5 hours ago, tarnado said:

How wet and cold (above freezing) has it been for yall leading up to the freeze?

Fairly cold. I had 2 small palmettos that did not show damage in January 2025 but did in December. The ‘DeFuniak’ was unphased. I believe the parent plant has been in ground in Raleigh, NC since like 2007? zone7/8. 
https://www.plantdelights.com/products/sabal-defuniak

 

Oh wow, repeated dips below freezing every night, into the teens! 

 

It looks like not a lot of moisture, though. I was just trying to compare to our climate in the PNW, where it is wet with a capital W!

Thanks so much for the intel.

I was given a defuniak seedling (1 gal.) last year by a fellow enthusiast. It has grown albeit slowly.

 

20 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

I was given a defuniak seedling (1 gal.) last year by a fellow enthusiast. It has grown albeit slowly.

 

Is that one of mine? I can't even keep track of what I have parted with. I am considering putting one of mine in the ground this spring to see how they do in the PNW. I have a feeling they will do just fine, but grow slowwwwwlllllyyyyyy.

3 hours ago, ShadyDan said:

Is that one of mine? I can't even keep track of what I have parted with. I am considering putting one of mine in the ground this spring to see how they do in the PNW. I have a feeling they will do just fine, but grow slowwwwwlllllyyyyyy.

It definitely matches the look of ones that I grew from seed.  However I find them to be one of the fastest growing Sabals, mine are about the same size as the photo in under a year from germination.  

6 hours ago, ShadyDan said:

Is that one of mine? I can't even keep track of what I have parted with. I am considering putting one of mine in the ground this spring to see how they do in the PNW. I have a feeling they will do just fine, but grow slowwwwwlllllyyyyyy.

In all likelihood, yes.  Having this unproven variant survive in our PNW climate seems somewhat questionable. Like anything else, we'll never know without trying.

As a side note, the B. yatay I got from you, inexplicably tanked without any reason. A steady decline over the course of a month or so.

On 1/9/2026 at 7:11 PM, Las Palmas Norte said:

In all likelihood, yes.  Having this unproven variant survive in our PNW climate seems somewhat questionable. Like anything else, we'll never know without trying.

As a side note, the B. yatay I got from you, inexplicably tanked without any reason. A steady decline over the course of a month or so.

I put one of these in the ground in the spring  of 2025 in west Texas so we will see how it does here. It’s only going to get 4-6 hours of sun winter-summer so will probably slow its growth some but we will see.

53 minutes ago, KPoff said:

I put one of these in the ground in the spring  of 2025 in west Texas so we will see how it does here. It’s only going to get 4-6 hours of sun winter-summer so will probably slow its growth some but we will see.

What was the size of the palm when you planted it? Up in the PNW and despite being in zone 8, one of these will have it's challenges. I don't know much about this or it's background, but the gallon sized specimen I have does show signs of growth at lower temps, in comparison to other Sabal I own or have owned. I don't know if this is a good trait or not. Either way, I'm far from planting this out at this point. Good luck with yours!

36 minutes ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

What was the size of the palm when you planted it? Up in the PNW and despite being in zone 8, one of these will have it's challenges. I don't know much about this or it's background, but the gallon sized specimen I have does show signs of growth at lower temps, in comparison to other Sabal I own or have owned. I don't know if this is a good trait or not. Either way, I'm far from planting this out at this point. Good luck with yours!

@Las Palmas Norte it was pretty small, all strap leaves. It’s just now pushing its first palmate frond. I have it planted in a group with a decent sized sabal minor so it’s not lonely hahaha.

5 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

I don't know much about this or it's background

It's another mystery hybrid palm.  No one knows what it is.

Here is my Sabal defuniak seedling that I had dug up under the tree back in 2023, 

has had slow growth but it’s expected since it’s in a more shady spot. First photo is May 2023, second photo is January 2026. I’ve just put it there and been letting it grow on its own, not helping to much and letting it do its own thing. Also I am an hour from Defuniak springs here in Okaloosa county Florida

I'm keeping mine in a 50°F - 58°F environment and it has grown another inch though fall to current. None of the other species I have ATM are showing any signs of growth. Started in 2023.

 

Outside of the Malone United Methodist Church there is another DeFuniak or Brazoria looking palmetto. Malone is about 60 miles from DeFuniak springs. It definitely isn’t a palmetto. Most likely a sabal minor and palmetto hybrid. It could be the same as the DeFuniak palm or a brazoriensis or some other hybrid brought in and planted there.

A friend of mine gave me this little fellow . I planted it in the backyard where it gets a good amount of sun. I don't expect much growth in the following years . Most Sabals are slow growing.  I'll be happy to see a few palmate shaped fronds growing within the next 5 years.  We shall see.  Give it a lot of water and fertilizer to speed up the growth process.  Does anyone else grow a larger Defuniak in their yard ? Would love to see some pictures.  

On 4/20/2026 at 8:37 PM, Colin1110082 said:

Outside of the Malone United Methodist Church there is another DeFuniak or Brazoria looking palmetto. Malone is about 60 miles from DeFuniak springs. It definitely isn’t a palmetto. Most likely a sabal minor and palmetto hybrid. It could be the same as the DeFuniak palm or a brazoriensis or some other hybrid brought in and planted there.

Very cool find!  That's definitely another oddball!

Sabal DeFuniak - May 29, 2026

On 6/14/2026 at 8:30 AM, MrTropical said:

Sabal DeFuniak - May 29, 2026

Thank you for posting an updated picture of this palm. I've planted mine in February. So far it has pushed out one palmate frond. Kind of slow growing. My Palmettos in partial shade grow faster . The Defuniak is planted in full sun. I assume once it grows more fronds it will speed up its growth.

Update 6 months later from above January image. Not gonna win any races but it's chuggin' along.

17 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

Update 6 months later from above January image. Not gonna win any races but it's chuggin' along.

I'll take a picture of mine later but it's almost as identical as yours except the new front starts growing palmate but super slow, at least for now.

I started a community pot of these to try in southern Germany. So far they're growing strong!