Nice!
Med. fan palms are one of my favorites. My one blue specimen small, died a few years ago. So, no help from me but thanks for the photo.

Plant that dude! The cerifera is reportedly hardier than the green version. Mines going on 2 years in the ground with winter protection, and maybe just a tad larger than yours. I guess you could sever the suckers almost completely from the main stem, let them heal/root a few weeks and then completely remove them. This is acceptable practice for some dates and needle palms. I have not attempted so of course, it is at your risk. I just let mine sucker. Google "separating dates or separating needle palms" bound to get you some info. As far as seeds, I thought chamaerops were diecious but my green form had fruit this year with no other flowering chamaerops in the area. The seeds dried up tho so not much help there. I know mine thrives on our heat and doesn't require much supplemental water. I believe they come from arid Atlas mountainous regions of Morocco. Dunno about your climate but Oklahoma has been desert-like the last few summers. The more full sun, the more ice blue the fans are, too.

That is a beauty!
My finger aches just LOOKING at the thorns.

Seeds generally start out green-colored, and darken when ripe.
I'm guessing your seeds will be ripe end-September or later.

I have a small cerifera and wish I hadn't cut the suckers off.
They did not root, plus I'm certain it slowed down the main plant, but not sure.
It's just stalled since then.

Krisk is bang-on, they're usually dioecious, but there have been numerous reports of them bearing male and female flowers.

Here's a good read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamaerops

Good luck with the spindle palm seeds.
Nice Washy seedlings.

Barb

Thanks for the info, Kris! I'm definitely going to plant this in the backyard in a sunny place. I don't really have any plans for winter protection (since it doesn't get that cold here). I'll mulch the area as well and make sure the soil is fast-draining and stuff like that. I'm in Seattle, so we get around 37 inches of rain a year on average (most of that during the winter), with mild winters and mild summers. I don't imagine that the fruit will dry out around here, as it's been a fairly wet summer! Hopefully the fruit matures and bears seeds (perhaps there was a male flowering plant nearby in the nursery?).

and Barb, I'll leave the suckers alone for now (although I do like the look of the trunk!).

Should I protect the crown of the plant from water during the rainiest months of the year? (November, December, and January) I could easily apply some protection since it's a fairly small plant. I'm not too concerned about low temperatures around here. The lowest I've seen it get here is into the upper teens, and that wasn't for very long. Snowfall is not that common either, and usually melts quickly.

Oh you're good to go then, that's awesome you live in a mild climate. I dunno how it'll do without summer heat - sabals just won't grow here til it hits 80, and that cerifera may be the same. Unfortunately mild summers don't occur in Oklahoma so I'm not sure how yours will do in cooler climes. I bet just fine, but maybe slower growth. Mine gets overhead irrigation in season without issue but overhead watering is always problematic during the cool season here and can lead to bud rot and spear pull. So it may be wise to keep it dry while it's little, the first few years.

Nice blue leaves on that Med Palm!

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll get this palm planted soon, and if I'm lucky, I'll have some seeds to plant by the end of the summer.

Be aware that unlike Brahea Armata the blue pigment can be removed from the Cerifera. This year I have some beautiful blue leaves in an otherwise sea of green. I covered mine last Winter and kept it free of snow. My larger green Humilis and "Vulcano" also sailed through last Winter which was mild apart from two weeks of the deadly Siberian High pressure.

That's a nice Chamaerops you've got there! I was wondering why some fronds were greener than others on my specimen. I'll keep mine covered during the rainiest months to keep moisture (and possibly some snow) out of the crown.

the blue pigment can be removed from the Cerifera

Well that explains why mine is no longer the same blue of a couple of years ago. 😯
And I'm happy to say my two little Brahea armata are steel-blue.

Yours is gorgeous, andym!

Barb