Love for Sabal

[Josue Diaz]

I searched and couldn't quite find an existing thread, but let's use this thread to show some love to Sabal. All species and hybrids welcome! Show us what you got. This is a nice Sabal palmetto (best guess) that I rescued from Fresno State's campus several years ago. Their mature trees seed in the lawns and garden beds, and the seedlings get mowed over. I dug this one out and it took well to the transplant. 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

I picked up some seeds from some very robust sabals in a nearby shopping center. Now I have around 5 or 6 seedlings. They all grow very slow unfortunately it’s like watching a rock move 😂. Hoping a few live to become big and beautiful like their mothers. 

How long can they be kept potted anyway (palmetto)?

[Las Palmas Norte]

Over on the Cold Hardy forum here, there's plenty of threads on the Sabal genus.

[Harry’s Palms]

Here’s one in a warm temperate region , doing well. Harry

Sabal Palmeto ? Not sure , it was a gift and the grower wasn’t sure which species . It was a strap leaf seedling over 25 years ago.

[NC-Key-Bar]

12 hours ago, Josue Diaz said:

I searched and couldn't quite find an existing thread, but let's use this thread to show some love to Sabal. All species and hybrids welcome! Show us what you got. This is a nice Sabal palmetto (best guess) that I rescued from Fresno State's campus several years ago. Their mature trees seed in the lawns and garden beds, and the seedlings get mowed over. I dug this one out and it took well to the transplant. 

this is a Sabal minor btw. There are some other random Sabal species it might be, but very clear indication it’s not a palmetto is the leaf structure. Palmettos have a costapalmate structure that sort-of bends down. The minors have a true fan/palmate structure with no bend. 
It looks really good!

[Harry’s Palms]

12 hours ago, TropicsEnjoyer said:

I picked up some seeds from some very robust sabals in a nearby shopping center. Now I have around 5 or 6 seedlings. They all grow very slow unfortunately it’s like watching a rock move 😂. Hoping a few live to become big and beautiful like their mothers. 

How long can they be kept potted anyway (palmetto)?

I have only grown one but it had been in the container over year prior to being gifted to me . I went down my hill , dug a hole , and planted it . It was sluggish at first ( so small) but took off once the roots found the soil. If you have a spot , they will grow much faster in the ground . Harry

[TropicsEnjoyer]

18 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

If you have a spot , they will grow much faster in the ground . Harry

I do actually have 2 seedlings in ground. As an experiment I buried a few seeds outside. One sprouted in the swampy forest and another by a wall (probably a bad idea) Both are doing ok though they haven’t made much more progress than my potted seedlings atm. Hopefully in 20 years I can say i’ve re established the native sabal population nearby…

[Fusca]

This thread needs more pics!  Here's a couple of mine:

Sabal 'lisa'

Sabal mexicana 

Variegated Sabal palmetto 

Sabal minor 'Louisiana' 

Also have miamiensis, 'Riverside', maritima, dominguensis, causiarum, rosei, yapa, uresana and bermudana grown from seed that will be photo-worthy in 5 years or so!

[Phoenikakias]

My baby lisa (hopefully)

[Josue Diaz]

5 hours ago, NC-Key-Bar said:

this is a Sabal minor btw. There are some other random Sabal species it might be, but very clear indication it’s not a palmetto is the leaf structure. Palmettos have a costapalmate structure that sort-of bends down. The minors have a true fan/palmate structure with no bend. 
It looks really good!

These are the parent plants though, perhaps some other sabal then?

[PalmatierMeg]

4 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

My baby lisa (hopefully)

I believe you are correct. That large center strap leaf appears quite concave. It will continue to roll concavely until it forms a near-complete cylinder.

[NC-Key-Bar]

3 hours ago, Josue Diaz said:

These are the parent plants though, perhaps some other sabal then?

I’d say so. That’s not a palmetto, but not a minor. East coast is easy, it usually one or the other. But being on the west coast, yall have all those funny plants. Lol

my guess is S domingenes after seeing parents. 

[gyuseppe]

I had more than 10 species of sabal, unfortunately due to the disease, I have 4 species left, which also provide seeds

I also had a hybrid Sabal causiarum x palmetto, all dead

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Heres one of my 6 potted seedlings (you can see one more behind). It appears to have a bit of a blue tint which is cool. Maybe I’ll put a few of them in the ground this year. 

[Phoenikakias]

I really am not sure, how many of the following individuals are pure and not hybrids, but I post them anyway under the sp name they had been obtained, or which is the most plausible id. 

Sabal pumos

Sabah causiarum

Sabal rosei

Sabal mauritiformis

Sabal uresana

Sabal bermudana

Sabal maritima (?) in pot

Sabal blackburniana

Sabal minor a small (or stunted) form

 

 

[Arecaceus]

19 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

My baby lisa (hopefully)

How long did it take to get to that size?

[Phoenikakias]

Just now, Arecaceus said:

How long did it take to get to that size?

Indefinite! It has received so far very little care and love...

[gyuseppe]

I lost all these!
Sabal domingensis
Sabal pumos
Sabal causiarum
Sabal rosei
Sabal mauritiformis
Sabal uresana
Sabal hibrid causiarum x palmetto
Sabal mexicana
and also 3 unidentified species

[Harry’s Palms]

So sorry , losing palms is no fun. I lost quite a few when I moved to my new house, my old house had a green house and a lath house . I had so many potted palms and orchids, tillandsia , Spanish moss , etc. The new house had very little protection for them so I put them in the ground, hung the Tilly’s , moss,, and orchids on a retainer wall on the shady side of the house  , some didn’t make it . The birds stole the moss to build nests and the palms (some) slowly died . On the other hand some of the palms I planted afterwards weren’t supposed to make it and they did , plus I added others! Good luck rebuilding the collection , you still have some very nice ones. Harry

[Arecaceus]

1 hour ago, gyuseppe said:

I lost all these!
Sabal domingensis
Sabal pumos
Sabal causiarum
Sabal rosei
Sabal mauritiformis
Sabal uresana
Sabal hibrid causiarum x palmetto
Sabal mexicana
and also 3 unidentified species

This is so sad. Nice collection. What killed them?

[gyuseppe]

13 minutes ago, Arecaceus said:

This is so sad. Nice collection. What killed them?

 

[Arecaceus]

2 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

 

Ah OK got it. I'm sorry.

[gyuseppe]

no don't say sorry, you didn't know, it's important and that I'm healed, I lost all the plants I had in pots, I had about 40 species of chamaedorea,the ones in the garden all survived, even though they haven't been watered for 5 summers

[sonoranfans]

I think sabal causiarum is way underplanted.  Its a fast growing palm as long as you dont skimp on the water.  They also like heat, but that means more water of course.  Sabal palmetto here are slow, sabal uresana is slow, half the speed of causiarum.  Mauritiiformis is in between but when you consider biomass the causiarum is way faster since its 3-4x as thick and has a bigger crown of leaves.  Here is my causiarum p[lanted as a 7 gallon strap leaf in 2011.

 

 

[gyuseppe]

1 hour ago, sonoranfans said:

I think sabal causiarum is way underplanted.  Its a fast growing palm as long as you dont skimp on the water.  They also like heat, but that means more water of course.  Sabal palmetto here are slow, sabal uresana is slow, half the speed of causiarum.  Mauritiiformis is in between but when you consider biomass the causiarum is way faster since its 3-4x as thick and has a bigger crown of leaves.  Here is my causiarum p[lanted as a 7 gallon strap leaf in 2011.

 

 

Here Sabal causiarum is slow, but Sabal palmetto grows fast here!

[Phoenikakias]

7 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

I think sabal causiarum is way underplanted.  Its a fast growing palm as long as you dont skimp on the water.  They also like heat, but that means more water of course.  Sabal palmetto here are slow, sabal uresana is slow, half the speed of causiarum.  Mauritiiformis is in between but when you consider biomass the causiarum is way faster since its 3-4x as thick and has a bigger crown of leaves.  Here is my causiarum p[lanted as a 7 gallon strap leaf in 2011.

 

 

Agree, perhaps bermudana is equally fast.

[idontknowhatnametuse]

I only have Sabal yapa. This is my biggest one.

[gyuseppe]

2 hours ago, idontknowhatnametuse said:

I only have Sabal yapa. This is my biggest one.

I also had sabal yapa, I forgot!, it was an exchange with the botanical garden of Naples, unfortunately died

[sonoranfans]

When growing palms outside their natural climate, growth will sometimes slow up.  Sabal palmetto is the slowest sabal I have seen here and it is in its native climate as is sabal causiarum and sabal mauritiiformis.  Palmettos are all around in the irrigated yards swampy woods and generally planted with 5-10 foot of trunk in yards.  How they grow in a Mediterranean climate will depend on how your soil, fertilizer and watering regimen works.  A big part of this is how big a root system you sustain with watering.  Do you water wide and deep enough to promote root growth?  If not they will be quite a bit slower.   Samab uresana is non native to my climate and it is pretty slow here.  Its 13-15' shorter at 20-22 foot overall than my causiarum(35').  It might be faster in a low humidity climate closer to its native range.  Having lived in AZ, CA and Florida for at least 7 years each, the carribean sabals are way faster here.  Each grower can report on how a palm grows for them, in the conditions they provide and that is useful information but I am not sure what that says as grow the potential of the species unless the palms has established roots and is trunking.  Growing sabals on slopes will mean less wetting of roots with a given volume of water.  Sabals are known to develop huge underground root systems before trunking and at that time they tend to be slow.  My causiarum grew much faster after trunking.  I used to think it was a moderate grower but its one of the fastest of my palms with 2-3' trunk per year, perhaps challenged only by my well watered royals.  If you live in an 8a or 8b zone the fastest sabals may be different but I wouldnt evaluate speed if the sabal has not finished rooting and is in the trunking stage, you might be surprised.  Even my uresana has at least doubled its rate of growth since trunking.  Now its about 1 1/2' of trunk a year.  It seemed like it would get stuck before trunking at less than 8' for 8-9 years but then sped up to an 8' of a trunk palm today(20-22' overall) at 14 years since planting as a strap leafer.  Slow as a seedling doesnt not mean slow as a trunking palm for sabals.  

[Phoenikakias]

34 minutes ago, sonoranfans said:

When growing palms outside their natural climate, growth will sometimes slow up.  Sabal palmetto is the slowest sabal I have seen here and it is in its native climate as is sabal causiarum and sabal mauritiiformis.  Palmettos are all around in the irrigated yards swampy woods and generally planted with 5-10 foot of trunk in yards.  How they grow in a Mediterranean climate will depend on how your soil, fertilizer and watering regimen works.  A big part of this is how big a root system you sustain with watering.  Do you water wide and deep enough to promote root growth?  If not they will be quite a bit slower.   Samab uresana is non native to my climate and it is pretty slow here.  Its 13-15' shorter at 20-22 foot overall than my causiarum(35').  It might be faster in a low humidity climate closer to its native range.  Having lived in AZ, CA and Florida for at least 7 years each, the carribean sabals are way faster here.  Each grower can report on how a palm grows for them, in the conditions they provide and that is useful information but I am not sure what that says as grow the potential of the species unless the palms has established roots and is trunking.  Growing sabals on slopes will mean less wetting of roots with a given volume of water.  Sabals are known to develop huge underground root systems before trunking and at that time they tend to be slow.  My causiarum grew much faster after trunking.  I used to think it was a moderate grower but its one of the fastest of my palms with 2-3' trunk per year, perhaps challenged only by my well watered royals.  If you live in an 8a or 8b zone the fastest sabals may be different but I wouldnt evaluate speed if the sabal has not finished rooting and is in the trunking stage, you might be surprised.  Even my uresana has at least doubled its rate of growth since trunking.  Now its about 1 1/2' of trunk a year.  It seemed like it would get stuck before trunking at less than 8' for 8-9 years but then sped up to an 8' of a trunk palm today(20-22' overall) at 14 years since planting as a strap leafer.  Slow as a seedling doesnt not mean slow as a trunking palm for sabals.  

As a trunking specimen, the Sabal rosei or 'rosei' is by far the fastest in my garden.

[sonoranfans]

22 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

As a trunking specimen, the Sabal rosei or 'rosei' is by far the fastest in my garden.

I remember one of these looking very happy at Rod ANdersons garden in arizona.  It was much better adapted to the desert than my bermudana and blackburniana which needed sun protection and showed very slow growth in the desert.  Rosei appears to grow on the dry savannah in west mexico at 1000 ft elevation, its a relatively dry area.  Some sabals are better adapted to that dry climate, the carribean sabals like causiarum and domingensis generally do not do well in the dry cli8mates.   Mediterranean climates with sloped ground will be tough on wet loving sabals.

[idontknowhatnametuse]

10 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

I also had sabal yapa, I forgot!, it was an exchange with the botanical garden of Naples, unfortunately died

I have 6 of them. Used to have 9. One died and I gave 2 of them away.

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Spotted this one in a swampy forest nearby. Very intriguing specimen in terms of the weeping fronds that are tightly folded and the skinny trunk. Is this just significant genetic variation? it looks like this year round: 

[Mazat]

On 2/1/2025 at 6:13 PM, Phoenikakias said:

My baby lisa (hopefully)

pretty name 😊

[Harry’s Palms]

I love this thread . Nice pics and plenty of fine examples of species. The Sabal palms are very easy to grow here in Southern California inland valley . I think they should be more widely planted . Maybe it’s the size ? Slow growth? I just don’t see too many around. Harry

[PalmatierMeg]

I need to post photos of my numerous Sabals, from seedlings to adults. I have the following still to plant: Sabals  etonia, yatay,  rosei, Lisa. But yesterday my left prosthetic hip dislocated for the second time in 8 months. The hospital I was taken to notified my hip replacement orthopedist who is arranging corrective surgery for next week. In the meantime I cannot garden outdoors or on our lanai, exercise but must use a walker to move around.

My husband is scheduled for shoulder surgery on March 20 and is awaiting testing for knee surgery. I will his 24/7 caregiver without a driver’s license for at least 2-3 weeks. Then I face my 7-month-delayed second cornea transplant. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Also, I lost my famed Sabal Row, which shielded a the east side of my house from major hurricanes. If you have room and inclination, trunking Sabals placed in a zig-zag pattern will do the job.

Sabal Row consisted of causiarum,  domingensis,  mauriiformis, maritima,  palmetto and was planted on the edge of the vacant lot east of us. Last fall a developer designed the ugliest early 21st Century Modern house in Cape Coral crammed with 3-car garage, narrow, tinted windows, oversized lanai, infinity pool, sea wall &dock, storage for cabin cruiser, boat trailer, jet skis, surf and boogie boards, classic car and other Snow Bird toys.

;Sabal Row was scheduled for destruction within a week if we didn’t remove all the palms. Corey and Shelby of Premier Growers on Pine Island came to their rescue and dug up every palm, wrapped and placed standing until a decision could be made of their ultimate fate. I hope they find a new home on Pine Island where their many fans can visit them.

[Phoenikakias]

1 hour ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I love this thread . Nice pics and plenty of fine examples of species. The Sabal palms are very easy to grow here in Southern California inland valley . I think they should be more widely planted . Maybe it’s the size ? Slow growth? I just don’t see too many around. Harry

I guess rather picky about soil in a Mediterranean climate, unless there is a well sized layer of top soil. Many spp display according to Don Hodel potassium def symptoms in SoCA. And whoever has top soil prefers other palm spp, faster and handier and most importantly pinnate ones.

[PalmatierMeg]

On 2/3/2025 at 12:29 PM, Phoenikakias said:

As a trunking specimen, the Sabal rosei or 'rosei' is by far the fastest in my garden.

Thanks for the info. I have one ready to plant.

[Harry’s Palms]

1 hour ago, PalmatierMeg said:

I need to post photos of my numerous Sabals, from seedlings to adults. I have the following still to plant: Sabals  etonia, yatay,  rosei, Lisa. But yesterday my left prosthetic hip dislocated for the second time in 8 months. The hospital I was taken to notified my hip replacement orthopedist who is arranging corrective surgery for next week. In the meantime I cannot garden outdoors or on our lanai, exercise but must use a walker to move around.

My husband is scheduled for shoulder surgery on March 20 and is awaiting testing for knee surgery. I will his 24/7 caregiver without a driver’s license for at least 2-3 weeks. Then I face my 7-month-delayed second cornea transplant. 

So sorry to hear about your hip. I had a repair done in mine when it broke almost a year and a half ago. Hip pain is consuming , it took months before I could get down the hill to pull weeds around my palms. Now , it looks like necrosis has set in so some of the pain is back, replacement is imminent. I will put that off as long as possible. I hope your husband comes through shoulder surgery ok. Like hip surgery ….super painful! 
   I remember when you had those Sabal removed , I hope they are ok . If I remember correctly they were going to be re-rooted or something. Harry