ARE YOU A BIG SABAL LOVER?

[palmaddict]

I bought this as a 15 gallon palm. It came from seed collected from a specimen growing in the wild in Baja California. It has been in the ground for 15 years and I would guess that it's at least 20 years old total. Sabal uresana. When I planted it I did not expect it to get this large. The diameter of the crown is larger than a Bismarkia and is on par with Phoenix canarienis. I am 6'1" and 270lb for scale. That neighboring B armata seems miniature.

[palmaddict]

For seed lovers at the right time of the year it drops them by the hundreds. A month ago I climbed into the crown for the yearly frond trimming. My presence obscures the base of the trunk but it is about 4 feet in diameter.

Edited October 25, 2022 by palmaddict
Addition

[Merlyn]

I love big Sabals, and I cannot lie! 

[PalmatierMeg]

Beautiful palm. Sabals are much more admired and appreciated now than when I joined PT in 2008. Back then they received little notice except to “win” the annual “Palm you love to hate” poll. A few people spilled a lot of vitriol calling Sabals “weeds” and wanting them eradicated wherever they grew. Similar to the level of hatred leveled at Serenoa reopens up till 20 years ago. That kind of unthinking bias saddened me - Sabal palmetto is the state tree of FL & SC - and it didn’t do much for PT. Back then all people wanted to talk about was Dypsis, Dypsis, Dypsis or occasionally tropical palms that were not Dypsis. I was really glad when PT added the Cold Hardy sub forum and really opened the forum up to members who lived elsewhere than FL, HI & CA.

After that, interest and esteem in and for Sabals and other hardy palms grew and grew. They may not be coconuts but they have worth and value in their own right.  Most Dypsis are no longer Dypsis anymore. They are something else. The wheel keeps on turning.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

Sabals are a the major focal point for all of us who aren't in Hi- FL or CA. Sabals anchors most of our gardens and the bigger the sabal the better in imo. @PalmatierMeg Your sabal row is world famous on PT 

T J 

[Darold Petty]

Tough as nails, and a big honker to boot, what's not to like ?    

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

2 hours ago, palmaddict said:

I bought this as a 15 gallon palm. It came from seed collected from a specimen growing in the wild in Baja California. It has been in the ground for 15 years and I would guess that it's at least 20 years old total. Sabal uresana. When I planted it I did not expect it to get this large. The diameter of the crown is larger than a Bismarkia and is on par with Phoenix canarienis. I am 6'1" and 270lb for scale. That neighboring B armata seems miniature.

Awesome Sabal uresana!

[Silas_Sancona]

4 minutes ago, Jeff zone 8 N.C. said:

Awesome Sabal uresana!

Agreed,  Great Green specimen..



@palmaddict   If you have room, you might consider adding a couple of these  ...The silver / highland form of S. uresana.   








Also, curious how large the seed are on your specimen..  Seed i have collected off some here in AZ are HUGE for a Sabal.

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

I love Sabals, even the supposedly lowly S. palmetto. What other palm can take extremes of cold and heat, grow in the very edge of salt marsh with salt marsh grass only 6 inches away and still get flooded with salt water several times a year during  higher tides, grow in wet mud and dry sand, grow in shade and full sun, can be dug up and lay out in the hot summer sun for a couple of months, roots exposed and no water except an occasional rain and still be replanted and grow again  and can after being established can have it's trunk gouged out by heavy equipment, then the root ball and wound buried under 4 foot of fill dirt and still live and grow.? I have seen all this here in N.C. 

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

3 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Agreed,  Great Green specimen..



@palmaddict   If you have room, you might consider adding a couple of these  ...The silver / highland form of S. uresana.   








Also, curious how large the seed are on your specimen..  Seed i have collected off some here in AZ are HUGE for a Sabal.

Does the "Highland form" get as big as regular S. uresana?

[Mandrew968]

Yes

[Silas_Sancona]

11 minutes ago, Jeff zone 8 N.C. said:

Does the "Highland form" get as big as regular S. uresana?

Yes, in time.

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

Thanks Silas Sancona for posting the pics and thanks Mandreww968 for the answer!

[ZPalms]

I love them, I wish they grew quicker but they are worth the time to grow.

sabal causiarum growth rate is quick enough to make up for it 🥰

[Jim in Los Altos]

Great looking palm, Patrick! I have just one Sabal, a Sabal burmudana. I never dreamed it would become the monster is has over the years. Photo taken from rooftop. 
 

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2022 by Jim in Los Altos

[Fusca]

Awesome palm Patrick!  Nice that you had enough room to squeeze it in! I really appreciate its drought tolerance.  Had a medium sized one in San Antonio but not big enough to try and move.

[palmaddict]

Thank you for the kind comments. The Palm actually has some blue in it. Probably on par with most Brahea clara's that I see. I have one acre of garden. I initially planted many of the water lovers including quite a few dypsis. But the reality here in San Diego where I live is that we live in a desert. Our annual rainfall is 9" inches with some years only only 6". Combine the low annual rainfall here with the horrible 3 year drought that we have in the California and we are one year away from perhaps cutting off water to many of our gardens entirely or at least severe restrictions. In addition my alkaline soil is more suited to the palms that come from dry areas such as braheas, some sabals, and some copernicia such as prunifera. There are many other choices too. When I do grow dypsis I like the hybrids with decaryi. I have 4 or 5 of the decaryi leptocheilos hybrids and one white triangle hybrid which is stunning. Decaryi parentage makes them tough. I cut my water bill from $800 for aug/Sept (2 months) many years ago to now $375 by gradually going more drought tolerant and ditching all the lawn. Just can't make a lawn look good here without deep pockets.

 

[WaianaeCrider]

7 hours ago, palmaddict said:

I bought this as a 15 gallon palm. It came from seed collected from a specimen growing in the wild in Baja California. It has been in the ground for 15 years and I would guess that it's at least 20 years old total. Sabal uresana. When I planted it I did not expect it to get this large. The diameter of the crown is larger than a Bismarkia and is on par with Phoenix canarienis. I am 6'1" and 270lb for scale. That neighboring B armata seems miniature.

I have one also from seed but f rom a botanical garden.  It was growing nicely and then parts of a tree fell on it during a storm.  Took me a few years to cut it free and it really suffered those years.  Today it's starting to look like a palm again.  It's about the same age as yours but my conditions and the tree fall have really kept it from growing.  This picture is from 2020.  I should try to get a new photo tomorrow and post it w/other Sabals that I have.

[Chester B]

22 hours ago, palmaddict said:

I bought this as a 15 gallon palm. It came from seed collected from a specimen growing in the wild in Baja California. It has been in the ground for 15 years and I would guess that it's at least 20 years old total. Sabal uresana. When I planted it I did not expect it to get this large. The diameter of the crown is larger than a Bismarkia and is on par with Phoenix canarienis. I am 6'1" and 270lb for scale. That neighboring B armata seems miniature.

YES!!

 

21 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

They may not be coconuts but they have worth and value in their own right.  

You are correct, and much more valuable in my eyes!

[sonoranfans]

Sabal uresana is a must have palm in dry/desert environs.  Coloration of uresana varies, in my recollection, the biggest ones were light green variety.  There is a continuum of color in the blue ones, part of that is the plants adaptation as the leaf wax that makes it appear bluish is best in the hottest sunniest environments.   I remember Merrill Wilcox (RIP) on this board had a greenish monster, a huge palm.  My blusih one is not as big as my bismarckia in the crown.  those are just my impressions, I know the soronoran desert inland ones are pretty blue but those I saw in cultivation in arizona( UA) were smaller than a bismarckia.  I agree with the pick the right palm for your climate, the palms will do well and you can try a few that perhaps need extra care in one spot to control water usage/costs.

 

[WaianaeCrider]

Alrighty got some up to date photos of my Sabals.  They are all about the same age.  I think back in say 2000 or 1999 I got them in the ground.

There are 3 Sabal mexicana planted together in a triangle and in the middle is a Syagrus sancona which is trying to stick it's head above the Sabals but is having trouble.  LOL  Wish they were self cleaning.  The hanging fronds are to high to cut w/out a ladder. 

The last photo w/the big cactus is in my front yard.  This palm only gets rain water which comes out to be something like 20 to30 inches a year.  I watered it w/a hose for a year or two then left it on it's own.

S. rosei younger, about 17 years.

[BigFrond]

Very nice!  There are a few of the at Palomar College Arboretum.   There is a massive Sabal causiarum (probably called something else now) in the garden too.

[Stevetoad]

That’s a beauty. Where in Baja was it collected? I thought they were only native to mainland Mexico? I would like to see them in the wild next time I’m down there. 
 

Yes I am a fan of BIG sabals too. Here’s an old photo of my causiarum with my son in it and a shot from today. Loaded with seeds now. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

 @Stevetoad Your palm is one of the top 10 palms on PT in my opinion. I have enjoyed the yearly updates with your son climbing your Causiarum 

T J 

[Stevetoad]

17 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

 @Stevetoad Your palm is one of the top 10 palms on PT in my opinion. I have enjoyed the yearly updates with your son climbing your Causiarum 

T J 

Thanks buddy. I haven’t updated lately. 

[howfam]

On 10/25/2022 at 7:22 PM, Jeff zone 8 N.C. said:

I love Sabals, even the supposedly lowly S. palmetto. What other palm can take extremes of cold and heat, grow in the very edge of salt marsh with salt marsh grass only 6 inches away and still get flooded with salt water several times a year during  higher tides, grow in wet mud and dry sand, grow in shade and full sun, can be dug up and lay out in the hot summer sun for a couple of months, roots exposed and no water except an occasional rain and still be replanted and grow again  and can after being established can have it's trunk gouged out by heavy equipment, then the root ball and wound buried under 4 foot of fill dirt and still live and grow.? I have seen all this here in N.C. 

Good analysis, and so true. I have seen Sabal palmetto stand up to all of the above, and yet as tough as they are, they can't seem to stand up to the little bug that's spreading Lethal Bronzing disease here in Florida. It's frustrating to see and needs immediate attention from both scientists and politicians alike.

[Will]

On 10/26/2022 at 1:58 AM, Jim in Los Altos said:

Great looking palm, Patrick! I have just one Sabal, a Sabal burmudana. I never dreamed it would become the monster is has over the years. Photo taken from rooftop. 
 

 

 

IMG_8382.MOV 26.04 MB · 2 downloads

 

 

I always thought Bermudana stays small and bulky. Planted one in spring, cool to see they wont be small and bulky 😅

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

6 hours ago, howfam said:

Good analysis, and so true. I have seen Sabal palmetto stand up to all of the above, and yet as tough as they are, they can't seem to stand up to the little bug that's spreading Lethal Bronzing disease here in Florida. It's frustrating to see and needs immediate attention from both scientists and politicians alike.

Wow, that is not good news. Dug Sabal palmetto, from Florida, are sent here to my coastal area by the many, many thousands every year. If it's in Florida it will be here soon if it is not already here. I have not seen any serious or unusual loss of them here but I will have to research Lethal bronzing and keep an eye out.

[Jim in Los Altos]

9 hours ago, Will said:

I always thought Bermudana stays small and bulky. Planted one in spring, cool to see they wont be small and bulky 😅

Photo off the Internet. You can see that they get BIG even as a young palm. Mine’s a bit “stretched” however from growing is a partially shaded spot. 
 

[amh]

Big sabal lover here.

These are my surviving Sabal uresana highlands/silver form plants that are in need of being transplanted.

[palmfriend]

Hi,

I have picked up one or two seeds somewhere here on this island - I do honestly not remember where it was - got one sprouted and 

planted it out probably five or six years ago. It was sitting there for a while (on the back side of the house) before it started to grow - 

although it was pretty slow I never considered to rip it out. When I started to build the fence/wall combination three years ago, I even

took special care not to hit its roots when preparing the fundament.

However, now I must say that I am really impressed about its growth. When I planted it I had no idea 

or any knowledge about sabals - but it seems to be happy in its (a bit cramped) spot...

Here it is:

No trunk but already pretty big...

...with me as scale.

I am happy that I have it and that it is doing well.

 

Lars