Palm trees have relatively short lifespans The areca palm has a fairly short lifespan of 40 to 50 years, while the popular coconut palm lives between 70 and 100 years, and most date palms hang on for 100 to 120 years. The date palm can reach 200 years of age in some cases, however.

The differences between queen and king palm trees are in the fronds and trunks. The queen palm's fronds grow upward before falling toward the ground, while the king palm's fronds originate from a central stalk at the top of the tree.

While normally quite pest-free, King Palms can suffer infestations of spider mites or of mealy bugs, and are susceptible to “pink rot”, a serious (and sometimes deadly) fungal disease that usually attacks stressed or damaged palms.

The queen palm when planted in USDA hardiness zones 9 through 11 grows about 2 feet each year. This means if you buy a 15 gallon plant you can expect a 25 foot Queen Palm in about 10 years. This is considered a fairly high growth speed.