sabal minor Sabal minor Saxophone/Tillering Root transplant PICS

[Dwarf Fan]

Sabal minor approximately five years old and went from pot to ground, dug up transplanted to pot, then planted in ground and dug up and now back in a pot. It has the looks of a lobster’s tail with what appears to be the early formation of a subterranean “trunk”. I haven’t seen many good pics of a Sabal minor root system online, so I sprayed off the rootball with my hose, grabbed my phone and figured Palm Talk would appreciate the close up shots.

[Las Palmas Norte]

Looks fine. I was always informed that the kind of digging up you've subjected yours to would be fatal to the palm. Obviously not the case.

[greattay]

Looks like an interesting root structure forming on that Sabal minor! Thanks for sharing the photos.

It's always fascinating to see how palm root systems develop, especially when they've gone through multiple transplant stages like this one. Sounds like it's adapted well to the different environments.

Hopefully being back in a pot will be less stressful than another ground planting so it can continue filling out without disruption. They're tough plants for sure.

Thanks for taking the time to document - it's helpful for others to see real examples. Wishing this one many more years of growth!

[Dwarf Fan]

6 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Looks fine. I was always informed that the kind of digging up you've subjected yours to would be fatal to the palm. Obviously not the case.

I have heard that is as well, that is part of the reason I posted to dispel the myth. One thing I can confirm is that S. minor will “pout” in the form of very little visible growth for a year after each transplant, as it works mostly below ground NOT above ground.

Look at the total amount of growth in the pic that is not a lot of fronds for a ~5 year old S. minor. That is the negative end result from too many transplants.

[Allen]

6 minutes ago, Dwarf Fan said:

I have heard that is as well, that is part of the reason I posted to dispel the myth. One thing I can confirm is that S. minor will “pout” in the form of very little visible growth for a year after each transplant, as it works mostly below ground NOT above ground.

Look at the total amount of growth in the pic that is not a lot of fronds for a ~5 year old S. minor. That is the negative end result from too many transplants.

Maybe with all the back and forth to a pot it didn't get established and will do fine.  One that size dug up that was grown in ground for a while would probably die. Anything over 1-2 foot starts getting real iffy.  Many people on here have tried and failed.  The tricky part is they 'live' for 6 months to a year or more before they die.

[PalmatierMeg]

3 hours ago, Allen said:

Maybe with all the back and forth to a pot it didn't get established and will do fine.  One that size dug up that was grown in ground for a while would probably die. Anything over 1-2 foot starts getting real iffy.  Many people on here have tried and failed.  The tricky part is they 'live' for 6 months to a year or more before they die.

Agree. I don't recommend subjecting any Sabal minor to repeated rounds of planting/digging up/potting as a form of exercise - unless you take joy in watching them die slow, miserable deaths. I gave my S-I-L a Sabal minor to plant in her yard in Raleigh. I didn't know she had a habit of digging up/transplanting her Japanese maples. Within a year she tried the same stunt with the Sabal and killed it.

[Dwarf Fan]

1 hour ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Agree. I don't recommend subjecting any Sabal minor to repeated rounds of planting/digging up/potting as a form of exercise - unless you take joy in watching them die slow, miserable deaths. I gave my S-I-L a Sabal minor to plant in her yard in Raleigh. I didn't know she had a habit of digging up/transplanting her Japanese maples. Within a year she tried the same stunt with the Sabal and killed it.

I definitely would NOT recommend to anyone else to attempt what I have done as it has only massively inhibited/set back above ground growth, but unfortunately a move and 2 backyard landscaping redesigns have put this S. minor through a torture test.

Admittedly, I probably should NOT have sprayed down the root zone with a hose just to get a clean pic for the internet, but a big clump of soil fell off during the transplant so I figured I might as well take the time to get some good pics for you guys and gals of the exposed root zone.

I have found that with any species of plants that taking them immediately OUT of direct sun and giving them a shaded area to recover in post transplant is crucial to improving their odds of surviving a traumatic transplant event.

My S. minor went form direct sun to now being in a very dappled sunlight position surrounded by deep canopy. I believe this will ensure another successful transplant. If I left it in a full sun position I feel that it would probably not survive all the stress I just put it through.

[BeyondTheGarden]

I know this thread is a little stagnant, but perhaps this will be valuable?  According to Gary from Gary's Nursery, when you dig up a Sabal and damage the roots; unlike most palms, the injured root will die all the way back to the stem/meristem/trunk, whatever the correct jargonal term is.  ie, if you dig up a Trachycarpus, the roots only die where your shovel cuts them off.  But accord to Gary, no matter where you dig a sabal, the roots just die off, essentially all the way back to the subterannean portion of the trunk.  That's why Sabals do so poorly with transplanting, and why nurseries on the east coast offer "regenerated" Sabals, but they do not offer "regenerated" palms of any other genus. 

[Dwarf Fan]

3 months later… 

Still alive and actually growing well under the circumstances.

This is the same dappled sun position that I used to rehab a discounted Thrinax radiata with exposed roots that was in pretty bad shape. So I have learned that this particular deep canopy area makes for a nice recovery/recuperating area for traumatized Palms that would otherwise perish under more intense sun positions.

 

[Alex Zone 5]

Looks good to me, personally I never had luck moving one. 😞

My last 2 attempts were either dig or cut down. At least I gave it a try 😉