Old man palm overview
The bearded Cuban thatch palm. USDA 10a to 11, a fiber-covered trunk that looks like an old man, and a slow collector tree rather than a street pole.
Region of origin
Cuba
Native countries
Historical discovery
The long fiber beard made it famous in cultivation. Odoardo Beccari placed it in Coccothrinax in 1907. Wild plants are Cuban and conservation-listed.
Names
Common names
Old man palm, Old man thatch palm, Palma petate
Synonyms
- None widely used
Cold hardiness
Survives about 28°F / -2°C. Outdoor range USDA 10a–11b. Hover or click a zone, state, or country. Switch the U.S. map between states and hardiness zones.
Highlighted USDA zones 10a–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
- The trunk is wrapped in long, pale fiber. That is the old man.
- Slow. You are buying the beard, not height.
- Native to Cuba. Garden plants are the legal cultivated stock.
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Full care guide
The old man palm is Coccothrinax crinita, a Cuban thatch palm whose trunk wears a long pale beard of fiber. USDA 10a to 11. It is slow. You are buying the look, not a queen-palm skyline.
Common Names:
Old man palm, old man thatch, palma petate.
Scientific Name:
Coccothrinax crinita (R.D.Hoyt) Becc.
Origin:
Cuba.
Appearance:
A small fan palm with palmate leaves, often silver beneath, and a trunk buried in long, shaggy, straw-colored fiber. Nothing else in a Florida garden looks like it.
Growth Rate:
Slow.
Max Growth Height:
Often 8 to 15 feet in gardens, sometimes taller with decades.
Foliage Spread:
About 6 to 10 feet.
Cold Hardiness and Hardiness Zone:
USDA 10a to 11. Damage around 28°F (-2°C). Not a zone 9 tree.
Soil Type:
Well-drained, including sandy and limestone. Wet feet in cold weather are a problem.
Fruit and Flowering:
Small purple-black fruit.
Can it Grow Indoors:
No. A seedling in a greenhouse is a collector novelty.
Light Requirements:
Full sun. Shade makes a weaker beard.
Water Requirements:
Regular water to establish, then some drought tolerance. It is not a swamp palm.
Maintenance Level:
Low. Do not shave the fiber unless you want to ruin the point. Feed in the growing season with palm-specific fertilizer lightly in sand.
Common Diseases/Pests:
Scale and nutrient issues in sand. Patience is the main requirement.
Plant Care:
Sun, drainage, frost-free, decades. Buy a large plant if you want the beard in your lifetime. A seedling is a long bet.
Old man palm Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Should I trim the fiber?
No. The beard is the plant.
2. How fast does it grow?
Slow. People pay for specimens because waiting is worse.
3. Old man or Florida silver palm?
Florida silver palm is Coccothrinax argentata, native to south Florida, without the long beard.
4. Can I grow it in zone 9?
Not as a reliable outdoor tree.
Plant old man palm in frost-free south Florida or a similar climate if you want the beard. If you wanted a fast street fan, you wanted Washingtonia, and that is a different story.