+
Southeast coastal native. Ugly winters inland.
Sago palm
Cycas revoluta
Hardy to about 15F · USDA 8b+
A cycad, not a palm. Toxic to dogs. Wrap where winters freeze.
California fan palm
Washingtonia filifera
Hardy to about 18F · USDA 8b+
The desert native. Fine in Phoenix and Yuma, dead in Flagstaff.
Canary Island date palm
Phoenix canariensis
Hardy to about 20F · USDA 9a+
The big date look. A 20F night marks it, even in Phoenix.
Medjool date palm
Phoenix dactylifera
Hardy to about 20F · USDA 9a+
Medjool country if the heat and drainage are real.
Mexican fan palm
Washingtonia robusta
Hardy to about 23F · USDA 9a+
The skinny street tree of the low desert. Not a mountain plant.
Chinese fan palm
Livistona chinensis
Hardy to about 22F · USDA 9a+
Often confused with windmill. This one wants a mild winter. Check the Latin on the tag.
Queen palm
Syagrus romanzoffiana
Hardy to about 25F · USDA 9a+
Sold in Phoenix lots. The first ugly freeze shows why pindo exists.
Bismarck palm
Bismarckia nobilis
Hardy to about 25F · USDA 9b+
Silver and huge. A showpiece that looks stupid after one freeze.
Caranday wax palm
Copernicia alba
Hardy to about 18F · USDA 8b+
Collector fan for heat. Not a box-store plant.
Majesty palm
Ravenea rivularis
Hardy to about 22F · USDA 9b+
A houseplant that people plant outside and then replace. Keep it in a pot.
Foxtail palm
Wodyetia bifurcata
Hardy to about 27F · USDA 10a+
Florida look. Container only anywhere with a real winter.
Christmas palm
Adonidia merrillii
Hardy to about 30F · USDA 10a+
Pretty red fruit, no cold tolerance. A porch palm that comes inside.
Pygmy date palm
Phoenix roebelenii
Hardy to about 28F · USDA 10a+
Fine in a bright room. Not a landscape palm outside the true tropics.
Royal palm
Roystonea regia
Hardy to about 28F · USDA 10a+
Miami cement trunk. Needs a frost-free climate.
King palm
Archontophoenix alexandrae
Hardy to about 28F · USDA 10a+
Another tropical street palm. Keep it as a young indoor plant or skip it.
Areca palm
Chrysalidocarpus lutescens
Hardy to about 30F · USDA 10a+
The grocery-store palm. Bright room, no draft, no backyard in freeze country.
Kentia palm
Howea forsteriana
Hardy to about 28F · USDA 9b+
The hotel lobby palm. Best indoor look if you can spend a little.
Lady palm
Rhapis excelsa
Hardy to about 22F · USDA 9a+
Shade indoor fan. Patio in a pot, then inside for freezes.
Bamboo palm
Chamaedorea seifrizii
Hardy to about 32F · USDA 10b+
Clustering indoor palm. Handles lower light than areca.
Ponytail palm
Beaucarnea recurvata
Hardy to about 25F · USDA 9b+
Not a palm. Fat base, dry soil, bright window.
Traveler's palm
Ravenala madagascariensis
Hardy to about 32F · USDA 10a+
A banana relative with a fan of leaves. Not an outdoor plant in freeze country.
Houseplants only here
These do not take the winter low in the warmest part of Arizona. Keep them in pots.
Cocos nucifera
Hardy to about 35F · USDA 10b+
A box-store dream. Not an outdoor plant in Arizona.
Pachypodium lamerei
Hardy to about 40F · USDA 10b+
A spiny succulent, not a palm. Indoor or summer patio only.
What actually limits palms here
- High-country freezes in Flagstaff that kill every low-desert palm
- Alkaline soil and reflected heat that cook young roots
- Box-store coconut, majesty, and queen palms sold as if the whole state were Phoenix
Arizona has California fan as a desert native, plus Mexican fan and date as street trees. Windmill is a cooler-city import. Coconut and queen palms are box-store plants that fail the first time a freeze or a dry wind hits them wrong.
Arizona palm questions
Can I grow a coconut palm in Arizona?
Not in the ground. Coconut wants nights that stay near 60F. Grow it in a pot and bring it in, or pick a hardy fan if you want something outside.
What actually lives outside in Arizona?
Needle palm, Dwarf palmetto, Windmill palm, European fan palm, Pindo palm, Cabbage palmetto, Saw palmetto, Sago palm, and 20 more live outside in the warmest part of Arizona. Pick a colder city and the list shrinks. Everything else stays in a pot.
When do I wrap palms in Arizona?
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.