What in the world is going on with this baby Palmetto?

[Pee Dee Palms]

So I've had this baby palmetto for quite a while now and it has just been sitting in a pot on my front porch for about 2 or 3 years. I've never repotted it and I barely give it any water. It doesn't thrive but seems to live. I noticed something funny with the growth of this for the past few months though. There was this strange strap leaf that was about an inch away from the main trunk. It has just been like that for quite a while now and I didn't pay much attention to it. Today I decided I would just go ahead and re-pot it and see what happens and what is going on with this weird strap leaf. Well, I did that and have no idea what the heck is going on with this thing. My guess is that 2 seeds germinated really close to each other and it just looks weird, but it almost seems as if the 2 heads are attached. If anyone has any idea of what in the world is going on with this thing, please let me know. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Sabal palmetto is a solitary palm. But sometimes a seedling starts a second growing point, usually because something has gone wrong with the initial growing point. Damage, disease? Who knows? But a Sabal seedling can start a new growing point as a survival mechanism. The new growing point takes over development while the original growing point dies back. The fact that your seedling stopped growing yet didn’t totally die indicates something went wrong with the original growing point so the palm compensated by sending up a new one. I’ve had that happen with several Sabal spp. Most memorable was my original Sabal miamiensis seedling given to me by another PTer in 2008. A year later the seedling appeared to die and I was distraught because miamiensis was unobtainable then and I couldn’t find another at any cost.

But to my surprise my seedling sent up an alternative spear from a new growing point and never looked back. It’s gone on to produce miamiensis seeds I have distributed for the past 10 years. Many of these Sabals around now can trace their lineage back to this seedling too stubborn to die. Your palm has a will to live.

[Pee Dee Palms]

5 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Sabal palmetto is a solitary palm. But sometimes a seedling starts a second growing point, usually because something has gone wrong with the initial growing point. Damage, disease? Who knows? But a Sabal seedling can start a new growing point as a survival mechanism. The new growing point takes over development while the original growing point dies back. The fact that your seedling stopped growing yet didn’t totally die indicates something went wrong with the original growing point so the palm compensated by sending up a new one. I’ve had that happen with several Sabal spp. Most memorable was my original Sabal miamiensis seedling given to me by another PTer in 2008. A year later the seedling appeared to die and I was distraught because miamiensis was unobtainable then and I couldn’t find another at any cost.

But to my surprise my seedling sent up an alternative spear from a new growing point and never looked back. It’s gone on to produce miamiensis seeds I have distributed for the past 10 years. Many of these Sabals around now can trace their lineage back to this seedling too stubborn to die. Your palm has a will to live.

So eventually, when this palm gets older it will still only have just one crown, correct? Cause I know there are some rare multi-headed palms that are around some areas but I didn't think I'd get that lucky.

[PalmatierMeg]

Just now, General Sylvester D. Palm said:

So eventually, when this palm gets older it will still only have just one crown, correct? Cause I know there are some rare multi-headed palms that are around some areas but I didn't think I'd get that lucky.

Yes. Those multi-headed palms are almost always trunking and the branching is due to some kind of damage that causes the crown to split. Your seedling is far too undeveloped to exhibit branching. On the other hand, I see no reason you shouldn’t pot it up and monitor it to see whether both growing points survive and you have a 1-in-a-million self-cloning palm.

[Pee Dee Palms]

5 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Yes. Those multi-headed palms are almost always trunking and the branching is due to some kind of damage that causes the crown to split. Your seedling is far too undeveloped to exhibit branching. On the other hand, I see no reason you shouldn’t pot it up and monitor it to see whether both growing points survive and you have a 1-in-a-million self-cloning palm.

Alrighty, it is potted. I tried to plant it a tad bit higher than it was before so the old growth point can breath a bit. Hopefully I did a good job.

[PalmatierMeg]

Looks good. In my experience the new growing point will grow and take over while old one eventually shrivels and dies. You won’t be able to tell it ever existed

Keep us updated

[Pee Dee Palms]

17 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Looks good. In my experience the new growing point will grow and take over while old one eventually shrivels and dies. You won’t be able to tell it ever existed

Keep us updated

Hey, even if the old one does shrivel up and die, the palm with have a story to tell. 

I will indeed keep everyone updated.

Edited March 10, 2023 by General Sylvester D. Palm

[Pee Dee Palms]

Welp, here is an update on "The Little Palmetto That Could". I just decided I'd put it in the ground since spring has arrived.

[PalmatierMeg]

Good luck with it. It looks happier already. Tough palms.

[Pee Dee Palms]

Decided I would give an early August update on this little guy. The first growth point has died back as suspected, now the second one has took over and is looking great. I've never seen a Palmetto take trauma like this so well before. 

Edited August 13, 2023 by General Sylvester D. Palm