The Mexican palm tree nicknamed the “sky duster’ refers to its small disheveled crown perched atop an elegant trunk. The single stipe, 25 cm in diameter, can reach 24 m high in its habitat, 10 m here, with an enlarged base.
The young trunk has a very decorative interweaving of petioles. Washingtonia robusta is particularly resistant to wind, drought and sea spray and tolerates all types of soil, even limestone, poor and relatively humid in winter. Its foliage freezes above -8°C, thus appearing a little less hardy than the filifera capable of withstanding -10°C but which requires very well-drained soil. It can be planted in a container to be sheltered in a cold greenhouse in winter, but make sure to provide it with sufficiently drained and deep soil. The two Washingtonias are often planted with the Canary Islands phoenix around the Mediterranean and on the South Atlantic coast. They are native to arid areas and canyons of northwest Baja California in Mexico along with Brahea armata.