Texas Sabal In Texas

[mallett_sj]

It's been a busy month for me in the yard and I've added 6ft truck Texas Sabal to the collection, and a Bizzy on the side. The Sabal's been in ground for about 3-4 weeks and is showing some stress, but it will pull through. I know the Bizzy won't survive here but thats why he's in a pot and come winter time I'll put him under my large covered patio (can't complain for $25). As always thanks in advance for the comments.

[Alicehunter2000]

I really don't want to tell you what to do........but.........I would strongly suggest that you cut all fronds except for the spear. I have seen many Sabal palmetto's die because people left the fronds on after transplanting. The fronds are just too much for the root system to handle after transplanting......I hope that the rootball was cut very small.......this will result in a faster rebound as new roots will have to be sent out from the trunks base. All the old roots that were cut or damaged will die, so it's better to just go ahead and remove them. Water it well, with good drainage.

BTW nice looking Texas Sabal.........should do well in Texas

[newtothis]

Sorry to hijack nice sabal! David can you explain more about cutting the fronds? I too planted 2 tx sabals, 6' fronds but no trunk. The actual ball (not roots) was busting out the bottom of the pot and it was growing crooked so I got a discount. They haven't moved since I planted about 5-6 weeks ago so who knows how long they were stagnant. I've been using root stimulator every 10 days and drenching 2x a week. They are still green but not moving. SHould I cut the fronds down to the base?

[Alicehunter2000]

Now that is a tough answer........I would say no.......since they were pot grown?.........The Sabals we get here have been dug from the wild and transplanted. Transplanted Sabals should be trimmed (all except spear) and rootball cut back to a minimum.......but as for pot grown....I would say leave it alone....don't cut the fronds.......... (make sure you got good drainage and don't let them dry out).......may not need the hormones....never seen the results of using them.

Hope this helps.

[mnorell]

That's a nice Sabal mexicana. I would agree with everything David says, that you should cut all but perhaps a single leaf or maybe just the spear, depending on how the palm was prepared for the transplant. Sabals are somewhat unusual in that they need to grow a new set of roots from the base of the trunk after injury and the recommended process is to prune some roots to stimulate new root growth close to the trunk, then leave the plant in the ground for a given period of time until new roots can start to grow and nourish the plant once all longer roots are severed in the final digging prior to transplant. But usually the crown is trimmed pretty much to the spear...and yours obviously has a good crown of leaves, which is probably bad news. Remember also that in Dallas you have so much intense summer heat and sun, with lower humidity, that the leaves will really suffer without a strong set of new roots. And I also agree you shouldn't forget to water deeply and often this summer and fall to help it establish. If you want to make sure you don't lose that tree, and unless you know it already has lots of new roots, I think you need to just be brave and cut off those fronds!

[mallett_sj]

Thanks for the info I was fearing that I would have to do cut all but the spear. When I planted the palm I also put some mycrohezzal fungi down also. I spoke with the seller and it was out of ground for 1 day before I got it and it was an additional 2 days before I got it in the ground, does that make any difference in the recovery process? I also ensured that the rootball was moist between removal and install. Any other input is much appreciated.

[Kris]

Very nice looking palm & its my favouriate too amoung the sabal clang !

Nice still too !

thanks & Love,

Kris

[iamjv]

Spencer, I agree with Dave's comments... need to trim those excess fronds and keep the palm moist. Hopefully with going into summer the palm should naturally want to grow and will help itself along. I've seen many sabals of equivalent size die out here in San Antonio because they weren't kept hydrated and/or poor transplanting techniques (root ball damage).

Scott, as long as it was a potted palm I'd just keep it moist, like your doing. Be patient, sabals need to 'ground' their rootball before they really start growing... you may see minimal outward growth this year. Any pics?

Jv

[mallett_sj]

sounds good JV, I noticed that when I got mine it had a large rootball, Im not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing. I have been adding some Super thrive I hear that this works well with palm recover also. I've used it on my other palms when I've put them in the ground, it seems to work but I've never tried a controled experiment with and without Super Thrive to compare. Is there anything else I should do to help this guy along, the one thing I have been doing is making sure he is always moist. I also added some wood chips at the base to keep the moisture within the soil too.

In conclusion and based off of everyones comments I should removal all but the spear and possibly one or two other fronds or removal all but the spear?

Thanks agian everyone for your help.

[iamjv]

I'd leave one or two fronds to help protect the spear from any high winds... good luck. Jv

[Larissa]

Help! After about a month after planting my texas sabal palms 8foot), the fonds are dying! I didnt plant them too deep, ive been watering them, but we do have hard clay here. I mixed a little sand while planting bc of this. How much is too much water? The ground is moist. Could this just be from the shock from transplanting? 
any help is appreciated! 

[Fusca]

5 hours ago, Larissa said:

Help! After about a month after planting my texas sabal palms 8foot), the fonds are dying! I didnt plant them too deep, ive been watering them, but we do have hard clay here. I mixed a little sand while planting bc of this. How much is too much water? The ground is moist. Could this just be from the shock from transplanting? 
any help is appreciated! 

Sounds like the same situation as the original poster.  Do you have any photos?  This will help a lot as well as knowing what area you planted the palm (I assume you're in Texas also?).  Was your palm field grown or was it already in a container when you bought it?  Sabals with less than 4' of trunk do not transplant well but with more than 4' of trunk they transplant very well and usually have all the fronds removed prior to the transplant as others have mentioned here.  Welcome to Palmtalk!

Jon

Edited July 9, 2022 by Fusca