PHOTO PROVIDED Adonidia palm

The Adonidia palm (Veitchia merrillii) is an ideal palm for a small entry or to put in a container on a pool deck or patio.

The palm only grows to between 12 feet and 15 feet tall, which is rather small for palm trees. The Adonidia looks like a miniature royal palm with its gray trunk and long graceful fronds. It is a single-trunk palm, but growers can put them together to produce multi-trunk palms. Either way, it is a great palm to use in small tropical landscapes where you would like a smaller specimen palm.

The palms perform best in full sun, but can tolerate a little shade. The Adonidia is a self-cleaning palm, which means the old fronds will drop off naturally. You can trim brown fronds off if seeing a brown frond now and then does not appeal to you. New fronds are formed from the bud or crown of the palm tree in the center of the fronds.

Adonidia palms are also known as the Christmas palm. As it matures, the Adonidia will bloom with white flowers and then large clusters of red berries — the seeds — in the winter time. This makes for a pretty holiday look in the tropical landscape. The palm is moderately salt-tolerant and does not like consistently cold weather or frost conditions.

If you have space for a small pretty palm, the Adonidia may be just the right palm for you.

In The Garden is a joint effort by all at the local garden center, at 3889 Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel. For more information, contact 239-395-5859 or visit www.facebook.com/rswalshinthegarden.