Bismarckia nobilis
Family: Arecaceae Origin: Madagascar
Said to be named after the first chancellor of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck, the entire Latin name honors him with “nobilis” meaning ‘noble’ at the end. Otto maintained peace between the German states during his lifetime, creating the first welfare state in history and maintaining loyal support for 30 years during the height of his service. Tough and stately, Otto in himself characterizes many of the things we love about the Bismarck palm today. If you want a palm that gets the job done right in the landscape and you have plenty of room, look no further than the Bismarck Palm.
Arboriculture
Growth Form
Very different from many other palms, the look and shape of this palm is pretty amazing. Stout and wide, in cultivation this palm grows no more than about 12 metres in height, and overall just as wide – maybe wider. A central, leafless and branchless trunk forms with a mound of gigantic round leaf fronds held up and out in a crown that’s round in shape. While the silvery-blue varieties are the most popular and cold tolerant, there are green varieties although not as common.
Trunk
Trunks are stout and wide and shed stems and leaves from the base up to the youngest part of the palm. Trunks will often be fluted at the bottom. They do not self-clean when young but do shed their expired fronds when mature.
Flowering
This palm is dioecious so each plant is either a male or female. Both palms flower of course, with brown, pendent inflorescences. The flowers are pretty unremarkable in both male and female palms, as they are very small and not showy.
Foliage
The most striking feature about this palm is its foliage. In mature palms, each leaf can be over 3 metres across, and is rounded in overall shape. Each leaf sports 20 or more hard and stiff blades that are split on the ends. The sides of each frond are so sharp they can cut skin though they don’t have spikes.
Fruits
Only the females of this palm set fruit. From each flower they develop a single stone fruit that is green when new and turns to brown as it dries. It’s not really an edible fruit, for either people or animals. Thankfully it’s not a messy landscape fruit either.
Management
Propagation
Bismarckia is easily started from fresh seed, like many other palms. Removing the fruit flesh from the outside of each seed and planting deep in well prepared soil and kept warm and moist is a typical method of propagation.
Cultivation
The Bismarck Palm is a tough customer and can be grown just about anywhere that gives it plenty of room and space to spread out. It requires full sun exposure but can be grown in soil that is moister and less well draining than other palms, although it does well in most all soil types, even dry ones.
They thrive in tropical and subtropical climates, and can withstand some amount of freezing in protected temperate areas. The plants that have the white/blue cast can withstand colder temperatures than the green plants typically, which makes these the more popular choice in landscapes.
David’s Field Notes
The primary problem I see with Bismarckias is being planted too close to houses, driveways, fences or anything else. They have a huge spread which is easy to underestimate. They can’t be neatly pruned so the palm becomes redundant, requiring removal. This is just one occasion when a plan of a property that includes trees is helpful.
They can be used as specimen plants, anchoring trees, windbreaks, and screens. They are a wonderful staple in the landscape. On the other hand they are very often planted too close to houses and other structures. Generous allowance needs to be made for their huge spread.
Paul says
I have a 2 story high Bismark in great condition. Can supply a photo. Anyone looking to purchase?
Tristan says
Where are you based??
David Taylor says
Hi Tristan. We’re in Brisbane with a yard at Archerfield and at Goodna. We service much of south Brisbane and north to around Clayfield.
Shell says
We have a Bismarck that is approximately 12 years old. It is planted very close to driveway & house (currently the trunk is approx 7 foot away). Should we look at having it removed?
David Taylor says
Hi Shell. If your house is built on a slab then, sorry, but yes. The palm roots will be growing against the slab and growing along your house giving access to termites. If they are under the slab then during drought the roots will contract causing soil subsidence. We protect trees when we can but in this case I recommend removal.
Brenton Baillie says
I live in Broken Hill and planted a Bismarck Palm approx 2 years ago. While it looks healthy and I’d growing well and constantly throwing new fronds, the trunk does not have any strength and had to be staked and tide otherwise it falls over. Can you suggest the possible reasons for this and how the problem may be resolved, regards Brenton
David Taylor says
Hi Brenton. I suggest tapping the trunk with a rubber mallet. If it sounds solid then your problem is likely to be nutritional – fertilise it and surround it with mulch to reduce competition from lawn, if present. If it doesn’t sound solid then it’s likely to be a fungal infection which will be fatal for the palm (Phytophthera cinnamomi)
Edward says
Hi i have 2 of these huge palm trees at my home in south west Brisbane and i must say as Nice as they look you need to either be a full time gardener or allow a budget of around $50 a month to maintain them. They shed these huge branches constantly that are next to impossible to cut up and dispose of. Having recently purchased the house without this knowledge im now trying to decide what to do with them as i can afford the time or money to maintain. My question can they be sold and relocated? Or will they ever stop dropping their branches or is this constant and all year round. Thanks.
Peter Ellis says
What is the life span of a Bismark
Skye de Ruyter says
Hi,
I have a beautiful in-ground bismarck palm available for removal and relocation! Please get in touch if you’d like to see a photo and are interested in this great opportunity.
Location: The Gap, QLD
Kirsty says
Hi Skye,
Is your Bismark still available? keen!
Ruth says
Hi, I have two brilliant Bismark in my front garden that I planted about 3 years ago when they were about two feet high and are now at second storey level on my house. They are amazing. My questions is, do you prune off the bottom fronds., they don’t shed them much and we have been taking off the dead ones, so I have very frondy trees that you cant mow under. Hope you can assist. Ruth
Pam says
At maturity do these palms keep losing their fronds?
Mine is well above 12 metres high.
Thanks