New Sabals - What do I do!?

[ahosey01]

My buddy went to Jungle Music this weekend and brought me back a Sabal causiarum and Sabal etonia - two I've wanted for a long time.

I'll stick the causiarum in the ground, no problem.  But I don't know how much water to give it.  Can someone help out here?  Is it like a palmetto where it likes drowning?  The soil is good in that spot.  On the heavy side but drains well, rich in nutrients and basically pH neutral.

As for the etonia - it's a tiny little thing.  Looks like one of those window herb starter plants you'd get at Ace Hardware.  One strap leaf and that's it.  What the hell do I do with it?  I assume it's too sensitive to stick in the ground, plus I seem to have a knack for killing small palms in the ground.

- If I don't put it in the ground, how often do I water it and when do I plant it?

- If I do put it in the ground, what do I need to know so that I don't kill it?

First time with both of these species.

[ahosey01]

... buuuuueller ...

[mnorell]

Don't worry about Sabal, it is a miraculously flexible genus. I have grown a number of species in my old garden in Natchez, Mississippi, a place that experiences cold, wet winters, plus heat in summer (but with humidity). They can deal with drought, torrental rains, etc. and just power on through. S. causiarum is one of my favorite palms, and the two I planted there in 2005 as small plants are now huge, about 27-30' high. Their leaves were cosmetically damaged in the 2018 freeze (13F) but other than that have never been damaged. Scheduled to go through 11F Tuesday morning and days and days below freezing, but they have gone through similar conditions a couple of times. I never watered them after the first few years and they just kept going skyward. In AZ, if you are planting in sandy soil, I would suggest just keep the water going for the first couple of years, then taper off and add some water if you notice stress. Don't overthink it, these are very hardy palms and will show you if they are having a tough time. I've never grown S. etonia but they will be tolerant of sandy, rocky soils and irregular rainfall. So again, don't worry about them experiencing some dryness. Give your S. causiarum lots of room. Think Bismarckia. It has a similar effect and a similar scale.