Are there palm trees in arizona

In Southern Arizona where temperatures below freezing are rare even in winter, you can feel confident that your trees will look great all year long. In addition to their tolerance of the local climate, palm trees provide more shade than many local desert plants, which can offer some welcome relief from the heat and sunshine. Mexican fan palms may maximize shade on your property, though you will definitely need professional trimming services to reach the high-up leaves and branches on these sky-high trees.

If you are considering planting new trees on your property or you need landscape maintenance for your palms, call Complete Landscaping at We have certified arborists on staff to ensure that your trees get the care they need to be a valuable addition to your yard. Why Palm Trees Do So Well in the Desert Though only one palm tree is native to Arizona—the California fan palm, which grows along the western border of the state near Yuma—many varieties of palms have found themselves right at home in Tucson and throughout Southern Arizona.

Signal Peak includes the narrow, rugged Palm Canyon, where you can find one of only California fan palm habitats. Botanists have often wondered how the grove of fan palms ended up in this particular location. Many speculate they were transplanted from nearby California by animal droppings, thousands of years ago. The Petrified Forest National Park , near Holbrook, is home to thousands of fossilized plant life, including palm trees, gingkoes and ferns from the Late Triassic.

Who knew this common plant would have such a fascinating backstory? Now when you spot a group of palms, you can thank the combined efforts of humans and nature that has brought these trees here. The California fan palm is the largest native palm in the US and can live for 80 to years. Native American tribes would eat the fruit of the fan palm either raw or cooked.

It is believed that the California palm in the canyon may have descended from the palm trees growing in the region during the glaciation in North America.

Botanists have argued that the palm trees grew in the canyon and other protected areas as the region took up a desert climate. The palm trees survive in the canyon as they are shaded from the harsh sun but still have adequate moisture. Some researchers have also theorized that the trees may have been spread from other palm plantations by birds and animals carrying their seeds. It is difficult to tell the age of the trees in the canyon thus hard to prove any of the theories about their existence.

Palm Canyon, Arizona.