2 tall, old Sabal palmetto

[Eric in Orlando]

Two tall, old Sabal palmetto in Lake Helen, FL. House is from the 1880s so palms are over 100 years old

[AggiePalms]

Very cool! I want those. As slow as I see the S. palmetto grow around here, I wonder how they ever get to that size. One in my neighbor's yard has maybe 9 ft of clear trunk, and had several feet of trunk when I moved in fifteen years ago. OR maybe 3-6" net growth per year. I don't know what rapid growth rates are for these. Mine has less than one foot, but it has been in the ground only a couple of years, after a long period of growth in a container.

[Eric in Orlando]

The rate for wild Sabal palmetto around here depends on the habitat it is growing in.

Here is an old house (now a museum) at nearby Blue Spring State Park. It was built in 1872. The tall S. palmetto on the left side was probably growing there when the house was built. From an old picture it looked to be about 10ft tall in 1872.