Sabel Palm dig out

[miamicuse]

I need to either move or remove this sabel palm.

It is in the way of a new 4" sewer line to be laid between the wood fence and the concrete sidewalk.

The palm from ground to the tip of the highest frond/leaf is about 8'.  I just trimmed it back severely to prepare for digging it out.

How wide and deep do you estimate the root ball be?  As a reference the fence is about 30" from the sidewalk.  Should I go the full 30" all around?  Or smaller?  How deep do I need to go?

Once I have it out, should I put it in a big pot and water it daily for a while, or should I put it in the ground immediately?

[Fusca]

2 hours ago, miamicuse said:

I need to either move or remove this sabel palm.

It is in the way of a new 4" sewer line to be laid between the wood fence and the concrete sidewalk.

The palm from ground to the tip of the highest frond/leaf is about 8'.  I just trimmed it back severely to prepare for digging it out.

How wide and deep do you estimate the root ball be?  As a reference the fence is about 30" from the sidewalk.  Should I go the full 30" all around?  Or smaller?  How deep do I need to go?

Once I have it out, should I put it in a big pot and water it daily for a while, or should I put it in the ground immediately?

I wish you good luck.  It's doable but Sabal palms at this size don't transplant easily.  Once they get around 4' of trunk they are a piece of cake to move successfully with zero roots.  I don't know what size the root ball might be but I would try to get as much of it as you can.  Hopefully someone else can give their opinion, but be prepared to lose it.

[miamicuse]

3 hours ago, Fusca said:

Once they get around 4' of trunk

Thank you, can you clarify when you say 4' of trunk?  If I understand correctly, the trunk of this palm is from the ground to the base of the new spear, which in this case is only about 18 to 20".  The overall height is about 8'.  Does this make it easier to dig out?

[PalmatierMeg]

Trunk measurement does not include any underground stem. The portion of trunk above ground is called "clear trunk". Your Sabal has only 18-20" of clear trunk. Rule of thumb states that a Sabal must have at least 4-6' of "clear trunk" before it can be dug. When you dig it up you must go as deep as you possibly can  to avoid damaging the underground portion of the trunk and the growing point. Depth more than width of the excavation is important here. And you will need a substantial pot to hold it. You might as well pre-dig a hole at the place you want to move it and plant it right away. Then you wait to see if it survives. Odds are against survival but if you have no choice......

[SEVA]

I transplanted 3 Sabal Birminghams and 2 Sabal minor in early April. I dug straight down until I was able to wiggle the palm loose. From there I tried best to dig and wiggle it out to avoid damage to the underground trunk. 

Edited August 28, 2021 by SEVA

[The7thLegend]

DEEP!  I just removed a Sabal palmetto growing under a live oak about half that size.  The underground trunk was over 2ft deep.  

[miamicuse]

Wow that's deep.  It will be a difficult dig for sure in this rather narrow space.  I will give it a shot.

[Keys6505]

On 8/28/2021 at 12:08 PM, SEVA said:

I transplanted 3 Sabal Birminghams and 2 Sabal minor in early April. I dug straight down until I was able to wiggle the palm loose. From there I tried best to dig and wiggle it out to avoid damage to the underground trunk. 

How have they fared so far?  Any pics?

[SEVA]

9 hours ago, Keys6505 said:

How have they fared so far?  Any pics?

Here’s 2 of the Sabal Birmingham palms. These 2 are growing faster than the other Birmingham and both Sabal minor palms.
 

April 2021

 

 August 2021

[JMBreland]

Whoa that some great growth on those Birminghams! I wonder if the act of transplanting them sped up their growth somehow??