northern limits for cultivated Sabal palmetto (in the eastern US)

[PalmTreeDude]

On 3/19/2019 at 4:24 PM, Sabal_Louisiana said:

This is what I figure the arbitrary northern limits for the cultivation of S. palmetto would be like for the SE US.

That's pretty good, I know that once you get into South Carolina you'll see them planted well into the Piedmont without issue. 

[Brad Mondel]

They're everywhere in Anderson, Greenville, and Spartanburg counties if you look close. 

[yabazid]

2 hours ago, Brad Mondel said:

They're everywhere in Anderson, Greenville, and Spartanburg counties if you look close. 

yup guys I have many palms in anderson. check my posts!

[VA Jeff]

Here is an old google map photo of a palm that I planted almost 15 years ago at my old house in Yorktown, VA.  Sold to me as a sabal Riverside, planted as a 5 gallon.  This pic is from 2015.  It survived 2 degrees F, but it is sighted in front of a dryer vent, and I have a large family, thus lots of laundry.  Never protected otherwise.  Some winters most of the leaves turned brown, other winters not too much.

Edited April 18, 2019 by VA Jeff

[VA Jeff]

This palmetto is in Albemarle, NC zone 7b.  The woman who owns it said it is at least 25 years old, if I recall.  The seed came from a tree near Calabash, NC.  Never protected.  I got some seeds off it, but it suffered a bit of damage in the cold winter of 2017-18.  It's more robust than it looks in the picture, but slow growing for that age.

 

Edited April 24, 2019 by VA Jeff

[Mr.SamuraiSword]

On 4/17/2019 at 11:48 PM, VA Jeff said:

Here is an old google map photo of a palm that I planted almost 15 years ago at my old house in Yorktown, VA.  Sold to me as a sabal Riverside, planted as a 5 gallon.  This pic is from 2015.  It survived 2 degrees F, but it is sighted in front of a dryer vent, and I have a large family, thus lots of laundry.  Never protected otherwise.  Some winters most of the leaves turned brown, other winters not too much.

Looks like it pulled through 2018, House was sold in late 2018 again ..

[EastCanadaTropicals]

On 3/21/2019 at 11:11 AM, LasPalmerasDeMaryland said:

I'm planting a Sabal Palmetto ‘Mocksville’ this year. From what I’ve heard, to have the greatest success with palmetto, it should be planted when young so it gets acclimated to the climate. I’ve also heard that it’s hardiness is similar to Sabal Minor before it forms a trunk, but when the trunk starts to form, it’s definitely at least a zone 8a palm. I’m definitely protecting mine when I plant it. It’s my absolute favorite palm and although I would have to protect it every year, it’s worth it. 

I think the only place in MD where sabal palmetto can look good without protection is Crisfield or Pocomoke City. 

[Alex High]

On 1/31/2019 at 8:28 AM, Mr.SamuraiSword said:

georgia perhaps?

 

Georgia is close but the mountains and high elevations, which Florida and Louisiana lack, would probably be too cold for Sabal palmetto. Florida's highest point is 345 feet and Louisiana's is 535 feet, which Georgia's is 4,784.

Edited December 18, 2020 by PalmsUSA

[charlotte palm guy]

I have seen them in Greenville, SC and even Charlotte.  Some business have them in Charlotte so maybe imported as adults.  My neighbor planted 2 Palmettos and one has survived in Charlotte.

[VA Jeff]

As I said before, there are old palmettoes in much colder parts of NC than Charlotte.  Starting with NC ancestry would be a good start to finding hardy strains.  But they are slower growing and shorter at final height, compared to florida strains.

[EastCanadaTropicals]

On 1/30/2019 at 11:04 PM, Sabal_Louisiana said:

All those postings about the VA Beach Palmettos made me wonder. By my reckoning, I would say marginal from the southern tip of the Delmarva south and west to Raleigh to Charlotte to Atlanta to Birmingham then to the Mississippi Delta to around Texarkana.

Perhaps even a little north of this in favorable microclimate such as urban Little Rock and Memphis.

In other words, corresponding with the northern limits of CHZ 8 or wherever Sabal minor would occur naturally.

LA and FL would be the only states where it can be grown anywhere but MS and SC would come close.

Does this sound about 

On 3/19/2019 at 4:24 PM, Sabal_Louisiana said:

This is what I figure the arbitrary northern limits for the cultivation of S. palmetto would be like for the SE US.

They could theoretically be cultivated as far north as the small 8a part of Maryland.

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by EastCanadaTropicals

[Brad Mondel]

On 3/19/2019 at 4:24 PM, Sabal_Louisiana said:

This is what I figure the arbitrary northern limits for the cultivation of S. palmetto would be like for the SE US.

In SC they grow and naturalize up into Spartanburg and Greenville counties. There's a lot more palms just 30 mins south of Greenville though here in Anderson county. 

[Brad Mondel]

Spartanburg, SC

 

 

 

[EastCanadaTropicals]

On 3/21/2019 at 11:11 AM, LasPalmerasDeMaryland said:

I'm planting a Sabal Palmetto ‘Mocksville’ this year. From what I’ve heard, to have the greatest success with palmetto, it should be planted when young so it gets acclimated to the climate. I’ve also heard that it’s hardiness is similar to Sabal Minor before it forms a trunk, but when the trunk starts to form, it’s definitely at least a zone 8a palm. I’m definitely protecting mine when I plant it. It’s my absolute favorite palm and although I would have to protect it every year, it’s worth it. 

Baltimore has 8a microclimates

[EastCanadaTropicals]

On 2/9/2019 at 10:28 PM, NC_Palms said:

The coldest it got last year in Raleigh was 4°F, but most years the city won’t go below 10°F. 

I would imagine that your microclimate is similar to the NC piedmont. Just keep in mind that cold spells in 7b NC don’t last as long as they do in the Mid-Atlantic.

One thing about growing palms is that it never hurts to experiment. So go ahead and try a Sabal Uresana in Maryland, I just recommend that you plant it in a protected spot. You may also be able to grow Sabal palmetto, but I am not too sure how their hardiness compares to Sabal Uresana. Maybe someone can chime in on that one. 

 

The hardiness is pretty similar, the highlands Urseana might be a little bit harder.