Comparing Growth Rates of Various Sabals

[Scot from SC]

I hope that this topic has not been exhausted in some thread that I missed. In addition, I know that location and amount of rain/water, among other factors, affect growth rates.

We all know that Sabals love heat, and most would agree that without necessary summer heat, even in an area with milder winters, Sabals can decline or stall out so to speak.

Let's assume that the growth rates are based on most of the zone 8 and up areas of the southern United States. I would love to see data from other areas, but I have to go with what I know.

My question is, how would you rank popular Sabals in terms of speed of growth. I know the old adage that "The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap" holds a lot of truth to it.

I would love to see opinions on the following:

1) Sabal minor

2) Sabal minor var. Louisiana

3) Sabal Tamaulipas

4) Sabal palmetto

5) Sabal Uresana

6) Sabal Domengenisis "Riverside"

7) Sabal Bermudana (used to be Princeps I think)

8) Sabal Birmingham

9) Sabal Brazoria

Any other Sabal that you wish to add...

[buffy]

I hope that this topic has not been exhausted in some thread that I missed. In addition, I know that location and amount of rain/water, among other factors, affect growth rates.

We all know that Sabals love heat, and most would agree that without necessary summer heat, even in an area with milder winters, Sabals can decline or stall out so to speak.

Let's assume that the growth rates are based on most of the zone 8 and up areas of the southern United States. I would love to see data from other areas, but I have to go with what I know.

My question is, how would you rank popular Sabals in terms of speed of growth. I know the old adage that "The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap" holds a lot of truth to it.

I would love to see opinions on the following:

1) Sabal minor

2) Sabal minor var. Louisiana

3) Sabal Tamaulipas

4) Sabal palmetto

5) Sabal Uresana

6) Sabal Domengenisis "Riverside"

7) Sabal Bermudana (used to be Princeps I think)

8) Sabal Birmingham

9) Sabal Brazoria

Any other Sabal that you wish to add...

Let's see.....I'm a 8A/8B border location. I grow all of these. I know it's not surprising, but the ones in full sun grow the fastest.

1. S. uresana - Kind of crazy, but this one is gaining mass quicker than any of them.

2. S. 'Riverside' - Can show spotting below 20F and is susceptible to scale, but fast nonetheless

3. S. 'Tamaulipas' - About the same or a little faster than S. minor

4. S. minor - They can get thick with sun and water.

5. S. palmetto - I haven't been very impressed with it's speed. I have several. None have taken off.

6. S. 'Brazoria' - Slow

Everything else -- Slow

[sashaeffer]

Good topic! Have many Sabals, in the ground for their first winter and I'll say one of the smaller ones...seedling really a Sabal Tamaulipas

minimal protection has shown very good hardiness and even a bit of growth this winter. Will pat myself on the back come April when I can take clear plastic dome protection off and see how it does. Hopefully it will really take off this year.

[Scot from SC]

Thanks for the information guys! I have heard that uresana can be a beast as far as size goes. There is a picture on here of one of the palm pioneers as I call then with one. I have a strap leaf Riverside that, like all of my palms, never gets protection. So far it looks okay, but we will see come Spring.

[Alicehunter2000]

S. causiarum is slow...however this coming summer will be the third ...so I hope it will "Leap"

[mnorell]

Nobody's mentioning S. mexicana? At my garden up in Natchez, Mississippi (zone 9a), I haveS. minor (which is native there), palmetto, causiarum, domingensis, mexicana, maritima, mauritiiformis, yapa, and rosei. I think S. mexicana gives the most bang for the buck. It is larger and much more impressive than S. palmetto and grows at a very satisfying clip. Though I have a few tall S. palmetto, they are in full, blazing sun. Meanwhile, specimens of that species on the north side of the house are still three feet tall compared to the their sun-grown brethren that are about 20 ft currently. (They all started out as mail-order 1-gallon plants in 2005.) But the S. mexicana--and they are in a partly sunny position--are quite large and impressive, with a very large spread. They are almost as large as my S. causiarium in terms of their crown-spread. S. causiarum is huge but definitely slow. But I think a major point is that sun and heat-exposure has a tremendous effect on just about any Sabal's speed of development. But S. mexicana is super hardy and a gorgeous thing. And since S. palmetto is a native in South Carolina, I would think S. mexicana would be a nice change of pace.

[Phoenikakias]

Faster here is the bermudana and many growers in Italy share also this opinion.

[Palm crazy]

Bermudana is the only Sabal I am growing. Seem to be pretty hardy hasn’t been through a really cold winter yet , but did have some leaf damage last year at 16F, but the stem and spear were untouched. Seem to be a thirsty sabal than most for me. Had one years ago that was large and died in the summer because it was growing in to much sand. This new smaller one seem to grow the most in spring and fall when rainfall is good. Totally hardy to 9a and 8b will have some leaf damage on colder winter and in 8a expect total foliage damage below mid teens. I’m afraid to try any other ones since they need high summer heat to do good.

[juglans]

I agree with Phoenikakias, but I have a little seedling of mexicana that are faster than bermudana.

[njoasis]

Fastest for me has been Sabal bermudana. Sabal 'Louisiana' is also good; mexicana, not bad.

Edited March 1, 2015 by njoasis

[pfancy]

Sabal blackburnia and rosei here in the desert. In fact, the rosei has stretched out to 8' in 3 years from a strapper planted on "the wall of death"-west facing block walls here in Phx

[sonoranfans]

I grew a few sabals in 9a arizona and found riverside to be the fastest, 2nd was blackburniana with bermudana trailing the pack of 3. In 9B florida I have tried domingensis, uresana, minor, causiarum, and mauritiiformis. Of these, domingensis has easily been the fastest and also a lot faster than any of my arizona sabals. I bought domingensis and uresana a the same time from tejas tropicals as strap leaf 4" pot seedlings in january 2011. 4 years later my domngensis is between 11 and 12' overall and my uresana is 7'+. I have made no special effort to water these, after they were established the first year, other than lawn sprinklers. Both get full sun. Im my experience sabals want heat to grow fast and they do like water.

[Ed Askew]

I'm surprised at the growth rate of some of my S. Louisianas. One of them is going to be a problem as it is too close to the house. They were all planted six to eight years ago and some are now eight feet tall with nearly two feet of trunk. Some 8b.

http://s16.photobucket.com/user/edaskew/media/bigblue_zpsl0ukcyeg.jpg.html

http://s16.photobucket.com/user/edaskew/media/vonmeadow_zpsc7uellho.jpg.html

http://s16.photobucket.com/user/edaskew/media/frontside_zps52qap40z.jpg.html

http://s16.photobucket.com/user/edaskew/media/path_zpsagfsoiqs.jpg.html

http://s16.photobucket.com/user/edaskew/media/sidepond_zpst6zp1xke.jpg.html

[WestCoastGal]

I've heard that saying applied to bamboo's growth from many sources. Can't say I've ever heard it with reference to sabals.

[JLeVert]

Uresana and rosei seem to be a little slower growing than the other Sabals for me, but Sabal x texensis is definitely pokey. Maybe it's just never going to be a large tree, but it is very slow to make a trunk.

[earthworm73]

Resurrecting and old thread. For me here near Seattle the only one I have in ground is a Sabal Louisiana and it doesn't seem all that slow as thought especially for my latitude and climate. From time of planting about 2 years ago to this spring.

 

[cm05]

I only have a Sabal louisiana, and it is my slowest palm, although it's not as slow for me as they're reputed to be. It's only slightly slower than my P. roebelenii, however it's only April and we haven't had any real heat yet, by next month I should have a real idea of its actual growth rate.

[Scot from SC]

Thanks for keeping the thread alive. I know Sabals love heat, so they should start cranking out growth! 

[cm05]

On 4/23/2016, 10:23:47, cm05 said:

I only have a Sabal louisiana, and it is my slowest palm, although it's not as slow for me as they're reputed to be. It's only slightly slower than my P. roebelenii, however it's only April and we haven't had any real heat yet, by next month I should have a real idea of its actual growth rate.

It's now September and my Louisiana hasn't produced any visible growth. This summer, while very dry, was hot and incredibly humid (aka Sabal weather). I've kept it well watered, I let it dry out, fertilized, etc. If 100 degree temperatures, strings of 80+ degree nights, and record high dew points can't push a Sabal then I don't know what will.

I hope it's just concentrating on root growth, instead of sitting there doing nothing.

[Zifool]

I  continu this tread, for me from seeds tamaulipas growth very fast in 1 year, i've germinated birmingham, burmetto (bermuda X palmetto), riverside, palmetto, minor, louisiana, causiarum, bermudana during last winter and tamaulipas win easily to other species

[Dimovi]

Texas Sabal (Sabal Mexicana) from 2003 to 2018 ~ 15 years. Absolutely no care, no irrigation.

2003

 

2006

 

2007

 

2012

 

2018

[Cikas]

In my garden Sabal minor was the fastest sabal species of all I have. 

I have Minor, Bermudana, Uresana, Domingensis, Yapa, Causiarum. 

My Sabal minor is equelly old as mine Bermudanas, but already has mature looking leaves and also flowers and set seeds (while my other Sabals are still far from that stage). 

Edited October 27, 2019 by Cikas

[cm05]

On 9/24/2016 at 6:12 PM, cm05 said:

It's now September and my Louisiana hasn't produced any visible growth. This summer, while very dry, was hot and incredibly humid (aka Sabal weather). I've kept it well watered, I let it dry out, fertilized, etc. If 100 degree temperatures, strings of 80+ degree nights, and record high dew points can't push a Sabal then I don't know what will.

I hope it's just concentrating on root growth, instead of sitting there doing nothing.

My Sabal Louisiana has done a complete 180 since I posted this, it’s faster than all of my other Sabal minor eco types (AL, OK, NC, TX), it’s also faster than my Sabal palmetto. The saxophone root thingy is now causing the pot it’s in to warp at the bottom, it’s dying to get into the ground, hopefully next spring.

[mdsonofthesouth]

Was going to say "minors" typically grow down a bit before they grow up from what I have heard. 

[buffy]

On 2/25/2015 at 7:00 AM, buffy said:

Let's see.....I'm a 8A/8B border location. I grow all of these. I know it's not surprising, but the ones in full sun grow the fastest.

1. S. uresana - Kind of crazy, but this one is gaining mass quicker than any of them.

2. S. 'Riverside' - Can show spotting below 20F and is susceptible to scale, but fast nonetheless

3. S. 'Tamaulipas' - About the same or a little faster than S. minor

4. S. minor - They can get thick with sun and water.

5. S. palmetto - I haven't been very impressed with it's speed. I have several. None have taken off.

6. S. 'Brazoria' - Slow

Everything else -- Slow

I'd like to add one at the top after some years of watching.

S. palmetto x S. causiarum - This one is almost as fast as a W. filifera. 

everything else seems about like I posted before. 

[Fusca]

36 minutes ago, buffy said:

Everything else -- Slow

Are you growing S. causiarum also?  I always thought this was one of the faster Sabals or maybe it's just one of the bigger ones?

[Turtlesteve]

From my limited experience so far, S. causarium and S. uresana are much faster than S. palmetto or S. minor.

[buffy]

On 10/31/2019 at 10:10 AM, Fusca said:

Are you growing S. causiarum also?  I always thought this was one of the faster Sabals or maybe it's just one of the bigger ones?

Causiarum is tricky here. It grows, but doesn't like cold abuse.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

9 minutes ago, buffy said:

Causiarum is tricky here. It grows, but doesn't like cold abuse.

When you say cold abuse , do you mean Zone 8 or cold and wet ? Im really hoping this will be a really good grower for me once in the ground ..... 

[Fusca]

I'm hoping as well!  

[RJ]

It grows well in Augusta GA  zone 8a where  Joe Lavert has one with 10+ ft of trunk. I would think you guys would be fine.

Edited November 2, 2019 by RJ

[Brian F. Austin]

I just planted a pair of sabal causarium in the front strip. They are 2 years from seed and seem to be much faster than sabal uresana and a little faster than mexicanas that were started From seed the same time.

 

 

Edited November 3, 2019 by Brian F. Austin

[Cikas]

My Sabal minor

October 2014.

And today, 5 years later

[Cikas]

And my equally old Sabal bermudana. As can be seen Sabal minor is much faster.

 

[buffy]

On 11/1/2019 at 8:22 PM, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

When you say cold abuse , do you mean Zone 8 or cold and wet ? Im really hoping this will be a really good grower for me once in the ground ..... 

You're fine. You don't get very cold. 

[Chester B]

I'll be planting out a few different Sabals next year.  Right now all I have in the ground are minor and louisiana.  Louisiana appears to be slightly faster but I'll know better by the end of next summer.

In a few months I'll be putting some S. causiarum, S. mexicana, S. palmetto and S. uresana in the ground.  I want to give them another winter of protection so they can bulk up a bit more.

Further down the line it will be S. bermudana, S. riverside and S. "lisa"

 

[amh]

On 10/27/2019 at 1:40 AM, Dimovi said:

Texas Sabal (Sabal Mexicana) from 2003 to 2018 ~ 15 years. Absolutely no care, no irrigation.

2003

 

2006

 

2007

 

2012

 

2018

That's a great looking palm.

Wonderful growth rate for no irrigation.

[Will]

Growing Brazoriensis, Palmetto and Mexicana from seed. They germinated in the same order. Mexicana seedlings really took off and are pushing the third leaf already while the other still their second.

Maybe its because of their seed size that they have that seedling boost.

[Collectorpalms]

On 10/30/2020 at 6:51 PM, amh said:

That's a great looking palm.

Wonderful growth rate for no irrigation.

Texas Sabal. Fattest Sabal. Fastest I meant. And just about as Bud hardy as a Palmetto. They are as fast as a Filifera for me. Yet more cold/wet hardy.

[Collectorpalms]

10 hours ago, Will said:

Growing Brazoriensis, Palmetto and Mexicana from seed. They germinated in the same order. Mexicana seedlings really took off and are pushing the third leaf already while the other still their second.

Maybe its because of their seed size that they have that seedling boost.

Sabal Mexicana is fast. Once you get a trunk, they grow a good foot a year without any care.