Happy Sabal minor

[Alex Zone 5]

Ever since it's been in the ground it grew almost 4 inches and is now pushing a new spear. 

Temperature in 75/90 range and watering it every two days, plus a hint of fertilizer here and there.

[GregVirginia7]

Sabal minors are the embodiment of cold hardy palms for sure…I see some needles, another reliably cold hardy palm, that have taken some hits…do you protect them in the winter? Do they face south? I know here in zone 7 my two are thriving but as far north as you are, maybe those short, cold winter days take a toll…but was curious about situation and protection…

[teddytn]

Sabal minor is so underrated. I’ll end up having tons planted at my house in TN, if I lived in Florida I’d still plant just as many. Tons of variety just in the minor side of the Sabal family 

[GregVirginia7]

1 hour ago, teddytn said:

Sabal minor is so underrated. I’ll end up having tons planted at my house in TN, if I lived in Florida I’d still plant just as many. Tons of variety just in the minor side of the Sabal family 

Very true…have two in Bethany Beach, DE and they have been doing great in-ground for maybe eight years or so…zero protection from day one. In fact, they’ve done so well, the frond segments get so old they collapse where they meet the petiole…most never turning brown…I cut them off at this point because they distract from the otherwise healthy look of the palm. They delivered for all these years but I would cut the seed stalks off to divert energy to growth…but I did keep one bunch of stalks a few years ago and the seeds easily sprouted…I have three and put them in the ground here in my NOVA zone 7 and they seem very happy…just waiting for them to set that underground trunk/tap root and at that point it’ll be Katie, Bar the Doors!

The third is in more shaded and not nearly as far along as the other two that get more sun…again, no protection since day one…and going strong. If you haven’t already, you may want to try a Sabal Brazoria…it trunks which, for colder zones, is a big plus. Once established, I think they are very relible as the historic TX freeze of last year can attest…but in our zones we’re limited if our goal is to not protect. The Brazoria has been pretty much on its own with minimal protection the last few years, has been in-ground for about eight years and has taken off like a rocket in year nine…it’s fronds are half again as high as my Trachy F’s 10’ trunk…really impressive growth this year!

Discussed earlier here how trunk development in Judaea dictates top growth and for the Brazoria this seems to be the case as well..

The trunk is about 6.5 inches in diameter and 8 inches tall…doesn’t sound like a lot but here it is in zone 7 I guess a year after planting? I expect good growth from this point on…

[Manalto]

 

Very nice job with the Sabal minor, Alex. While a large trunking palm (were that possible) would look out of place in a northern garden, the minors blend in - like a yucca's cousin.

Here in their native range I inherited a landscape of naturalized Sabal minor, dozens of them, as an understory to live oak and big old camellias. I've been taking the fruiting stems and tossing them where I'd like them to spread, and it's working. The gene pool is pretty limited, I guess; none of the interesting varieties we see here, but the sheer number of them makes an impact.

The fact that you're successfully growing this palm at your latitude (and it looks good!) blows my mind. Well done!

 

[teddytn]

1 hour ago, GregVirginia7 said:

Very true…have two in Bethany Beach, DE and they have been doing great in-ground for maybe eight years or so…zero protection from day one. In fact, they’ve done so well, the frond segments get so old they collapse where they meet the petiole…most never turning brown…I cut them off at this point because they distract from the otherwise healthy look of the palm. They delivered for all these years but I would cut the seed stalks off to divert energy to growth…but I did keep one bunch of stalks a few years ago and the seeds easily sprouted…I have three and put them in the ground here in my NOVA zone 7 and they seem very happy…just waiting for them to set that underground trunk/tap root and at that point it’ll be Katie, Bar the Doors!

The third is in more shaded and not nearly as far along as the other two that get more sun…again, no protection since day one…and going strong. If you haven’t already, you may want to try a Sabal Brazoria…it trunks which, for colder zones, is a big plus. Once established, I think they are very relible as the historic TX freeze of last year can attest…but in our zones we’re limited if our goal is to not protect. The Brazoria has been pretty much on its own with minimal protection the last few years, has been in-ground for about eight years and has taken off like a rocket in year nine…it’s fronds are half again as high as my Trachy F’s 10’ trunk…really impressive growth this year!

Discussed earlier here how trunk development in Judaea dictates top growth and for the Brazoria this seems to be the case as well..

The trunk is about 6.5 inches in diameter and 8 inches tall…doesn’t sound like a lot but here it is in zone 7 I guess a year after planting? I expect good growth from this point on…

Love all the hybrids too for sure, you’re absolutely right they are a must have for cold hardy palm garden. I planted a big 5 gallon, and three 1 gallon Brazorias this spring. I think so too, that Brazoria, Louisiana, and Birmingham are rock solid in zone 7b for sure and 7a after a few years to really set in they can handle a serious amount of cold. The big Brazoria I’ve got resembles yours, but smaller of course lol, where did you get yours from? I remember you talking about protecting some of your palms, can’t remember do you do any protecting with your big trachy?

[GregVirginia7]

2 hours ago, teddytn said:

Love all the hybrids too for sure, you’re absolutely right they are a must have for cold hardy palm garden. I planted a big 5 gallon, and three 1 gallon Brazorias this spring. I think so too, that Brazoria, Louisiana, and Birmingham are rock solid in zone 7b for sure and 7a after a few years to really set in they can handle a serious amount of cold. The big Brazoria I’ve got resembles yours, but smaller of course lol, where did you get yours from? I remember you talking about protecting some of your palms, can’t remember do you do any protecting with your big trachy?

Trachy, alias Sasquatch, is too big to protect, though I did protect in the winter of 2014-15 when it was first planted…I might add incandescent lights to the crown and base if I see temps like those in the 2014-15 but otherwise this zone 7 genetic miracle is on its own…honestly, it has never lost a frond to freezing temperatures, all these years, regardless of duration…I’ve cut them off (green) to get a defined trunk. The Brazoria started out with spear pull after the first protected winter but recovered. It has been protected with lights and loose landscaping cloth as needed since but last winter I decided to let it do its own thing and it has responded well, although, this past winter was mild, with a lot of night temps in the twenties but day temps above freezing. However, if temps fall into the teens at night with daytime temps below freezing, I’ll give it some cover, but otherwise it’s on its own from this point on. Good to hear you have Brazoria in the ground…the best indication for us is the survival rate in TX after that horrible freeze last winter…sounds like they did well!  I got mine from ChillyPalms in NC…all locally grown stock but it looks like he’s trimming back his mail order business, which is sad…his palms have never failed me…anyway, if I can get seeds out of this one, I’ll post and send…right now I’m not sure it will produce any, though it looks like there are some teeny, tiny little seeds forming…we’ll see…good luck this winter…

[Alex Zone 5]

On 7/23/2022 at 7:59 AM, GregVirginia7 said:

Sabal minors are the embodiment of cold hardy palms for sure…I see some needles, another reliably cold hardy palm, that have taken some hits…do you protect them in the winter? Do they face south? I know here in zone 7 my two are thriving but as far north as you are, maybe those short, cold winter days take a toll…but was curious about situation and protection…

Definitely south facing. They are boxed in from late November to mid March, using xmas lights and a thermocube. The needle has been there for 3 year and the minor was just added. The basjoo in the picture are protected by bale of hay. 

 

[Alex Zone 5]

On 7/23/2022 at 3:01 PM, Manalto said:

 

Very nice job with the Sabal minor, Alex. While a large trunking palm (were that possible) would look out of place in a northern garden, the minors blend in - like a yucca's cousin.

Here in their native range I inherited a landscape of naturalized Sabal minor, dozens of them, as an understory to live oak and big old camellias. I've been taking the fruiting stems and tossing them where I'd like them to spread, and it's working. The gene pool is pretty limited, I guess; none of the interesting varieties we see here, but the sheer number of them makes an impact.

The fact that you're successfully growing this palm at your latitude (and it looks good!) blows my mind. Well done!

 

Thanks well see how it's fare after a winter or two..I do a have a trachycarpus it's been there for 2 year and does fairly good. It recover fast by pushing lost of fronds each summer.

Here are a few pictures these were taken after a late April storm. It snowed in the morning and by 3pm all was gone.