Sabal 'Manteo'

[Palmy Pal]

History of Sabal Manteo

Sabal ‘Manteo’ Is known to be a form of Sabal Minor that originates from Manteo, North Carolina. This special form of Sabal Minor used to grow widespread across Manteo NC but has recently been presumed extinct. There was thought to be a few palms of this form left in the wild but due to development in the area the few plants that were left are now gone. There are no known plants left in the wild of Sabal Manteo. Luckily, a handful of Sabal Manteo were saved from development sites and were planted in a mini garden dedicated to the Manteo form of Sabal Minor. The plants are owned and cared for by a local research center. I was granted permission to collect a handful of seeds from the protected Sabal Manteo plants they own. I am greatly honored to grow these seeds out and introduce this amazing form into cultivation. The mission is to not only get this form into cultivation but also to get it back into the wild in Manteo where it used to thrive in the sandy forestry. 

 

Growing Information

Sabal Manteo is a smaller, compact form of Sabal Minor that is thought to be one of the hardiest forms out there. It heavily differs from its neighbor Sabal ‘Cape Hatteras’ in many ways. The palm is a lot smaller than the Cape Hatteras form of Sabal Minor, the fronds are more stiff, and the fronds are more blue in coloration. This form could be even more hardy than the Hatteras form of Sabal Minor since it tends to get more chilly around Manteo. It is clear that this Sabal is a different form from its neighboring Cape Hatteras form due to its small compact size while the Cape Hatteras form is a giant form of Sabal Minor. This form has short petioles with wide stiff blades. The coloration of the fronds on this form is quite stunning. They have a great blue azul tinge to them that is a very noticeable shade of blue. As of now there are no known plants of Sabal Manteo in cultivation. This form is very unique and extremely rare. As of now the handful of plants in the garden are the only plants of this form that exist. 

 

There is not much if not any information of this form on the internet and I was lucky to gain information about it from the owners of the last Sabal Manteo palms left. There is nothing better to do than share the knowledge of this palm to the public to make more people educated about this amazing form. Hopefully this palm will gain the attention it deserves and become more popular. I hope this form will someday be reintroduced into the wild and thrive like they used to on the island of Manteo. I plan on sending seedlings of this form to experienced palm growers to distribute the form around and to bring it into cultivation big time. With such little conservation efforts such as this case, the plants can be saved from extinction.

 

Article written by @PalmyPal. All Rights Reserved.

(Pictures of Sabal 'Manteo' Included)

[Chester B]

Don't let @PalmatierMeg hear about these, she won't leave you alone until you get some to her!  She is the ultimate Sabal aficionado, and I can't think of another person who would be adept at helping to bring these back from the brink.

Are these actually going to be distributed?

[Palmy Pal]

15 hours ago, Chester B said:

Don't let @PalmatierMeg hear about these, she won't leave you alone until you get some to her!  She is the ultimate Sabal aficionado, and I can't think of another person who would be adept at helping to bring these back from the brink.

Are these actually going to be distributed?

I do plan on distributing it around a bit yes. But I only have a limited number of seeds so whatever is sown and grown will be all that is in cultivation for a long time until they reach flowering size. And there won’t be many. Once I germinate a safe amount of them for myself to grow then I will offer out some seeds for this palm. 
As for Meg, I can certainly let Meg grow some of these and you can tell me how they do down there. Just shoot me a message if you are interested in growing it and I can send you some seeds later on. 

[PalmatierMeg]

6 hours ago, Palmy Pal said:

I do plan on distributing it around a bit yes. But I only have a limited number of seeds so whatever is sown and grown will be all that is in cultivation for a long time until they reach flowering size. And there won’t be many. Once I germinate a safe amount of them for myself to grow then I will offer out some seeds for this palm. 
As for Meg, I can certainly let Meg grow some of these and you can tell me how they do down there. Just shoot me a message if you are interested in growing it and I can send you some seeds later on. 

I'm Meg and I love that little blue palm. If you are considering sharing some seeds, I would be glad to purchase a few from you and try them. I'll also be glad to work with you in growing this variety and sharing with other. Sending PM

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

22 hours ago, Chester B said:

She is the ultimate Sabal aficionado, and I can't think of another person who would be adept at helping to bring these back from the brink.

Your so correct in this statement. Between her world famous Sabal row and all the micro minors she has collected. Meg would be the perfect person to bring back from extinction. Who wouldn't want a lil blue minor =) 

T J 

[LeonardHolmes]

On 5/25/2021 at 6:02 PM, Palmy Pal said:

History of Sabal Manteo

Sabal ‘Manteo’ Is known to be a form of Sabal Minor that originates from Manteo, North Carolina. This special form of Sabal Minor used to grow widespread across Manteo NC but has recently been presumed extinct. There was thought to be a few palms of this form left in the wild but due to development in the area the few plants that were left are now gone. There are no known plants left in the wild of Sabal Manteo. Luckily, a handful of Sabal Manteo were saved from development sites and were planted in a mini garden dedicated to the Manteo form of Sabal Minor. The plants are owned and cared for by a local research center. I was granted permission to collect a handful of seeds from the protected Sabal Manteo plants they own. I am greatly honored to grow these seeds out and introduce this amazing form into cultivation. The mission is to not only get this form into cultivation but also to get it back into the wild in Manteo where it used to thrive in the sandy forestry. 

We have a place on Colington Island, just north of Manteo where the Albemarle sound meets the Roanoke and Currituck sounds. I've seen Sabal minors growing on parts of Colington too.  I'd love to buy a seedling when you have some.

[Palmy Pal]

Update: 

from the seeds I have sowed so far only one plant has germinated and is now a spike emerging from the soil. As far is seed distribution it’s not looking to good. Atleast I got one I guess? Anyways I will post a picture the one and only Sabal Manteo seedling after I pot it up within the next few days. Hopefully some more germinate with time. 

[Palmcycasnut]

Oh well let's hope for more germination!

[PalmatierMeg]

There is always next year. Raise that little guy up and you'll have two seeding. I love the name. When I was kid we vacationed on the Outer Banks. I desperately wanted to live there someday: a home in Manteo and a cottage by the beach. Still, all is good. I got a home in Cape Coral and a 2-week timeshare on Ft. Myers Beach. The Outer Banks as I remember it is one of my favorite places in the world.

[Palmy Pal]

10 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

There is always next year. Raise that little guy up and you'll have two seeding. I love the name. When I was kid we vacationed on the Outer Banks. I desperately wanted to live there someday: a home in Manteo and a cottage by the beach. Still, all is good. I got a home in Cape Coral and a 2-week timeshare on Ft. Myers Beach. The Outer Banks as I remember it is one of my favorite places in the world.

Yeah but it was a treat in general to get these seeds. I don’t think they would allow me to collect more. But it’s not too late. There’s lots of time for more to germinate so my fingers are crossed! 

[Palmy Pal]

first and only Sabal Manteo seedling was potted up just about an hour ago. It’s just a little spike now but it should grow nice and well and will have its full first seedling leaf in no time! If this is indeed the only one that germinates I will fertilize it pretty heavily so we can get this little guy to maturity ASAP. Will keep y’all updated on this specific Palm and if any more germinate. 

[Palmy Pal]

Update on Sabal Manteo seedling! It’s looking very blue and healthy. Also one more seed has germinated! Hopefully there are more to come. 

[Palmy Pal]

Sabal Manteo update! Growing well but slow and it is looking great. Looking pretty blue considering it’s only a seedling leaf at the moment. Exited to see how this continues on. Two more Sabal Manteo seeds have germinated so that is good news! Will keep y’all updated. 

[Palmcycasnut]

Great news!

[amh]

Just don't throw away any seeds that do not germinate this season; save them for next spring.

[Palmy Pal]

4 hours ago, amh said:

Just don't throw away any seeds that do not germinate this season; save them for next spring.

I never throw away viable seeds. I always give them plenty of months to germinate but i germinate all of my palm seeds in a room with a water heater and grow all my seedlings in a greenhouse. So i just leave them in the baggie and remove germinated seeds to pot them up. But the baggies stay there for a little over 7 months. So they have plenty of time to germinate before tossing them. These I will give them about a year to see if anymore germinate. There was a very low number of viable seeds from the stalks I got in general and low germination rate on top of that. So who knows how many more I will get if I even do get anymore to germinate. 

[ZPalms]

Hopefully these can get spread around the world! Long live Sabal Manteo!!!! 

[Palmy Pal]

2 hours ago, ZPalms said:

Hopefully these can get spread around the world! Long live Sabal Manteo!!!! 

I hope so too! I think this definitely could be one of the most cold hardy forms of Sabal minor out there! Not to mention it’s striking Azul color! It deserves to be grown in cultivation by many other palm growers who can enjoy it. 

[Chester B]

On 9/25/2021 at 5:27 PM, Palmy Pal said:

I never throw away viable seeds. I always give them plenty of months to germinate but i germinate all of my palm seeds in a room with a water heater and grow all my seedlings in a greenhouse. So i just leave them in the baggie and remove germinated seeds to pot them up. But the baggies stay there for a little over 7 months. So they have plenty of time to germinate before tossing them. These I will give them about a year to see if anymore germinate. There was a very low number of viable seeds from the stalks I got in general and low germination rate on top of that. So who knows how many more I will get if I even do get anymore to germinate. 

If you still don’t get germination after a year plant them in a garden bed. I’ve had Sabal seeds germinate after very long periods of time. 

[Palmy Pal]

On 9/27/2021 at 12:17 AM, Chester B said:

If you still don’t get germination after a year plant them in a garden bed. I’ve had Sabal seeds germinate after very long periods of time. 

I always throw the old soil at the base of my banana plants and I’ve had a few germinate myself but even if any were to germ i wouldn’t be able to confirm it’s the S. Manteo. 

[Palmy Pal]

 Update time! The Sabal manteo seedlings are growing very well. One sprout even popped up in the pot of the first Sabal manteo I potted up! So there are now a total of 4 Sabal manteo seedlings in cultivation. And hopefully a lot more in the future. But these seem to be doing very well. As you can see in the first picture the first seedling is working on its second leaf! Cant wait to see how these little guys turn out and fingers crossed they all turn out as blue as the parent plant. 

[Palmy Pal]

Update on the Sabal Manteo palms. They are growing very well and will stay in the greenhouse this winter so they can get some more size on them. They are looking very blue too! 

[Palmy Pal]

I also noticed something quite interesting while checking up on them. I have a couple other Sabal minor seedlings that are regular S. Minors and I noticed the leaves on them were noticeably longer than the S. Manteo leaves. And the regular minor is more greener which I assumed anyways. But I found it quite interesting that all 4 Sabal Manteo seedlings grew in the same short compact way unlike the regular S. Minors I have growing right beside them. The mature plants I saw of Sabal Manteo were all compact, short, and very blue as I mentioned in the article I wrote about them above. So it is a trait of the S. Manteo but I did not expect it to take on this trait so young. Picture below to show what I am talking about. The two square black pots on the left are Sabal Manteo and the one circle pot on the right is a regular Sabal Minor. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Good work. This variation certainly looks different.

[Palmy Pal]

Sabal Manteo seedlings update! They are growing well even during winter. They should take off once spring arrives. I am really liking the compact look of this Sabal. 

[Darold Petty]

Palmy Pal, thank you for your efforts.  I hope that this cultivar wlll be conserved and widely distributed!    

[Palmy Pal]

5 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

Palmy Pal, thank you for your efforts.  I hope that this cultivar wlll be conserved and widely distributed!    

Absolutely! I hope so too. It’s going to be a while before such can be done but I cannot wait to do hardiness testing on it and such to see just how hardy it is. It could be the new hardiest minor out there considering it’s farther north than the cape hatteras cultivar. But it will be a long time before the plants produce seed to share to colder climates and such. But I am exited for when the time comes! 

[Palmy Pal]

Update on the Sabal Manteo seedlings! 
The single plant is really showing it’s dwarf traits with the short leaves and the short stubby trunk! They are also showing their nice blue colors. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Very cool. Good work!

[Palmy Pal]

Here’s an update on the older Sabal Manteo seedling! It’s grown a lot and has been loving the heat. It’s amazing to me how compact and blue this variety is. You can’t tell very well from the picture but the trunk size on it is pretty big for its age and size considering it’s a seedling.

[MrTropical]

On 10/7/2022 at 2:09 PM, Palmy Pal said:

Here’s an update on the older Sabal Manteo seedling! It’s grown a lot and has been loving the heat. It’s amazing to me how compact and blue this variety is. You can’t tell very well from the picture but the trunk size on it is pretty big for its age and size considering it’s a seedling.

Any updates?

7-24-2023