We are going to name the toughest palm in the world.

[cfkingfish]

I think its time we step up and give a trophy to the toughest plant in the family Arecaceae. One that can take heat, cold, wind, drought, flooding, salt, getting run over by a lawn mower, and hard to kill by man. I will take nominations and then make a poll of the top 5 most popularly nominated. I will make separate categories after the main poll in for each type of resistance.

I will go ahead and make a nomination on Sabal palmetto.

[Tad]

I vote washie,

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

Washie by far.

[DoomsDave]

Hmm.

Depends on the conditions. I don't think there is one toughest palm.

New Zealand, in the teeth of the Antartcic wind demands one kind of toughness, while Baja Cali, Mexico, demands another.

All that said, Wahies are a good start, particularly the hybrids.

[edric]

Serenoa repens, although, I have no special reason why, Ed

[amazon exotics]

Needle palm

[Kai]

Needle palm

Rhaphidophyllum hystrix, I totally agree. Even tougher than Trachycarpus or Chamaerops.

[DoomsDave]

Needle palm

Rhaphidophyllum hystrix, I totally agree. Even tougher than Trachycarpus or Chamaerops.

But will they stand the desert? I'll bet not.

[John Case]

From what I hear and read, Nannorrhops ritchiana should be considered, if slow growing palms are allowable entries. Silver blue and slow.

BTW, did I mention they are slow?

[rozpalm]

I vote Sabal Palmetto.

1) 130mph Winds - No problem, actually looks better afterwards

2) Sitting in a swamp with 3' of water around the trunk for 9mos of the year, no problem

3) Getting burned up in a forest fire and putting out a new leaf a couple weeks later, no problem

4) Having 5' of earth filled in around their trunks to change an elevation, no problem

5) Being dug out of the ground, hurricane cut and left laying on the ground with the root ball exposed for 2months in the middle of summer and then growing into a nice tree once planted - no problem

6) As a seedling being run over with a lawnmower and growing back even bigger then before, no problem

I respect the heck out of this tree. One of natures best pieces of work.

[osideterry]

Is Sabal palmetto very drought tolerant?

A good measure would be what palm are the majority of us able to grow, no matter where you are. I have to think the lowly queen one tough palm. Hardy to below 20F, and is growing with no problems in the tropics, subtropical, desert and mediterranean climates. Yeah they look bad when mistreated, but they refuse to die.

One to think about is Bismarckia. Again, looking great in Hawaii and Phoenix.

[Tampa Scott]

I vote Sabal Palmetto.

1) 130mph Winds - No problem, actually looks better afterwards

2) Sitting in a swamp with 3' of water around the trunk for 9mos of the year, no problem

3) Getting burned up in a forest fire and putting out a new leaf a couple weeks later, no problem

4) Having 5' of earth filled in around their trunks to change an elevation, no problem

5) Being dug out of the ground, hurricane cut and left laying on the ground with the root ball exposed for 2months in the middle of summer and then growing into a nice tree once planted - no problem

6) As a seedling being run over with a lawnmower and growing back even bigger then before, no problem

I respect the heck out of this tree. One of natures best pieces of work.

I vote Sabal Palmetto also

[epicure3]

Could be a Sabal. Though, not necessarily a S. Palmetto. I was thinking more of a S. Minor.

[bubba]

Sabal-pronounced Say-Bull/ in contrast to Sa-Ball

[John in Andalucia]

My vote is for Nannorrhops. I have a seedling potted in gravel and other debris that I do not water and it is pushing a new leaf. I even caught it with industrial strength weed killer last Autumn which spotted one of the leafs. They are tough from day one. Is that the case with Sabals? Not sure if I understand the correct definition of toughest, but my little Nannorrhops is certainly a survivor.

[Gaston in Argentina]

Trithrinax campestris by far...

They would grow in mars planet if somebody plant a seed there...:-)

[buffy]

My vote is for Nannorrhops. I have a seedling potted in gravel and other debris that I do not water and it is pushing a new leaf. I even caught it with industrial strength weed killer last Autumn which spotted one of the leafs. They are tough from day one. Is that the case with Sabals? Not sure if I understand the correct definition of toughest, but my little Nannorrhops is certainly a survivor.

Nannorrhops can't take water and cold. The Kashmir form may prove tougher, but we'll have to wait and see.

Sabal palmetto is also very drought tolerant. There's a 15 footer across the street from work that's in a raised planter in the middle of an asphalt parking lot facing the west sun with no irrigation taking 100F+ everyday. It just giggles at it. Washys are tough, but they can't take cold like a S. palmetto. As for S. minor, it's probably the toughest overall, but I prefer to only consider trunking palms.

[LilikoiLee]

As a novice I found this discussion very helpful. It also prompted a question when I saw Trachycarpus mentioned as a tough palm. I am in love with the photos I have seen of T. fortunei but have read that it needs high evelation in colder climates. Has any one grown it successfully in a warmer climate? We are at 1500' in a warm climate with temperature in the mid 80's in the summer (Kona, Hawaii).

Lee

[Eric in Orlando]

My vote is for Serenoa repens, too. Nothing kills them other than trying to transplant them. Runners up; Sabal palmetto, Washingtonia filifera and robusta, Phoenix dactylifera, Nannorhops, Sabal minor, Chamaerops humilis

[jayfro6]

Sabal palmetto.

Here is a picture of some that sprouted in little pockets of soil in the limestone bedrock. They get flooded and burned over there in Collier County, FL. Many are stunted but they have survived for probably 50 years at least. There are some even more stunted ones that have less soil to work with in the rocklands of Miami-Dade County. They don't need any fertilizer to look good, and they still look good after getting pounded 24/7 with salt spray and wind at the beach.

[cfkingfish]

Remember this includes wind tolerance and flood tolerance too! Washies snap like sticks in hurricanes, Trithrinax gets budrot with wet feet, but they are both very tough!

[kahili]

I would vote for Sabal Minor over palmetto hands down when it comes to handling the cold. A palmetto would die from the cold in the lower zones whereas a minor would not. Here in zone 7, I would (and did) protect a palmetto when it went down to 8 degrees, but never even thought about protecting the minor and there was no burn at all on the leaves. I don't think the palmetto can handle any lower zone than 7, but minors can. They flower like crazy every year and their seedlings are all over my yard (like washies in Ca ). Both the minor and palmetto handle heat well-for the most part all of the southern east coast is in the nineties to 100 for all of the summer. Minors grow in the marshes, and can handle drought probably as well as palmettos=so basically it comes down to which can handle the cold better and that, I am pretty sure, would be the minor. Needle palm might be up there with the minor-not sure about that.

[ghar41]

I just read on another thread that Nanorhops ritchiana is being grown in Manila Philipines and has done well during the monsoon season.

It is near impervious to heat, wind and drought...and has a great deal of freeze tolerance. As far as weaknesses go, I doubt that it could be grown in complete shade or low light and it wouldn't survive in swampy/ poor drainage conditions.

If it grows well in Florida, Id give it the nod, as ive heard Washingtonias need special attention there.

[JD in the OC]

My vote is for Washingtonia robusta

I've stabbed, cut, maimed, smashed, and poisoned them and they grow back. They grow in cracks in the freeway and can survive on 2-3 inches of rain a year. Nannorhopps would be second place.

[sonoranfans]

Add me to the washie camp with two conditions. In the desert, its washingtonia filifera, toughest in the heat, cold, you name it. It has more heat and drought resistance than washingtonia robusta and probably 4-5 degrees F more cold tolerance. However washingtonia robusta is clearly tougher outside the desert since filiferas dont deal well with wet areas and soils.

[Jeff in St Pete]

Sabal-pronounced Say-Bull/ in contrast to Sa-Ball

Bubba, I always pronounced it SAY-bull because almost everyone in FL pronounces it that way. I have noticed that some of the west coast folks pronounce it Sa-BAHL. The first time I heard it pronounced that way, it took me a second to realize what palm they were talking about.

According to Riffle, both pronunciations are correct.

BTW, my vote is for Sabal palmetto also. They can take more abuse than any other palm I've seen.

[elHoagie]

How about Butia capitata? They take cold, wind, heat, drought, and unlike Sabal palmetto are fairly easy to transplant. Also, they seem to grow ok in Florida unlike the other palm that came to mind, Jubaea...

[Palm Guy]

I vote L. Chinensis considering that we have all those conditions on the island (including limestone soils with high PH) save for heat and cold .

They are the peskiest of weeds also. I have about 50 seedlings in my yard but I don't see any in my neighbourhood!

[tjwalters]

Sabal minor... wet/dry, sun/shade, hot/cold, and no trunk (generally) to snap in the wind. And, I have seedlings coming up everywhere near the adults here in z7.

[BS Man about Palms]

I find this interesting. Is there open ended criteria? For instance if you took a 1 gal example of each and picked a vacant field to plant them in, then look 5 years later, you would get different results in different parts of the world.

Kinda like comparing sports heroes of different generations...great fun though.

[John Case]

The list brings up something I find interesting. I would like to have each of these palms around my garden, just because they should all grow fairly easily, with one exception, the washie. Probably due to the fact that they are weeds here.

I would also guess that each of you would have the same feeling, with the exception of your 'weed'.

This thread has me thinking.......ouch!

[ariscott]

How about Butia capitata? They take cold, wind, heat, drought, and unlike Sabal palmetto are fairly easy to transplant. Also, they seem to grow ok in Florida unlike the other palm that came to mind, Jubaea...

I agree... Butia capitata. I slashed one to the ground... literally, and it came back!!! (I forgot where it was... I didn't do it deliberately - besides it wasn't Carpie...lol).

Regards, Ari

[DoomsDave]

Ohh, yeah, this is a contest!

Bring it on!

[VA Jeff]

Out of the 50 or so species I still have alive, sabal xtexensis is the toughest easily. Stands up to drought, moles, cold, scale, surviving in a bad spot where everything else not named neglecta dies. And it's costapalmate and trunking. Not to mention it withstands flooding and heat as well or better than palmetto. Cold tolerance almost equal to needles too.

[buffy]

Out of the 50 or so species I still have alive, sabal xtexensis is the toughest easily. Stands up to drought, moles, cold, scale, surviving in a bad spot where everything else not named neglecta dies. And it's costapalmate and trunking. Not to mention it withstands flooding and heat as well or better than palmetto. Cold tolerance almost equal to needles too.

Really? I have a Sabal x Brazoria that lost it's spear as a good-sized strap-leaf this winter with an ultimate low of 25F and just a little moisture. Literally, today I just noticed a new spear emerging. I had a 5 month gap between the rotten spear and the new spear. All but three leaves had already died. Eventually, these things are pretty tough, but the toughest? It's hard to argue against S. palmetto or S. minor not being ahead of this. Here's my refined list:

S. minor & R. hystrix - They can do it all well. No real limitations.

W. x filibusta & S. palmetto - The next level down. They can't take quite as much cold, but they can take water, drought, heat and cold/wet just fine.

Everything else cannot perform as well overall in all categories of toughness. T. fortunei hates blistering heat. Coccoids have a tendency to rot with overhead watering and cold/wet. The Trithrinax isn't quite there.

[DoomsDave]

Hmm.

Kinda like saying who's the toughest mother in the world . . . . .

[nomolos]

CIDP

[peachy]

How about Butia capitata? They take cold, wind, heat, drought, and unlike Sabal palmetto are fairly easy to transplant. Also, they seem to grow ok in Florida unlike the other palm that came to mind, Jubaea...

My much loved and pampered butia capitata is about to croak does this disqualify them ?

[peachy]

Definately syagrus romanzoffianum. They survive just about anywhere. When I lived out bush, they saw a 5 year drought, then 2 floods, gales, willy willies, 45C summers and -8 winters. I saw them with ice hanging from the fronds and up to their neck in water. Dig one up, burn it and in no time about 200 tiny ones are there to replace it. Meanwhile, at the same place I planted about a dozen washies and sabals of different kinds and not one of them survived.

Peachy

[Morabeza]

As a novice I found this discussion very helpful. It also prompted a question when I saw Trachycarpus mentioned as a tough palm. I am in love with the photos I have seen of T. fortunei but have read that it needs high evelation in colder climates. Has any one grown it successfully in a warmer climate? We are at 1500' in a warm climate with temperature in the mid 80's in the summer (Kona, Hawaii).

Lee

There are venerable Trachycarpus wagerianus at 900' at Wahiawā BG on O'ahu growing with Pigafetta and Salacca . You should be able to swing a Trachycarpus just fine I reckon.