Its texture is very rough, with the persistent leaf bases clasping the stem as layers of coarse dark grey-brown fibrous material.

It tolerates cool, moist summers as well as cold winters, as it grows at much higher altitudes than other species, up to 2,400 m (7,874 ft) in the mountains of southern China.

[7][3] Trachycarpus fortunei is cultivated as a trunking palm in gardens and parks throughout the world in warm temperate and subtropical climates.

Its tolerance of cool summers and cold winters makes it valued by palm enthusiasts, landscape designers and gardeners.

It is grown successfully in cool climates such as the UK, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, coastal Poland as well as southern and western Germany.

[3][10] Due to its widespread use as an ornamental plant, the palm has become naturalised in southern regions of Switzerland, and has become an invasive species of concern.

[12][13][14] The cultivar group Trachycarpus fortunei 'Wagnerianus' is a small-leafed semi-dwarf variant of the species selected in cultivation in China and Japan.