Sabal minor & Needle Palm in Z6a

[ColumbusPalm]

Hello Everyone,

 

I should start with an introduction, I'm Nate and have been into cold hardy palms for a long time. When I was just in my early teens I overwintered a Trachy up in Toledo which was a 5b at that point. Going on 30 and with a house now, I am planning to try some Sabal minors and Needle's this spring in Z6a Columbus, OH. If anyone has any tips for this climate and species, please share!

 

Here is a picture of my enclosure for my Yucca rostrata that I planted last spring. It still looks great under there. I dug out a huge area for this bed and it is conditioned with lots of sand. It is burlap with a clear painters tarp staked over it to prevent moisture on the crown. 

 

I am excited to be back in the hobby and on the forums!

 

Nate

[PalmatierMeg]

Welcome to PalmTalk, Nate. We have a lot of people growing palms outdoors in the colder states. Your choices of species are limited but you already know that. I encourage you to explore the many varieties of Sabal minor, which is the most variable of the Sabals. You could create a whole garden of different S. minors

[ColumbusPalm]

Thank you! I do love Sabal minor and am excited to experiment with them. I have 3 so far I am going to plant but find it hard to find slightly larger minors for sale. I will post pictures in spring when they are planted. 

My 3g needle has been with me for over a year now and I left it out in the pot until December and then brought it in. Trying to get some age on it before I plant. Surprisingly been a good houseplant too lol. 

[PalmatierMeg]

You may have find Sabal minor seeds and seedlings online. Retail nurseries and garden centers usually won't carry them. They are slow growing and there is little demand for them.

When you plant the needle palm don't put it in full sun. They are an understory palm from the forest floor.

[ColumbusPalm]

Thank you for that tip! I’ve been debating where to plant it. I have a spot right up against the house that gets the last hour or two of west sunlight but is otherwise north facing. I was thinking the foundation of the house may help too. 
 

I do wonder, if I built a similar enclosure for the palms next winter, will it be too dry for them? I know the crowns don’t like winter moisture but should they have some in the ground? 

[PalmatierMeg]

Sabals have a lot of drought tolerance. If they are in the ground they will absorb the water they need from there. These are tough palms and grow unprotected as far north as OK and AL.

[ColumbusPalm]

Very helpful, thank you! 
 

Here is the needle and one of the minors going in the ground this April. 

[Allen]

You can plant all those and not really worry about protecting unless it goes under 0F or 5F depending on your comfort level.  bag up a couple big bags of leaves in the fall and cover them with them if it goes under those temps.  I would get a variety of minors from different sources of different sizes.  They can be 18" tall to 7' tall variety.

[GregVirginia7]

Great choices for your zone...I’m 7a or b...depending...but my needles and sabals have done great with no protection on the needles at all...once yours are well established, maybe you can get away with minimum protection. What kind of sun will the needle get? South face is great. So much depends on location in our zones. I have two needles. One in mostly shade, south face and the other in full sun/wet area, south face. The shade one is beautifully formed and well protected and is a very slow grower...the full sun/wet one gets a bit tattered but is growing fast...your Sabal will be a while to get growing but once established should perform but again, location is key. I have minors in Bethany, DE which is 7b, they are seeding and doing great... I planted three seedlings from them here in VA this spring with zero protection to see how hardy they really are. If yours do well, you may get some seed production, which, if you can get them to sprout, is more rewarding than getting, say, a zinnia seed to sprout...In our zones, this palm thing is a great hobby and a rewarding one if they’re not dying left and right...and I’ve killed more than my share but your headed in the right direction.

Sun/wet needle and shade needle...

[ColumbusPalm]

Those needles look great! Thank you for sharing. I'm excited to plant this one. It got a healthy dose of cold in December out in its pot so hopefully I have slightly conditioned it for next winter. Not sure how that works though. 

I have a spot West facing that gets about 2 hours of evening sun I was going to plant the needle in. It is right up against the house so I hope that will help the ground warmth too. I've read many people say that needles do best when provided some shade so I am glad to see yours are doing the same.

[Palm Man]

I used to live in Sylva, NC up in the North Carolina mountains at 2700' elevation. I planted both Sabal minor and Needle palm in my yard and both did well there- especially the needle palm. I think it was a zone 6b. It got down to -3F once or twice in the 8 years we lived there. 

[donofriojim1]

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