Sabal Palms III: Sabal palmetto and Minor Sabal Species

Continuing our series on hardy palms is the species Sabal palmetto, the palm that is on the state flag of South Carolina and Florida. The following descriptions highlight the enormous variety of species.

Sabal palmetto (Palmetto Palmetto)

The 40-foot tall S. palmetto is the dominant trunk palm in the southeastern US. Its native range is from northern Florida to coastal North Carolina. Like S. minor, cultivars are grown from seed and represent particular genetic populations. (Hardiness zone 8-10)

S. palmetto ‘Bald Head Island’ (Bald Head Island Saw Palmetto)

The northernmost native stand of S. palmettos in the country resides on Bald Head Island, NC. We have found that the seedlings of these plants are particularly winter hardy in our climate, showing no damage since 1999. (Hardiness zone 7b-10)

S. palmetto ‘Smooth’ (Smooth Palmetto Palm)

This is a very unusual congested leaf form of S. palmetto and is reported to have exceptional winter hardiness. I have yet to test this on the ground in Area 7b. (Hardiness zone 8-10, riddles)

S. palmetto ‘Mt. Holly’ (Mt. Holly Palmetto Palm)

This is another exceptionally winter hardy form of S. palmetto grown from the seed of a plant on Mt. Holly (west of Charlotte), North Carolina. Planted in the 1960s, these 18- to 20-foot palms have survived down to -5 degrees F in their current location. We have had them in the garden since 1999 without any signs of damage. The foliage of this form is much narrower than we would think of as a typical S. palmetto.

S. palmetto ‘Rock Hill’ (Swarf Rock Hill Palm)

These S. palmettos are from a stand in Rock Hill, SC (just south of Charlotte NC). They were planted in the 1950’s and survived the record low temperature of -8 degrees F in 1984/85. The leaves of this form are much broader than those of S. palmetto ‘Mt. Holly’ form, and have shown slightly less winter hardiness in our tests. (Resistance Zone 7b-10)

S. palmetto ‘Tifton Hardy’ (Tifton Hardy Palmetto Palm)

This seed variety of the southeastern native S. palmetto was collected by retired Raleigh horticulturist Noel Weston on a trip to Tifton, Georgia, after a frost in the 1980s that killed most of the the palmettos Noel found an intact specimen in a Tifton hotel and collected seeds. Expect a 10′ trunk in 15 years. The leaves of this form are broad like S. palmetto ‘Rock Hill’. (Resistance Zone 7b-10)

S.rosei (Savannah Palmetto)

This little-known palm comes from the west coast of Mexico, where it can be found in tropical deciduous forests at elevations of 2,500 feet from Culiacán south to Guadalajara. The 40′ tall palms resemble East Coast S. palmetto, but with very stiff costapalmate leaves. Plants at Georgia’s Bamboo Farm have endured 15 degrees F, and Hayes Jackson of Alabama reports that their plants have endured 8 degrees F, so we think they’re worth a try for gardeners willing to experiment. S. rosei prefers well-draining soils and sites in full sun. Small plants in our garden survived 9 degrees F in 2009, although the foliage did burn. (Hardness zone 8b-10, at least)

Sabal sp. Tamaulipas (Mexican Palm)

(aka: S. minor YD 17-55) This unique and garden-worthy palm has been grouped into S. minor, which is strange if you’ve grown these two plants side by side. Sabal sp. Tamaulipas is a S. minor on steroids that grows three times as fast, with much larger leaves and much larger seeds. The 6′ wide costapalmate leaves (curved in the middle) adorn the 8′ tall clumps. Our mother plant is from a 1988 Yucca Do seed expedition to Tamaulipas, Mexico, where these palms were found at an elevation of approximately 1500 feet. Although apparently trunkless, older specimens develop a horizontal trunk up to 4 feet long that rests on the ground. Our oldest plants, installed in 1997, have reached 8′ in height. (Resistance Zone 7b-10)

S. uresana (Sonora Palmetto)

From elevations as high as 4,500′ in the valleys and foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental (Sonora and Chihuahua states) in western Mexico comes this relative of Sabal palmetto that has done well in gardens in Zone 8 of the East Coast. S. uresana is very slow growing, but eventually (during the lifetime of its grandchildren) it grows into an impressive 30 foot tall tree with silvery green costapalmate leaves and a contrasting dark brown trunk. If you like to experiment, Sabal uresana is a good option to try.