I began germinating palm seeds in 2008 and started with various species of species of Sabals because they are easy for palm beginners. In 2009 I planted a variety of Sabal seedlings at the edge of the vacant lot to the east of ours to block the view of an abandoned house nearby (it was the height of the Great Recession and many homes in Cape Coral were abandoned). Today I took the following photos of these 11-year-old plantings. Sabals causiarum, domingensis and maritima have grown to be massive palms and most have been flowering for years. At one time I had each of them tagged but those tags are long lost so telling the large Sabals apart is difficult. Sabal palmetto is the smallest  trunking Sabal and the specimens on Sabal Row look almost dwarfish compared to their massive cousins. None of the palmettos have flowered yet.

Sabal Row, May 2019, Cape Coral, FL

Bonus Photo: Sabal palmetto Lisa

Now that's an improved view!  So jealous!

Those are some beautiful Sabals i cant wait to have some specimen palms like that 1 day 

Edited May 17, 20197 yr by OC2Texaspalmlvr
Forgot word

Is this the spot Christian Faulkner did a sabal video on a short while ago? Beautiful gardens 

Truly incredible! Excited to plant the sabal "Lisa's" I got from you in the coming years.

14 hours ago, Rickybobby said:

Is this the spot Christian Faulkner did a sabal video on a short while ago? Beautiful gardens 

Probably. I haven't checked his site but he stopped by earlier this week and we discussed Sabal Row. He's done quite a few videos here. He lives only 5 minutes away. I'm glad to help him out.

2nd pic 3rd palm to the right , which seems like your largest diameter trunked sabal  what species do you believe it to be ?

17 hours ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

2nd pic 3rd palm to the right , which seems like your largest diameter trunked sabal  what species do you believe it to be ?

Not sure. Could be causiarum, domingensis or maritima. If you aim for the biggest of the Sabals, go for causiarum. Domingensis is a close 2nd. Maritima is rarest. Revisit CF's video.

On 5/17/2019 at 10:27 AM, PalmatierMeg said:

I began germinating palm seeds in 2008 and started with various species of species of Sabals because they are easy for palm beginners. In 2009 I planted a variety of Sabal seedlings at the edge of the vacant lot to the east of ours to block the view of an abandoned house nearby (it was the height of the Great Recession and many homes in Cape Coral were abandoned). Today I took the following photos of these 11-year-old plantings. Sabals causiarum, domingensis and maritima have grown to be massive palms and most have been flowering for years. At one time I had each of them tagged but those tags are long lost so telling the large Sabals apart is difficult. Sabal palmetto is the smallest  trunking Sabal and the specimens on Sabal Row look almost dwarfish compared to their massive cousins. None of the palmettos have flowered yet.

Sabal Row, May 2019, Cape Coral, FL

Any chance you have a Uresana, here?

Leaf bases look like specimens that I’ve seen out here. 

Steve, no uresanas there. I tried one small uresana on my garden lot. It did nothing for a couple years then croaked. This species may hate my soil or prefer a drier climate. RE that specific Sabal, Christian mentioned "brazoria/xtexensis" but I can't recall planting that one there either.

 Those sabals are gorgeous!!!!. I can only dream of one here in the PNW!

1 hour ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Steve, no uresanas there. I tried one small uresana on my garden lot. It did nothing for a couple years then croaked. This species may hate my soil or prefer a drier climate. RE that specific Sabal, Christian mentioned "brazoria/xtexensis" but I can't recall planting that one there either.

The irony of it all. Sabal uresana is probably my fastest growing non native sabal species I'm growing -- yet Sabal Palmetto 'lisa' and S. maritima are slow as snails (or slower) for me. My S. domingensis and S. yapa are only slightly faster. My Sabal mauritiformis I got back in January of 2002 still hasn't any clear trunk. With respect to my S. lisa, the palm leaf skeletonizer has wrecked havoc on them.

You have some nice looking sabals, and they've grown remarkably big in 10 years time.

Walt, they benefit from semi-annual fertilizer and irrigation. Funny how some "slow" palms grow when you actually provide care.

6 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Walt, they benefit from semi-annual fertilizer and irrigation. Funny how some "slow" palms grow when you actually provide care.

My biggest problem is my dry sandy soil and low water table.  Palms that I can irrigate on a regular basis grow much fast and robust than those that only get water from nature (i.e., rain).

But I have two Sabal palmetto that are original to my property growing in my front yard. One palm my wife and I made a shrub bed around, thus the root area of the sabal got fertilizer and more water (from hand irrigation). The other palm is not far away and was getting turf fertilizer. Well, you can clearly see in both trunks the increase in diameter that indicates when the palms started getting fertilizer and extra water.

Another Sabal that is a slow grower for me is S. bermudana. I bought this palm in 2002 from the Prall's in Cape Coral. It's planted where it doesn't get irrigation or hand watering. It has no developed trunk yet. Last year for the first time it produced one inflorescence. This year so far nothing.

I have a Sabal bermudana (from a PTer on the island) on my Garden Lot planted ca. 2012 that has not trunked yet produced viable seeds for the past few years. One of the earlier flowering Sabals I have.

Definitely a good view! 

Nice little sabal forest Meg!  It shows an investment in time and care.  It also looks so natural, that is my kind of garden.  Makes me wish I had another 1/2 acre...