Sabal Palmettos vs. Mexicana Hardiness

[romeyjdogg]

Hey all,

Just picked out a few Sabal Palmettos (~8 foot trunks) along with a Butia x Jubaea hybrid for our yard and I got to wondering, would Texas Sabals (Mexicana) be a safer bet over the Palmettos for unprotected winter survival?

The Palmettos we picked out were trucked in from Florida, so I assume they lived their lives in a much warmer zone than me (8a - Fort Worth). I'm also somewhat concerned because we live in a new development and don't have any protection from the north winds.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[Fusca]

4 minutes ago, romeyjdogg said:

Hey all,

Just picked out a few Sabal Palmettos (~8 foot trunks) along with a Butia x Jubaea hybrid for our yard and I got to wondering, would Texas Sabals (Mexicana) be a safer bet over the Palmettos for unprotected winter survival?

The Palmettos we picked out were trucked in from Florida, so I assume they lived their lives in a much warmer zone than me (8a - Fort Worth). I'm also somewhat concerned because we live in a new development and don't have any protection from the north winds.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

You should be fine with the palmettos.  Mexicanas are obviously a safe choice being native and they produce a thicker trunk.  Hope you got some good advice on keeping them watered as they get acclimated.  Hope they do well for you!

[Jeff985]

If what I’ve read about them is correct, palmettos are hardier.

[romeyjdogg]

We haven't actually had them planted yet, so I could still call an audible and switch to the Mexicanas, if needed.

[zimm]

I have two Sabal Palmettos and am in your area,  they seem very happy here.  I do plan to add a Mexicana elsewhere for variety but you have the right choice with the Palmettos.

[PalmatierMeg]

Palmettos are the smallest trunking Sabal. I've never met a Sabal mexicana but my research indicates they grow substantially larger than palmettos. Bear that in mind if you decide to change species. A lot of Sabal lovers prefer beefier species to the more petite palmetto. Palmettos evolved to deal with cat 5 hurricane winds so winds in central TX shouldn't be too troublesome.

[Matt N- Dallas]

I grow both palmetto and mexicana in Dallas.  Palmettos are pretty much bullet proof for DFW.  The cold blast of Feb, 2011 where we were below freezing for 92 hours gave the mexicanas about 35% burn and the petioles of palmetto were bent due to the weight of ice.  There are palmettos and mexicana that survived ‘96 in Dallas. 

[jimmyt]

romeyjdogg in my experience with both palmettos and mexicanas.  The palmettos are probably a little half zone hardier than the mexicanas,  The mexicanas are a bit more tolerant of drought conditions.  Both of mine have survived in the ground for about 10 years and experienced a low of 8 F in the winter without harm.  They both tolerate 100+ F and regular temps in the winter into the mid to low teens Fahrenheit.  I am located just outside Waco TX.   The Palmettos just like more water than the mexicanas. The mexicanas do enjoy ample water during the summer growing season.  Either will do well for you.  I would just get any palm not grown locally into the ground early before the heat of summer gets here.

[romeyjdogg]

Thank you all for your insight! Sounds like I'm good with either variety in this case. I'm hoping to get them in the ground in the next few weeks, but we'll see with the current situation.

[Jcalvin]

On ‎3‎/‎26‎/‎2020 at 11:03 AM, PalmatierMeg said:

Palmettos are the smallest trunking Sabal. I've never met a Sabal mexicana but my research indicates they grow substantially larger than palmettos. Bear that in mind if you decide to change species. A lot of Sabal lovers prefer beefier species to the more petite palmetto. Palmettos evolved to deal with cat 5 hurricane winds so winds in central TX shouldn't be too troublesome.

Do you mean they grow larger in diameter? I thought mexicanas maxed out at about 50' tall. Sabals grow well into the 70' range (some a little taller).

[Fusca]

29 minutes ago, Jcalvin said:

Do you mean they grow larger in diameter? I thought mexicanas maxed out at about 50' tall. Sabals grow well into the 70' range (some a little taller).

As I said in my previous post the mexicanas produce a thicker trunk and yes, they also have a larger crown of leaves as well.  Palmettos might ultimately grow taller (not sure).  I started a thread several months ago with photos of Sabal mexicanas in habitat as they are native here.

Jon

[N8ALLRIGHT]

Bumping an old thread.

Any new input on this topic after the last 3 or 4 winters for y'all in Texas. Still palmetto slightly more cold hardy or is there new observations favoring Mexicana.

[NBTX11]

Both easily survived 2021 in south central TX. Palmetto with no damage and Mexicana with slight frond burn. 

[Chester B]

I’ve not seen any damaged Sabals around either palmetto or Mexicana. 

[Fusca]

Agree with @NBTX11 - after 9°F my Sabal guatemalensis had just slightly more damage than local mexicanas and my uresana coastal form slightly more than guatemalensis (both minimal <30%).

[Sabal_Louisiana]

Sabal palmetto is supposed to be cold hardy to 5F. But they survived the (slightly) subzero temps of the historic freeze of 1985 in GA and SC. 

Sabal mexicana is supposed to be cold hardy to 8 to 12F. But as other posters have witnessed, they can actually take way lower than that for brief periods.

I suspect that given the environment in which they are suited to, mexicana can take almost as much cold as S. palmetto if it is dry and maybe? not quite as much if the cold is wet or prolonged.

[Meangreen94z]

9 hours ago, Sabal_Louisiana said:

Sabal palmetto is supposed to be cold hardy to 5F. But they survived the (slightly) subzero temps of the historic freeze of 1985 in GA and SC. 

Sabal mexicana is supposed to be cold hardy to 8 to 12F. But as other posters have witnessed, they can actually take way lower than that for brief periods.

I suspect that given the environment in which they are suited to, mexicana can take almost as much cold as S. palmetto if it is dry and maybe? not quite as much if the cold is wet or prolonged.

Sabal palmetto is slightly frond hardier, but they have both proven trunk hardy to around 0°F for short durations.

[wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww11]

It depends, the Sabal Palmetto is native to:

Texas (In Coastal Regions Only, Like Houston, Corpus Christi and Brownsville)

Louisiana (In Coastal Regions Only, Like New Orleans and Louisiana piedmont region)

Mississippi (In Coastal Regions Only, Like Biloxi but sometimes in piedmont)

Alabama (In Coastal Regions Only, but sometimes in piedmont. It is best to grow it in Mobile and Gulf Shores)

Florida (It is native all over the state, Florida borders 2 oceans. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean, it can do best in cities like Miami or Key West)

Georgia (It is native only to the coastal plain region, and seen growing sometimes in the Piedmont region, or the southern parts of the state bordering Florida like Valdosta. It is best to grow them in places like the Golden Isles including Brunswick or Savannah)

South Carolina (It is native only to the coastal plain region, and seen growing sometimes in the Piedmont region. It is best to grow them in places like Charleston, Hilton Head Island or Myrtle Beach)

North Carolina (It is native only to the coastal plain region, mainly the southeastern or middle coastal region. It is sometimes seen growing in the Piedmont region, it can be best grown in places like Wilmington or Atlantic Beach. North Carolina's range is a bit limited because of the more temperate climate. The Sabal Palmetto is also native to the Outer Banks but can die because Outer Banks have chances of wintry preciptation in winter and strong winds + freezing temps)

Virginia (Virginia's palmetto range is pretty limited, and is only limited to the southeastern parts of the state and best to grow in the False Cape State Park area and Virginia Beach, they have higher chances of survival then in NC due to the Chesapake Bay)

Maryland (So far based on Global Warming the Sabal Palmetto may have a expanded range into more northern states, and is rarely found naturally growing)

Mexico (Native to the coastal regions but can be grown all over the country)

However, Texas Sabal Palm has a more smaller range but is a great option too.

Texas

Mexico

Other parts of Latin North America

It is best to grow both of them since they are well suited and native to the Coastal Texas region, but most of Texas is cold (Dallas, Armilldo, and El Paso during the winter) 

 

 

 

 

 

[MarcusH]

From my observation here in San Antonio Texas I would say both share almost the same hardiness on a very cold winter.  I honestly can't say Palmetto is hardier vice versa.  Both of them can handle brief single digits without damage. 

[PAPalmtrees]

On 2/2/2025 at 10:54 AM, wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww11 said:

It depends, the Sabal Palmetto is native to:

Texas (In Coastal Regions Only, Like Houston, Corpus Christi and Brownsville)

Louisiana (In Coastal Regions Only, Like New Orleans and Louisiana piedmont region)

Mississippi (In Coastal Regions Only, Like Biloxi but sometimes in piedmont)

Alabama (In Coastal Regions Only, but sometimes in piedmont. It is best to grow it in Mobile and Gulf Shores)

Florida (It is native all over the state, Florida borders 2 oceans. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean, it can do best in cities like Miami or Key West)

Georgia (It is native only to the coastal plain region, and seen growing sometimes in the Piedmont region, or the southern parts of the state bordering Florida like Valdosta. It is best to grow them in places like the Golden Isles including Brunswick or Savannah)

South Carolina (It is native only to the coastal plain region, and seen growing sometimes in the Piedmont region. It is best to grow them in places like Charleston, Hilton Head Island or Myrtle Beach)

North Carolina (It is native only to the coastal plain region, mainly the southeastern or middle coastal region. It is sometimes seen growing in the Piedmont region, it can be best grown in places like Wilmington or Atlantic Beach. North Carolina's range is a bit limited because of the more temperate climate. The Sabal Palmetto is also native to the Outer Banks but can die because Outer Banks have chances of wintry preciptation in winter and strong winds + freezing temps)

Virginia (Virginia's palmetto range is pretty limited, and is only limited to the southeastern parts of the state and best to grow in the False Cape State Park area and Virginia Beach, they have higher chances of survival then in NC due to the Chesapake Bay)

Maryland (So far based on Global Warming the Sabal Palmetto may have a expanded range into more northern states, and is rarely found naturally growing)

Mexico (Native to the coastal regions but can be grown all over the country)

However, Texas Sabal Palm has a more smaller range but is a great option too.

Texas

Mexico

Other parts of Latin North America

It is best to grow both of them since they are well suited and native to the Coastal Texas region, but most of Texas is cold (Dallas, Armilldo, and El Paso during the winter) 

 

 

 

 

 

I think you just pulled that from Google. lol