I love this photo with the sun rising in the background.  It's like the supreme beings stamp of approval.

Is that a native?

Definately doesn't look like our sabals here.........cool photo.

Ken, S. mauritiformis is native to Trinidad.

Native setting for M. mauritiformis

great pics!i am being trained to click on any post with yer name because i know it will be worth it!

Great pics! I like them very much!

Robbin

Also native mauritiiformis, on the northern most end of its range, in Tamaulipas Mexico. This population was discovered by myself and 2 other board members(richtrav and Palmazon) in May of 2005.

Luckily, in this development, they left the palms when they were clearing for the new cabins. This is about 3 to 4 hundred yards from the Gulf of Mexico. And in true Mexican or other Latin american country fashion, they painted the trunks white like that.

Zac

Aren't "maurits" the most pantropical of all Sabals?

Sabal mauritiformis and yapa are the most tropical looking members of the genus, and definitely less cold-hardy than the rest. They're exquisite as young plants, a Licuala for cooler frost-free areas. I did nothing to protect mine during the recent California freeze, since they're reputed to be hardy to 25. I only got down to 29 for one night, and only 4 other nights 30-32, no dam-age to Howeas or Kings, but some of my mauritiformis are 20-30% burnt, so as young plants they apparently need protection. Needless to say, all my other Sabals are undamaged, including small yapas.

Sabal mauritiformis and yapa are very nice looikiing tropical "style" sabals. I've been told that they have a skinnier trunk than most other sabals. Is that true? Which sabals have the largest diameter trunks?

Edwin

(palman @ Mar. 27 2007,09:49)

QUOTE

Sabal mauritiformis and yapa are very nice looikiing tropical "style" sabals. I've been told that they have a skinnier trunk than most other sabals. Is that true? Which sabals have the largest diameter trunks?

Edwin

Yes, they have skinnier than normal trunks, but its normal sized trunks for the species. The thicker trunked ones are Sabal domingensis and causiara(causiarum)

Zac

I always have liked the look of Sabal mauritiiformis so I have a young one planted in the garden.  It's growing in a full sun location, pretty much on its own.  Here's what it looks like  . . .

Al -- how old is that mauritiiformis? I have a seedling in the ground that's about 2 feet high and it appears to be growing very rapidly.

Gordon, I planted that S. mauritiiformis (pic above) as a small 1-gallon size plant a little over 4 years ago.  As I said it has been pretty much on its own with little help from fertilizer or supplemental watering to speed up its growth.  When younger I did water it a few times when we were having an extended dry spell, however.

Al -- mine gets supplemental water and fertilizer so there is some hope it will grow as fast as yours. Those mauritiis are amazing. I've never actually seen a mature one, but from the pics I've seen, like the ones on this thread, the crown is as big on a juvenile as on a mature. They seemingly spend their first five or ten years growing a crown and the rest of their time working on their trunks.

Speaking of mauritiiformis, there is one that has been around since the 1980s at the old Fort Brown hotel in Brownsville (now the dormitories for UT-Brownsville).

This is the palm around 1988:

This is the palm about 7 weeks after the '89 freeze:

This is the palm in 2005:

If you look closely at the last picture you can see the scar left from the '89 freeze, the rings appear more constricted. It also gives you an idea how much the palm grew in 15 years. It's a beautiful palm

S. mauritiiformis grows very well in central and south Florida and has some frost tolerance here.  As with most Sabal, it adapts well to our poor soil and appreciates the heat and humidity.  Given regular irrigation, it will grow much more quickly than others in the genus.

Ray

Here's a pic of the largest of the two Sabal Mauritiformis I have in the ground.

Roger

(palman @ Mar. 27 2007,09:49)

QUOTE

Sabal mauritiformis and yapa are very nice looikiing tropical "style" sabals. I've been told that they have a skinnier trunk than most other sabals. Is that true? Which sabals have the largest diameter trunks?

Edwin

Yes, they have skinnier than normal trunks, but its normal sized trunks for the species. The thicker trunked ones are Sabal domingensis and causiara(causiarum)

Zac

I have seen large specimens of all four species, and the trunks are nearly the same diameter in all of them. The three large Caribbean species are particularly difficult to tell apart.

Heres mine. Ive seen larger trees and they are awesome.

That's a beauty Glenn (as are Roger's and Als).

I have one in a container that I want to plant next spring.

How old is yours?

Does it have some overhead cover?

What's to the left of your son (Livistona?)? That's another healthy looking palm.

Here is a recent shot of mine which was planted as a 5gal fifteen years ago.

That's a beauty Glenn (as are Roger's and Als).

I have one in a container that I want to plant next spring.

How old is yours?

Does it have some overhead cover?

What's to the left of your son (Livistona?)? That's another healthy looking palm.

Hi Bob,

This one has been in the ground for many (6 or 7?) years from a 15 gallon I bought from Ray Laub. I have to let the hedge grow over it and cover it in the summer because it burns in the summer sun, so I don't get to see it very well during the summer. Its planted close to the swimming pool so it helps protect it in the winter although it can still burn. I throw a tarp over it when its below 30F. I tried them in shady areas that are protected in the summer but they died in the winter. It's not a very good palm for this area, takes a lot of maintenance. It is very slow growing. The palm next to it is Livistona saribus.

This is my favorite species of Sabal. I love how the trunk looks, as well as the feathery leaves.

I love this photo with the sun rising in the background. It's like the supreme beings stamp of approval.

Amazing picture!!! Lee

I always have liked the look of Sabal mauritiiformis so I have a young one planted in the garden. It's growing in a full sun location, pretty much on its own. Here's what it looks like . . .

Beautiful color and so healthy - what fertilizer are you using Al? Lee