Daffodils and a Mediterranean Fan Palm

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The palm tree that I have here in a corner of The Tropical Paradise is a Mediterranean Fan Palm (Chamerops humilis), which is a great palm tree for this type of space, and does well even in climates that get much colder than here in the Phoenix, Arizona area. It is unaffected by frost. Google it and you will probably find pictures of Med Palms with snow on them.

Mediterranean Fan Palms are very slow growing, so buy the biggest one that you can afford. They grow in a bushy shape, so leave them alone, don't try to keep trimming the offshoots. I've seen them around town where there have been constant and futile attempts to trim them up into individual trunks, and they look terrible. Find a nice large space for them to grow in, and leave them alone. They can take the hottest sun and the coldest freezes that Phoenix has to offer with no problem at all.

Even once in a while I wander up there to take out some weeds or fronds that have gone brown, but mostly this palm tree takes care of itself. On the far right of the photo is a sago palm (cycas revoluta), which also requires almost no maintenance, and below it are growing a nice bunch of freesia, which should be blooming in February. The turf is artificial.

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