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Trunking palm for Raleigh, NC?


knikfar

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We have a lot of windmill palms here in Raleigh. But I'm not a huge fan of their fuzzy trunks. So I've been looking into three alternatives. They are Sabal Birmingham, Louisianna and Bald Head Island. I've heard the BHI is marginal here and the Birmingham will take 30 years to develop a nice trunk. Does anyone know about Louisianna? Will it form a trunk fairly quickly or will I have to wait a decade? 

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You best bet is going to be a already trunked sabal palmetto IMO. 

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I would get a trunking Sabal palmetto sourced from as far north in the Carolinas as possible.  If money is not an issue, there may be large, trunking Sabal Louisiana or Sabal Birmingham for sale somewhere(?).  Bet the latter two options would be very expensive.

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I personally don’t like the look, and question the healthiness of the pactice, but you could always clean the trunk of the fortunei. They look more tropical.  Alternatively, there are many version of the Trachycarpus. 

You could also try Butia capitata if you are in the 7b/8a area.

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The main trunking palms in this area (similar to Raleigh’s climate but more coastal) are hardier trachycarpus species and some sabal palmettos that may have to be occasionally protected. Butia capitata/odorata are nice too, but have to be protected in extreme cold snaps. Sabal birmingham and sabal louisiana are definitely hardy in Raleigh, but they are both slow growers. Sabal palmetto ‘bald head island’ will probably have to be protected below the low teens to be safe, but that’s honestly just a guess from what I’ve heard about it.

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What about Sabal Brazoriensis

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Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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I recently saw a pindo palm in someone's yard near Schenck Forest.  I'm not sure if it was recently planted, but it looks like it has a few feet of trunk.  I'd try Sabal Birmingham. They seem to do well in Raleigh.  I'm growing 3 in 7b/8a Virginia.  They were very slow at first, but seem to be growing a bit faster (still relatively slow though).  Only time will tell how long before I see a trunk.

Edited by SEVA
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USDA Hardiness Zone 7b/8a

AHS Heat Zone 7

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I agree. Sabals are one of the most cold hardy trucking palms. They’re native to close by. Give them a try as well. 

Sabal palmettos should be available in your coastal areas. 

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Heres a sabal palmetto in raleigh, been there for around 4-5 years. taken last september

20180924_153147.thumb.jpg.10e7d0afd243a44718d88ade2755bdcd.jpg20180924_153343.jpg.46b5eb5affa47de50ced2ebe1f386406.jpg

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21 hours ago, knikfar said:

They are Sabal Birmingham, Louisianna and Bald Head Island. I've heard the BHI is marginal here and the Birmingham will take 30 years to develop a nice trunk. Does anyone know about Louisianna? Will it form a trunk fairly quickly or will I have to wait a decade? 

Are you in the heat island of downtown Raleigh?  I've found that Birms start trunking nicely around year 5-6.  They won't win any speed race, but they do look nice at that stage.  I have some photos of mine somewhere (when I lived in Apex)...I'll dig them out.  A palmetto may make it a little longer term in downtown in a good micro climate.  Trachys grow fast, and if planted in groups, are very pretty.  S. x-texensis do form a trunk quicker, but they've never been long-term for me.  It's all about the microclimate, though.  Louisana's, as far as I can remember, also formed a trunk in 3-5 years.   In one decade you would have a trachy 10' tall (from a 5 gal specimen).  They grow at a rate of about 1-foot per year after year 5.    At about 10 years, I started to worry that they would become lightening bait and wished they wouldn't grow so fast!!.

 

p.s.  You could get instant gratification by getting  a very large hurricane-cut sabal palmetto.  I've bought them 12-14' tall.  However, you'll spend the rest of your summer keeping it well watered.  With no roots, you can not leave it dry out. If you're in downtown, you would have a better chance of keeping one alive for more than a couple of years.

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C from NC

:)

Bone dry summers, wet winters, 2-3 days ea. winter in low teens.

Siler City, NC

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25 minutes ago, Mr.SamuraiSword said:

eres a sabal palmetto in raleigh, been there for around 4-5 years. taken last september

It looks healthy, too!

 

C from NC

:)

Bone dry summers, wet winters, 2-3 days ea. winter in low teens.

Siler City, NC

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3 hours ago, NCpalmqueen said:

 Trachys grow fast, and if planted in groups, are very pretty.  

This in my opinion is the key to growing Trachy's in a nice setting. Groups of 3x or more nicely clustered. I didn't even like Trachy's all that much until I saw a cluster of them planted together. Totally changed my opinion of them. Singles specimen plantings work great when you have a lot of variety to choose from but those of us in Sub 9 climates don't have that many options.  Go big or go home! :D

 

 

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19 minutes ago, RJ said:

This in my opinion is the key to growing Trachy's in a nice setting. Groups of 3x or more nicely clustered. I didn't even like Trachy's all that much until I saw a cluster of them planted together. Totally changed my opinion of them. Singles specimen plantings work great when you have a lot of variety to choose from but those of us in Sub 9 climates don't have that many options.  Go big or go home! :D

 

 

I agree. My favorite Trachycarpus groupings are some 3 or more. Especially gorgeous if they vary in height some. 

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You could try some of the faster growing Trachy variants like Nova and Winsan, they have a bit of a different look than normal Trachycarpus with slender trunks and long petioles. My Winsan grows 2+ feet a year and is already 11 feet tall at only 6.5 years old. I'm not sure about their hardiness though since I'm in Ohio and have to protect them every winter I've heard that they are less hardy but idk. I also agree that Trachy's look best in groups but that would be too much work for me haha.

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Thank you all for your pointers. I'm in an apartment now but when I buy a house, I'll just go with the Louisiannas, Birminghams and Minors in the open areas. If I end up having a nice micro-climate somewhere, I might try the BHI. I know the butia's aren't hardy here. Even the butia's along the coast got hit hard the winter before this last year. ALL of them defoliated. Most of them came back but some didn't. 

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