Brahea Armata

Description

Bearing gorgeous, divided, metallic silver-grey leaves, this is a wonderfully bright accent plant for the hot garden, or large container. It makes a perfect companion for hardy succulent plants such as yucca, dasylirion and nolina. In addition, It makes a wonderful palm for a hot conservatory as it is happy in full sun with dry air. It is native to Mexico, having stiff, fan-shaped foliage in an attractive blue-grey-green. The flowers are incredible inflorescences up to 5m in length that hang above and over the foliage as a cascading tassel. It’s perfect for growing as part of a tropical border, alongside other tropical plants such as banana and canna. It’s also suited to indoor or conservatory growing, and is well suited to growing in a large container. Grow it in a sheltered spot in well-drained, alkaline soil in full sun, mature plants being hardy enough for a temperate climate, but young plants will need protection in winter. Alternatively, grow in a pot as a conservatory specimen and take outdoors in summer. Finally, it is extremely cold hardy to around -9C or 16F.

Sowing Advice

These seeds have already been thoroughly cleaned and should be sown into a well-drained, sandy compost at any time of the year, and covered thinly with sand or grit and kept moist. Keep at between 20-25 degrees C. Seeds sometimes germinate within 4 to 6 weeks although some may take very much longer so please be patient. Plant out in the open ground in warmer countries or in a large container elsewhere.

Key Facts