Ruffled fan palm overview
The circular ruffled fan from Vanuatu. USDA 10b to 12, shade, humidity, and a collector indoor palm that hates dry air and frost.
Region of origin
Vanuatu and the Santa Cruz Islands
Native countries
Historical discovery
Thomas Moore published Pritchardia grandis. Hermann Wendland moved it to Licuala in 1880. The circular, pleated leaf is the entire point.
Names
Common names
Ruffled fan palm, Vanuatu fan palm, Licuala palm
Synonyms
- Pritchardia grandis T.Moore
Cold hardiness
Survives about 32°F / 0°C. Outdoor range USDA 10b–12a. Hover or click a zone, state, or country. Switch the U.S. map between states and hardiness zones.
Highlighted USDA zones 10b–12a. 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 leaf is almost a round, pleated plate, not a typical palmate star.
- It wants rainforest humidity. A desert living room will crisp the edges.
- Slow. You are buying the leaf, not a street tree.
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Full care guide
The ruffled fan palm is Licuala grandis, a shade palm from Vanuatu with almost circular, pleated leaves. USDA 10b to 12. Indoors it wants humidity and bright shade. Dry heat is how you ruin the plates.
Common Names:
Ruffled fan palm, Vanuatu fan palm, licuala palm.
Scientific Name:
Licuala grandis (T.Moore) H.Wendl.
Origin:
Vanuatu and the Santa Cruz Islands.
Appearance:
A slender ringed trunk and stiff, almost round, ruffled fan leaves. It does not look like a windmill or a Washingtonia. The leaf is the ID from across the room.
Growth Rate:
Slow.
Max Growth Height:
Often 6 to 10 feet in gardens and large pots. Not a boulevard tree.
Foliage Spread:
The leaf span is the width, often 6 to 10 feet on a mature plant.
Cold Hardiness and Hardiness Zone:
USDA 10b to 12. Damage at freezing. A greenhouse or tropical shade house is the honest indoor-adjacent home.
Soil Type:
Rich, moist, well-drained. Never a cactus mix.
Fruit and Flowering:
Small orange-red fruit on mature plants.
Can it Grow Indoors:
Yes, if you can give humidity and bright shade. A dry heated apartment will brown the ruffles.
Light Requirements:
Bright shade, no blasting afternoon sun. Direct inland sun cooks the plates.
Water Requirements:
Even moisture. Do not let it dry to a crisp. Do not drown the crown.
Maintenance Level:
Low if the climate is right, fussy if it is not. Feed in the growing season with palm-specific fertilizer lightly. Mist or a humidifier helps indoors. Do not oil the leaves.
Common Diseases/Pests:
Spider mites in dry air, scale, and fungal spotting in still, cold wet.
Plant Care:
Shade, humidity, even water, no freeze. Buy this for the circular leaf. If you cannot do humidity, buy lady palm or parlor palm instead.
Ruffled fan palm Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Can I grow ruffled fan in a normal living room?
Only if the room is bright and humid. Most heated houses are too dry. A bathroom with a window is closer.
2. Is it the same as Chinese fan palm?
No. Chinese fan is Livistona chinensis, a fountain tree. Licuala grandis is a circular understory fan.
3. How fast does it grow?
Slow. Budget years for a specimen.
4. Sun or shade?
Shade. Sun bleaches and burns the plates.
Buy Licuala grandis when you can do tropical shade and humidity. If you wanted a tough street fan, you wanted Livistona or Washingtonia, and those leaves are not circles.