Planting Saw Palmetto Question

[NickRB223]

Hey Y'all,

Wanted to get your thoughts. I live in zone 8a, just south of Columbia SC and I have 3 Saws in pots. Should I wait to plant?

Thanks!

[mnorell]

I think you are probably safe to plant as long as the meristem (growth point at the bud) is below soil level. They are resilient and I have some at my Mississippi garden (9a) and they showed damage when young in 2010 (low 18f, three days below freezing). However now they are mature and did fine in last winter’s low to 13F. So definitely hardier with age but they are strong enough to come through it. Meanwhile at my place in the Keys (where they are native and abundant) the Serenoa were either killed outright or very seriously harmed by five feet of ocean over them for 12+ hours. Some coming back but they prefer freezes obviously!!

[NickRB223]

Great! Thank you for the advice. They are a decent size. Pic below

[mnorell]

Nice! I think you are good to go. Try to give them some lateral room. Very slow to start (frustratingly so) but in ten years will look like something. I interplanted and surrounded mine with flowering bananas and gingers and other quick showy plants until they got some size, as they require beaucoup de patience. 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Throw a blanket over them if you're going below 16-17f. They'll spear pull like crazy at that size in the mid teens. 

[NickRB223]

10 minutes ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Throw a blanket over them if you're going below 16-17f. They'll spear pull like crazy at that size in the mid teens. 

Will do! I have two silver saws I planted in June that I will also cover. 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Youll find the silver to be 2-4degrees more leaf hardy. Once trunking 2011/2018 style cold fronts that drop you into the single digits will kill some trunks but will never kill the plant completely.  We lost a few silver trunks this year. 

[NC_Palms]

1 hour ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Youll find the silver to be 2-4degrees more leaf hardy. Once trunking 2011/2018 style cold fronts that drop you into the single digits will kill some trunks but will never kill the plant completely.  We lost a few silver trunks this year. 

Is the silver variety even native outside of Florida? It is not uncommon for wild populations in GA and SC to defoliate after temperatures drop too low. 

[Laaz]

I have the silver form & have never had them show any damage. Even after last winters 16F. They do better in a sandy soil than in heavy clay.

[NickRB223]

39 minutes ago, Laaz said:

I have the silver form & have never had them show any damage. Even after last winters 16F. They do better in a sandy soil than in heavy clay.

That is good to know! All sandy soil where I live. 

[PalmatierMeg]

14 hours ago, NC_Palms said:

Is the silver variety even native outside of Florida? It is not uncommon for wild populations in GA and SC to defoliate after temperatures drop too low. 

Silver saw palmettos are native to a region on the SE coast of FL.

 I would love to try the silver variety that grows in NW GA but seeds from that population are maddeningly hard to find.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Ive seen silvers near cape Canaveral and also near clearwater beach. The ones on the east coast had better color. 

[Estlander]

There are a lot of silvers here too on the coastal NW FL. But my observation is that they naturally always grow closer to the beach, for some reason. Within one mile or less. 

Further inland and it’s only the green form you see. 

Edited September 17, 2018 by Estlander

[Bigfish]

On 9/16/2018, 12:45:10, PalmatierMeg said:

Silver saw palmettos are native to a region on the SE coast of FL.

 I would love to try the silver variety that grows in NW GA but seeds from that population are maddeningly hard to find.

There is no population of Serenoa in NW GA, green or silver.  The Serenoa repens ‘Georgia Silver’ is from Emmanuel County, in South Central GA.

[PalmatierMeg]

8 hours ago, Bigfish said:

There is no population of Serenoa in NW GA, green or silver.  The Serenoa repens ‘Georgia Silver’ is from Emmanuel County, in South Central GA.

Thanks for the clarification

[GaDawg]

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2018‎ ‎12‎:‎35‎:‎08‎, Bigfish said:

There is no population of Serenoa in NW GA, green or silver.  The Serenoa repens ‘Georgia Silver’ is from Emmanuel County, in South Central GA.

There is a native variety of silvers on the coast of Georgia also. I live not too very far from them. The silvers in Emmanuel County aren't as silver as the ones in Florida and SE Georgia.