Growing palm trees in Texas
Texas is more than one palm climate, USDA 6b to 10b. Brownsville sits near 38F while Amarillo still sees nights near 3F. Mexican fan and date work in the south. Pick a city below, because a Houston nursery tag does not travel to the Panhandle.
Texas climate
Pick a city or a USDA zone. The palm list follows that winter.
Texas covers USDA 6b to 10b. Highlighted zones are in the state.
United States
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Hardiness zones
Zones in Texas
Palms for Texas
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+
A Southeast plant that can work in a sheltered east-Texas yard.
Dwarf palmetto
Sabal minor
Hardy to about 5F · USDA 7a+
The native that reaches into Texas. Wet ground, low crown.
Windmill palm
Trachycarpus fortunei
Hardy to about 5F · USDA 7a+
Dallas ice is why this one exists on the outdoor list.
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+
Tougher than Mexican fan. Still a warm-zone and courtyard plant.
Canary Island date palm
Phoenix canariensis
Hardy to about 20F · USDA 9a+
The big date look. A 20F night marks it.
Medjool date palm
Phoenix dactylifera
Hardy to about 20F · USDA 9a+
South Texas heat. Fruit is still a long shot in humidity.
Mexican fan palm
Washingtonia robusta
Hardy to about 23F · USDA 9a+
Valley and coast street tree. Amarillo kills it.
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+
Houston lots sell these. Dallas ice writes them off.
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.
Coconut palm
Cocos nucifera
Hardy to about 35F · USDA 10b+
A Brownsville gamble. North of the Valley it is a pot.
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 Texas. Keep them in pots.
Pachypodium lamerei
Hardy to about 40F · USDA 10b+
A spiny succulent, not a palm. Indoor or summer patio only.
What actually limits palms here
- Panhandle freezes that drop below what a Gulf-coast tag promises
- Alkaline soil and sudden ice in the north
- Box-store coconut and queen palms sold far north of Brownsville
Dwarf palmetto is the native that reaches into Texas. Texas palmetto is the other one people mean. The Rio Grande and the coast can grow Mexican fan and date. Amarillo is a pot-and-bring-in town.
Texas palm questions
Can I grow a coconut palm in Texas?
Only as a gamble in Brownsville, and even there a hard night can mark it. North of the Valley, keep it in a pot.
What actually lives outside in Texas?
Needle palm, Dwarf palmetto, Windmill palm, European fan palm, Pindo palm, Cabbage palmetto, Saw palmetto, Sago palm, and 22 more live outside in the warmest part of Texas. Pick a colder city and the list shrinks. Everything else stays in a pot.
When do I wrap palms in Texas?
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.