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Canary Date Palm

Phoenix canariensis, Arecaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Canary Island Date Palm and slender date palm.

Canary Date Palm (Phoenix canariensis), the whole plant.
Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Listed as non-toxic to cats by ASPCA.
  • Listed as non-toxic to dogs by ASPCA.
  • Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Light
Partial shade
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H2 — 1–5°C 1–5 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam; pH Acid or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Non-toxic
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Non-toxic
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
During growth, water moderately and give a balanced fertiliser monthly. Give little water in winter.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Feeding
While growing, water moderately and give a balanced fertiliser monthly.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Seed is used to propagate it.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Sow seed at 25°C or warmer.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Wear suitable protective equipment, including eye protection, before pruning the leaves.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Pruning is not needed.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Can be troubled by palm leaf skeletonizer, fern scale, root mealybugs, greenhouse thrips and banded greenhouse thrips.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Can be troubled by scale insects, mealybugs, thrips and glasshouse red spider mite. Diseases: usually none.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

Loading the simulator. It needs JavaScript; the care table above does not.

Close view of Canary Date Palm (Phoenix canariensis) foliage.
Close upD2swirl, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Phoenix canariensis, the Canary Island date palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the Canary Islands off the coast of Northwestern Africa. It is a relative of Phoenix dactylifera, the true date palm. It is the natural symbol of the Canary Islands, together with the canary Serinus canaria.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Canary Is.
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Canary Islands
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Canary Islands
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
subtropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
tree
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Perennial, Tree; habit columnar, erect, open
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Bushy (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 480–720 in; width 240–480 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Height Higher than 12 metres; spread wider than 8 metres after 20–50 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers cream/tan, gold/yellow, white; blooms in spring
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowers cream in summer; yellow in summer
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Other Phoenix

More of the Arecaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.