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Is a sabal palm possible indoors?


Andrew19

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Hi everyone, I am an absolute noob and have not attempted at caring for a palm tree yet. I am in Ontario, Canada and take the family to Florida every few years. Each time we go my wife falls in love with the sabal palms down there. I would love to get one for the house, obviously keeping it outside in the warm months and caring for it indoors in the cooler months.

Is it possible to have a potted sabal palm, or would temps and the overall eventual size be an issue? I am open to other types that resemble the sabal if they would be more manageable. 

Thanks and apologies if this is a dumb question. Look forward to spending time with you on this forum :)

Andrew

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15 minutes ago, Andrew19 said:

Hi everyone, I am an absolute noob and have not attempted at caring for a palm tree yet. I am in Ontario, Canada and take the family to Florida every few years. Each time we go my wife falls in love with the sabal palms down there. I would love to get one for the house, obviously keeping it outside in the warm months and caring for it indoors in the cooler months.

Is it possible to have a potted sabal palm, or would temps and the overall eventual size be an issue? I am open to other types that resemble the sabal if they would be more manageable. 

Thanks and apologies if this is a dumb question. Look forward to spending time with you on this forum :)

Andrew

Welcome to the forum!  You should be able to grow them indoors and enjoy them outside during the warmer months.  They grow pretty slowly in pots.  @Rasta Rob has a whole bunch of stuff in his palm room in Ontario.

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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I'm not a indoor palm expert but I think someone could probably jump in here and  recommend a better suited palm for you indoors.

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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I grow every kind of palm imaginable indoors here at 43 degrees north southern Ontario Canada. Sabals are not hard to grow but need excellent drainage min coco and perlite and are very slow. If you. Check out my YouTube 

southern Ontario palms and tropicals I have Sabal vids and all kinds of videos on growing palms up north and indoors cheers!

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If I can say one more thing Andrew sabals when small don’t look like what you see in Florida and it will take 10 years before it comes close to something. So I don’t grow many sabals for this reason I started growing everything from sub tropical to tropical and from common to rare and with time you figure out what works and what can be sustained up north here. If you see my setup it’s quite the process I order to keep the palms happy during the winter but worth it!

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Thanks Rob, appreciate it. Someone is sending me some sabal seedlings so I'll give it a shot and see.

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@Rasta Rob

Ive been trying to germinate these sabal seeds for a month now. These seeds were found in Pensacola Beach, FL but they havent shown any signs of anything popping yet. Any possible way to get these seeds to germinate than just being in a bag, they are in pots now because the soil stays warm throughout the night and wet. These are also my second seeds germination attempt. Ive tried coconuts but they all failed and rotted from the inside. 

Palms - 4 S. romanzoffiana, 1 W. bifurcata, 2 W. robusta, 1 R. rivularis, 1 B. odorata, 1 B. nobilis, 2 S. palmetto, 1 A. merillii, 1 P. canariensis, 1 BxJ, 1 BxJxBxS, 1 BxS, 3 P. roebelenii, 1 H. lagenicaulis, 1 H. verschaffeltii, 9 T. fortunei, 1 C. humilis, 2 C. macrocarpa, 1 L. chinensis, 1 R. excelsa

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7 hours ago, Andrew19 said:

Someone is sending me some sabal seedlings so I'll give it a shot and see.

Sabal palmetto seedlings don't transplant well compared with other palms in my experience. I've found the smaller they are the more likely they'll survive but YMMV.  No direct sun for like 6 months or longer after transplanting seedlings. They transplant much better once they have 6-8' of trunk.  They don't really grow fast in pots when young even here in S FL.  The one in the pics below is about 5 years old. A little over a foot tall and probably doesn't look anything like what your wife thinks a Sabal palmetto looks like.

20200424_170339_zps1srs7rkx.jpg

20200424_170414_zpskfyuno4q.jpg

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17 hours ago, JLM said:

@Rasta Rob

Ive been trying to germinate these sabal seeds for a month now. These seeds were found in Pensacola Beach, FL but they havent shown any signs of anything popping yet. Any possible way to get these seeds to germinate than just being in a bag, they are in pots now because the soil stays warm throughout the night and wet. These are also my second seeds germination attempt. Ive tried coconuts but they all failed and rotted from the inside. 

When I get fresh Sabal seeds they germinate for me in under two weeks. I use baggy method but the heat mat under them is set between 95 and 96f with awesome results 

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Thanks for all the replies. I'm reconsidering the sabal and may concentrate on a foxtail instead.

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On 4/25/2020 at 10:21 AM, Andrew19 said:

Thanks for all the replies. I'm reconsidering the sabal and may concentrate on a foxtail instead.

Foxtails are bulletproof for us. I just sold some and they went to Alberta. If your looking for anything bare root seedling let me know 

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Agree with Pal Meir. Sabals want full sun, high heat (80-90F +) and humidity. They also need very deep pots because their growing point remains underground until the trunk is 4' +.

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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Sabal palmetto will stay trunkless indefinately if grown indoors. One would need a big, very deep pot and the brightest of indoor locations. I've seen them growing in pretty dark shade in habitat. They're fairly elegant-looking, when trunkless.

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I think a Sabal minor may be better suited if the Sabal leaves are the thing you like. S. palmetto won't form a trunk like you see in Florida if kept indoors in a pot, and S. minor will be a little cold hardier.

That said, there are some better choices for indoor palms. Howea forsteriana is one of my favorites. Anything in the genus Chamaedorea works well indoors too, and some form a nice solitary trunk. 

Keith 

Palmetto, Florida (10a) and Tampa, Florida (9b/10a)

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/24/2020 at 2:54 PM, JLM said:

@Rasta Rob

Ive been trying to germinate these sabal seeds for a month now. These seeds were found in Pensacola Beach, FL but they havent shown any signs of anything popping yet. Any possible way to get these seeds to germinate than just being in a bag, they are in pots now because the soil stays warm throughout the night and wet. These are also my second seeds germination attempt. Ive tried coconuts but they all failed and rotted from the inside. 

Don't give up on those seeds!!! I found a sabal seed in St. Augustine back in December and forgot about it in my backpack until February. After months of doing nothing in a warm place, it just now sprouted in May. Consistent warmth seems to be the key, as the top of my hot water heater is what got it to go.

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