Sabal Birmingham in the North?

[randyk7b]

Hi there I have a place in Rehoboth Beach, DE which can be a hot or cold zone 7B depending on the winter.  I've got large sabal minors and needle palms.   Will a sabal Birmingham ever do well here and grow a trunk here?  Also I'm trying to find a source for this.  I'm growing sabal minor mccurtain county and it's nice but grows way too slow. But finally producing seed. Would appreciate any advice on this and where to locate.  Would prefer not to plan it if it's just going to croak thanks

[westfork]

Many have said that Sabal Birmingham is a really slow grower.  Sometimes slow plants at the edge of their hardiness don't regrow fast enough to keep up with the damage.
For much shorter trunking palms have you considered Sabal Louisiana or Sabal x Brazoriensis?

[Las Palmas Norte]

I got 3 or 4 new fronds in a year from S. 'Birmingham'. 

[N8ALLRIGHT]

I'd think you could grow Birmingham's there.  No real input on the growth speed,as mine is small and in a pot. Try ebay and Etsy. it's where I purchased my Birmingham as well as a Louisiana. Also try the for sale section of the forum. I know @Sabal King has many varieties listed and for sale. I second westfork's suggestion of also trying brazoria or Louisiana. Might also give a Trachy a shot in 7b if you haven't already 

[N8ALLRIGHT]

This is who I purchased mine from. It arrived f'd up due to USPS not the seller however it has rebounded nicely and went palmate last summer.

[Matt N- Dallas]

S. Birmingham is painfully slow- the slowest palm I’ve grown in Dallas, TX.  It produces 4 leaves per year and has 2’ of trunk after 21 years. 

[Alex Zone 5]

Gary's the place you wanna go. There you'll find 3 & 7 gallon Birmingham. All palms grown at Gary's are left on their own, so you're buying a palm that has seen crappie weather. Not sure but Walker's Palm used to have Birmingham also. You could try Pungo Palm in Virginia Beach.

I would also recommend Louisiana for faster growth.

[Allen]

58 minutes ago, Alex Zone 5 said:

Gary's the place you wanna go. There you'll find 3 & 7 gallon Birmingham. All palms grown at Gary's are left on their own, so you're buying a palm that has seen crappie weather. Not sure but Walker's Palm used to have Birmingham also. You could try Pungo Palm in Virginia Beach.

I would also recommend Louisiana for faster growth.

Yes the Louisiana would be good and really I'd plant some Trachycarpus fortunei there too in a good microclimate which will be 3 times faster than Sabals in getting you a palm tree.  

[teddytn]

There’s long standing unprotected palmettos in Virginia Beach. I would say a Birmingham would be the perfect trucking Sabal where you’re located. Will definitely take a long time to get huge like everyone has stated, I like palms at all stages of growth personally. Planting near a structure always helps, preferably on the south, southwest, or west side. If you’re zoned 7b you should be totally fine. 

[Sabal King]

13 hours ago, N8ALLRIGHT said:

I'd think you could grow Birmingham's there.  No real input on the growth speed,as mine is small and in a pot. Try ebay and Etsy. it's where I purchased my Birmingham as well as a Louisiana. Also try the for sale section of the forum. I know @Sabal King has many varieties listed and for sale. I second westfork's suggestion of also trying brazoria or Louisiana. Might also give a Trachy a shot in 7b if you haven't already 

Thanks for the tag.. I do have about 25 of his seedlings (seeds I got from him about two yeas ago), and have another couple hundred germinating as well right now.  His genetics are great and I met the guy last year.. Legit Alligator Alley S. birmingham genetics.

[Alex High]

On 4/26/2023 at 4:40 PM, randyk7b said:

Hi there I have a place in Rehoboth Beach, DE which can be a hot or cold zone 7B depending on the winter.  I've got large sabal minors and needle palms.   Will a sabal Birmingham ever do well here and grow a trunk here?  Also I'm trying to find a source for this.  I'm growing sabal minor mccurtain county and it's nice but grows way too slow. But finally producing seed. Would appreciate any advice on this and where to locate.  Would prefer not to plan it if it's just going to croak thanks

Sabal 'Birmingham' is definitely hardy in Rehoboth Beach. Here is one growing in a palmy yard here in Washington, D.C. The owner protected it in past years just to be safe, but for at least the last couple winters it has been completely unprotected, it made it through our winter low of around 7-8 degrees Fahrenheit in December 2022 with just minor spotting on the fronds, which appears more to be from the wind than cold. It is now beginning to trunk. Safe to say it's at least as hardy as Trachycarpus fortunei is here, it definitely may be hardier.

 

[knikfar]

I have four birminghams here in my yard in Raleigh, NC. I grew all of them from seed I collected locally. One of the four is significantly larger than the others and I suspect that's due to it getting a lot more water. I fertilize all of them during the growing season but one is planted in a location that's just a lot easier for me to drag a hose to. So I think you can speed them up with fertilizing and lots of water. 

[Allen]

Growth of one of mine

2017 1-2'

2023 7'

Edited April 28, 2023 by Allen

[Alex Zone 5]

On 4/28/2023 at 10:56 AM, knikfar said:

I have four birminghams here in my yard in Raleigh, NC. I grew all of them from seed I collected locally. One of the four is significantly larger than the others and I suspect that's due to it getting a lot more water. I fertilize all of them during the growing season but one is planted in a location that's just a lot easier for me to drag a hose to. So I think you can speed them up with fertilizing and lots of water. 

Thanks for the info, I'll keep that info in mind...as I've started a few Birminghams seeds.