Transplanting 18-30"" (Without Leaves) Palmetto. How difficult and manageable is the process?

[HiltonHead2004]

Hi! I recently purchased a young sabal palmetto from a nearby seller and was wondering how difficult it would be to transplant the palm into my yard. For more detail, the leaves of the tree will be trimmed and removed in order to alleviate stress and promote strong root growth & the palm will be dug up immediately prior to me receiving it, all done by the seller. I have had experience with sabals before but I've never cared for a young specimen and have heard mixed feedback regarding transplanting success. Any feedback would be appreciated!! 

The tree is around 4-6' with leaves and 18-30"" without them 

[Allen]

Probably will die if you're saying it has a 18" trunk.  If this is the seller on Ebay please stay away.  Post link to verify that.  Please buy a tree that they are not digging up or buy a much larger trunked palm with a minimum of 6' of clear trunk, preferably more. 

[HiltonHead2004]

19 minutes ago, Allen said:

Probably will die if you're saying it has a 18" trunk.  If this is the seller on Ebay please stay away.  Post link to verify that

***

[Allen]

9 minutes ago, HiltonHead2004 said:

Is this the seller you're referring to? 

YES I just looked at them on Ebay and it is them.  Many people even the sellers may not be aware that Sabal palms when dug the roots die back to the palm and have to regrow all roots from energy reserves in the trunk.  A palm either has to be a very small 1-3 year old palm or a large palm with over 6' of trunk to survive normally.  A palm dug this way will stay green for a few months and slowly die almost always

 

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[HiltonHead2004]

I appreciate the info and I will consider that going forward. 

Also, big fan of your YouTube channel. Always great to get info from people with lengthy palm experience!! 

[PalmatierMeg]

Agree with all of the above. A Sabal palmetto should not be dug up and transplanted unless it has at least 4-6’ of clear trunk. Anything less and the digging process will fatally damage the underground stem/growing point.

Also, you are much better off planning for transplant over a period of several months by trenching around the rootball 1/4 at a time with a 3 week wait for the palm to begin healing its roots. The last step is to dig under the rootball, lift the palm then plant it in a pre-dug planting hole.

If your palm seller is ignorant of the above info, don’t waste your money to fund his Miller Lite moment. If he is aware of that info but chooses to ignore it he is a cheat setting you up for failure in his rush to separate you from your money.

[Chester B]

If you're at all able to cancel the sale I would.   The advice above is accurate.