Sabal Row Revisited 2020, Cape Coral, FL

[PalmatierMeg 4,338]

Several days ago I received a request for an update on our world famous Sabal Row. But first, some background. I joined PalmTalk and IPS in Jan. 2008 and soon decided I wanted to germinate palm seeds. I chose (and recommend) the Sabal genus for beginning palm growers. Sabal palmetto is FL's State Tree and ubiquitous and I managed to beg, buy and barter Sabals domingensis and maritima. From early 2008 into 2009 I germinated a slew of seedlings. A quick tangent: In 2003 during the housing bubble, some HGTV rejects decided to build a spec home four lots east of our little cottage. Then that spec home bounced through a series of flippers, sustained roof damage in Hurricane Charley and thereafter sat empty and abandoned year after year until well into the housing bust. I looked across the vacant lot next door at that never-lived-in stack of cinder blocks and decided to plant my side of the vacant lot with Sabal seedlings to block views at and from that abandoned edifice. What you see in the following photos grew up since 2009 (the house sold in 2010; the neighbors are nice people). None of these palms are technically mine but I hope if anyone ever builds there, they appreciate privacy as much as we.

Note: Sabals domingensis and maritima are really large palms. Sabal palmetto is the smallest trunking Sabal and one of the slowest growing. Sabal causiarum is a total behemoth. I added a seedling one to the Row after the others and it dwarfs them all.

Sabal Row, March 2020, Cape Coral, FL

Sabal Trunks x3: Palm on left is S. palmetto. Other two may be domingensis and maritima (ID tags disappeared long ago)

Sabal maritima (left), Sabal palmetto (right) - Same age but look at size differential.

Opposite view: Sabal palmetto (right) and Sabal maritima (left)

Sabal palmetto Trunk

Sabal maritima trunk

[PalmatierMeg 4,338]

Photos of another Sabal maritima on Sabal Row

 

Sabal domingensis(?)

Two very large Sabals at one end of Sabal Row: I think one may be domingensis, the other maritima

[PalmatierMeg 4,338]

Sabal causiarum is in a league all its own. My husband, who can take or leave all the other Sabals, loves our S. causiarum. Photos don't do it justice. It towers over all the other palms on Sabal Row. If you have the room, you gotta get one. 

Sabal causiarum Crown View

Frond dangling nearly 20' high

Sabal causiarum trunk from a distance

Sabal causiarum trunk base

Sabal causiarum trunk with my dainty foot

Trunk with papery ligules

Ligule closeup - you could write your grocery list on that

Sabal causiarum boot

 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr 421]

Thanks for revisiting Sabal Row for us  I really hope to have my own one day Haha Sabal Causiarum is in a league of it's own. Hopefully one day it will be a tad bit more common or even profitable for some nurseries !!! 

[Reeverse 496]

Amazing!!!!

[Brad Mondel 608]

Loving the Sabals!

[Chester B 756]

Sabal row is epic. Love the update

[JLM 92]

@PalmatierMeg

Did you grow these sabals from seed? If so, how long did it take to germinate and sprout, and how long did it take to start trunking? I am trying to germinate six sabal palmetto seeds, i just potted them today after leaving them in a bag with moist paper towel for over a week outside in our 80+ degree weather we have been having. No roots yet, but im sure they will be coming soon!

[OC2Texaspalmlvr 421]

8 hours ago, JLM said:

I am trying to germinate six sabal palmetto seeds, i just potted them today after leaving them in a bag with moist paper towel for over a week outside in our 80+ degree weather we have been having. No roots yet, but im sure they will be coming soon!

Sabal seeds are the easiest seeds for me to germinate. Put the seeds in a community pot in shade and in less then a month you'll have a bunch of green stuff popping up =) 

[PalmatierMeg 4,338]

8 hours ago, JLM said:

@PalmatierMeg

Did you grow these sabals from seed? If so, how long did it take to germinate and sprout, and how long did it take to start trunking? I am trying to germinate six sabal palmetto seeds, i just potted them today after leaving them in a bag with moist paper towel for over a week outside in our 80+ degree weather we have been having. No roots yet, but im sure they will be coming soon!

All grown from seeds germinated ~2008 and planted as 2-3 leaf seedlings ~2009. Your seeds should germinate soon now spring is here. They need tons of heat and sun.

[PalmatierMeg 4,338]

I delved into my computer archive of photos to come up with images of Sabal Row going back to its genesis

Sabal Row, Feb. 2009. If you look closely you will see several seedling Sabals newly put in the ground

Sabal Row, Feb. 2012. Some of the large Sabals have grown quite a bit

Sabal Row, Feb. 2014. More growth and incipient trunks, except for the S. palmettos

 

[sonoranfans 1,145]

Magnificent!   These adult trees are hard to photo when they get that big.  But being there will most certainly plunge you INTO an amazing jungle with plenty of precious filtered shade.  Thanks Meg, they are beautiful!

[JLM 92]

@PalmatierMeg

Hopefully so! Although they were placed into their own pots, will this be effective? I can get a pic for you if need be. 

[PalmatierMeg 4,338]

2 hours ago, JLM said:

@PalmatierMeg

Hopefully so! Although they were placed into their own pots, will this be effective? I can get a pic for you if need be. 

Their pots should be at least 6" tall. Seeds put down deep radicles.

[JLM 92]

17 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Their pots should be at least 6" tall. Seeds put down deep radicles.

Is 5" ok? I just measured how tall and its just over 5 inches tall. These things are sitting out on the table with my potted sago and other plants. That area receives sun pretty much all day long except for when it rises behind the trees and then goes behind the house in the late afternoon. Plenty of heat and water everyday to boost the process. 

[PalmatierMeg 4,338]

Those will do. When roots escape the drain holes consider repotting. Sabals focus on developing strong root systems during strap leaf stage.

[dalmatiansoap 294]

Impressive and beautiful yard Meg.

In your opinion, what's the most wind resistible Sabal sp.? Here we live in very windy region and considering Sabals are slow growing specie I wouldn't like to waist to much energy on wrong species of this beautiful genus.

[sonoranfans 1,145]

I think all those sabals saw hurricane force winds for hours a few years ago during IRMA.  They look like they have recovered if there was any damage.

[PalmatierMeg 4,338]

57 minutes ago, dalmatiansoap said:

Impressive and beautiful yard Meg.

In your opinion, what's the most wind resistible Sabal sp.? Here we live in very windy region and considering Sabals are slow growing specie I wouldn't like to waist to much energy on wrong species of this beautiful genus.

For wind tolerance you can't go wrong with any Sabal spp from Florida, the Caribbean and Bermuda: bermudana, causiarum, domingensis, maritima, palmetto, yapa, maybe gretherae. The newly described Sabal antillensis deserves mention but is unknown in cultivation.

[Meangreen94z 435]

This picture shows what a spectacular difference there is between them. Very nice. Thank you.

Edited March 26 by Meangreen94z

[dalmatiansoap 294]

Thanks!

So, large leave Sabal seeds search mode : ON!

[OC2Texaspalmlvr 421]

1 hour ago, dalmatiansoap said:

Thanks!

So, large leave Sabal seeds search mode : ON!

Try @cfkingfish usually has Sabal seeds on hand. 

[Meangreen94z 435]

Sabal Causiarum seed is readily available, shouldn’t be hard to find. Plenty on eBay and elsewhere 

[JLM 92]

10 hours ago, dalmatiansoap said:

Impressive and beautiful yard Meg.

In your opinion, what's the most wind resistible Sabal sp.? Here we live in very windy region and considering Sabals are slow growing specie I wouldn't like to waist to much energy on wrong species of this beautiful genus.

Some sabals after Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Florida

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.9498217,-85.4208478,3a,50.4y,46.04h,91.15t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sAF1QipMLcVo8kIv3PS87kJsrCuU_tmt0B4PJxG5yBoci!2e10!5s20181001T000000!7i11000!8i5500