Shipping Sabal Palms Bare Root / Semi-Bare Root?

[Small palm]

Hello Palm Talk, 

I have some Sabal uresana and Sabal minor seedlings that are finally big enough to sell. I want to remove most of the soil from them before I package them up to save money on the shipping cost. I have shipped plants before with no problem, but I am not sure about these palms in particular. Has anyone else shipped or ordered bare root Sabal uresana or Sabal minor and had them survive? I don't want my palms to goto waste if they are going be negatively impacted by removing most of the soil.

Thanks. 

Edited November 12, 2020 by Small palm

[Palmfarmer]

10 minutes ago, Small palm said:

Hello Palm Talk, 

I have some Sabal uresana and Sabal minor seedlings that are finally big enough to sell. I want to remove most of the soil from them before I package them up to save money on the shipping cost. I have shipped plants before with no problem, but I am not sure about these palms in particular. Has anyone else shipped or ordered bare root Sabal uresana or Sabal minor and had them survive? I don't want my palms to goto waste if they are going be negatively impacted by removing most of the soil.

Thanks. 

i do know Sabel minor seedlings do fine sent without soil. The palmetto however i dont know.

[mnorell]

Just carefully rinse the existing soil off the roots without damaging them; and then just as carefully pack the root-mass in damp orchid moss (large pieces of sphagnum moss available at most HD/Lowe's). Bag up the plants with a twist-tie in a large enough bag (many baguette bags from your grocery's bakery are perfect for enclosing tall plants) or in a ziploc if they will fit. The plants should be just fine that way. In fact, the roots love the sphagnum moss and will continue to grow in it for quite some time, probably better than in soil...that's my own experience.

[PalmatierMeg]

Agree with @mnorell. I've shipped Sabal seedlings for years. I wrap roots with damp orchid moss, clear wrap, then foil, finally roll the leaves with newspaper.

Somehow the rumor that Sabal seedlings are impossible to safely ship has spread like covid. Young Sabals pulled out of the ground often do not survive because their growing points are  damaged. Sabals with less than 4-6' of clear trunk present the same problem, esp. if they are dug out of the ground because their growing points are usually shattered.

But a pot of Sabal seedlings should not pose a problem if you treat them with respect and do as @mnorell suggests. These are tough palms.

[Turtlesteve]

I have been on the receiving end of bare rooted sabals several times.  they were almost always wrapped in damp newspaper.

They HATE being bare rooted, and they will sulk, lose some leaves, and be generally unhappy for at least a month or two.  Despite them all looking like death, about 90-95% of them recovered and I only lost a handful out of several dozen.  Whether this is good or bad depends on perspective, I suppose.  I'm happy because they were palms I can't find locally (or if I could, they would have costed a lot more).   And, it's not like everything I sprout from seed survives either...

Steve

 

[Small palm]

I am happy to see some advice and experiences with shipping and receiving Sabal palms in the mail. Thank you to everyone that replied, I really appreciate it. 

@mnorell That is great advice to wrap the palm roots with damp moss. I really appreciate that tip, in the past I would leave some soil and add a wet paper towel, but I'm sure the moss would be better since it holds more moisture. I wonder if coco coir could work too since it is similar to moss, but I know coco coir may cause nutrient deficiencies from what I've read.  Since this would be temporary, I assume the coco coir nutrient issue wouldn't be a problem. 

 

@PalmatierMeg That is a good point about Sabal palms being grown in the ground versus in pots. I've transplanted a young Sabal minor from the ground to a pot and it died later on. That is what made me worry about shipping my Sabal palms bare root. What you said about the growing points of the roots being damaged makes sense. That makes me feel comfortable with shipping my Sabal palms. 

 

@Turtlesteve I am really happy to see that you have had positive experiences with ordering Sabal palms in the mail even though they didn't look that good at first. A survival rate of 90-95% makes me feel good about shipping my palms. 

[mnorell]

I think the damp orchid moss is superior to coco coir for this purpose. I am a big fan of coir for many uses, and I don't think you'd run into any nutrient issues any more than you would with sphagnum, but the big benefit is that the orchid moss is in large, spongy pieces and really provides a nice cushion as well as a slightly acid substrate. And almost all plants seem to love the stuff. There have been controlled and peer-reviewed studies regarding various root-media with various types of plants and for some reason sphagnum provides a near-perfect environment for roots, no doubt due to its moisture and oxygen-retaining properties. Almost any non-soil medium you provide will require amendment with plant-fertilizers over time, but I have left plants in orchid moss due to my own laziness for months and months, and the plants seem to thrive with no additions at all. But you're only talking about a brief shipment, so those issues will be under the control of the purchaser. Good luck with it, and I think you will find that orchid moss is a wonderful shipping solution.

[Small palm]

Thank you @mnorell for the detailed response about orchid moss, I really appreciate it. I try to think of moss alternatives due to the environmental concerns of how it's produced, but it has so many good qualities for gardening that it becomes a dilemma for me. Luckily, I recently found a left over bag of moss in my storage bin, so I can put that to use for shipping my palms. 

[chad2468emr]

Never shipped myself, but over the years I’ve received two S. causiarum seedlings and a regular ol palmetto seedling via mail. They always had their roots wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil as PalmatierMeg mentioned. (Now I’m wondering if they were the ones that sent me them.... haha) 

Neither species batted an eyelash once they were potted and have taken off. (As much as you can really expect any sabal seedling to “take off.” Sloowwwwww growers, sheesh.) 

[Small palm]

Thanks for your feedback @chad2468emr, that's great that your Sabals handled shipping just fine and are thriving. I feel you, my Sabals have been slow growers, especially since I live in an area that doesn't have as much heat as they would like. 

[chad2468emr]

3 hours ago, Small palm said:

Thanks for your feedback @chad2468emr, that's great that your Sabals handled shipping just fine and are thriving. I feel you, my Sabals have been slow growers, especially since I live in an area that doesn't have as much heat as they would like. 

I get the heat in the summer but we’re up to high 70’s - 80/81 at most these days with nights dipping into the mid - low 60’s and 50’s from time to time so that’s slowed them down a good bit for now. 

[pinstripepat]

OK maybe a dumb question. I have two beautiful sabal palms that I bought a few years back 2019, they are from one root ball. Not to sound simple but basically two 25' sabals that go to one rootball at the ground. When they planted it, it looked like one big ball. They are literally 8" apart at the base. They are awesome.

My question is, I live in DFW and we just had that historic freeze. The one on the right looks like it might have a chance, nice and green in the middle coming out of the heart and the outer fronds are browning. The one on the left has green but it is less green, more of a light green at the heart than its friend. My question is, are these two palms separate trees with seperate mom roots or are they truly from one rootball as I have suspected for a few years since I bought them.  Why I ask of course is, I am worried about recovery and curious can one make it and the other not,  or how do you folks expect this will go. If they are one rootball and the one on the right looks better is that a good sign for both etc..? Trying to get my gameplan now.

Right after the freeze I sprayed them both with liquid copper and our weather, of course, has been in the 70's since that freeze. My second dose of liquid copper is scheduled for this weekend. 

Thanks all. 

Patrick in DFW