Searching a big growing Sabal

[Will]

Good evening,

I have just visited the palmhouse in Vienna and they have some really huge Sabal palmettos. Was my first time seeing them in person and I was really surprised how big they actually are. 

I am searching for Sabals similar to the size of palmetto or bigger, which are hardier though. I am in zone 7b Eastern Austria. Got some Sabal minors but I suppose they don't get leafs as big as palmetto do they? 

I have found Sabal tamaulipas which are supposed to get bigger than minor. But those are really hard to find here in europe. And other suggestions on big growing Sabals for my climate?

Thank you!

Will

Edited January 5, 2022 by Will

[teddytn]

On 1/5/2022 at 3:06 PM, Will said:

Good evening,

I have just visited the palmhouse in Vienna and they have some really huge Sabal palmettos. Was my first time seeing them in person and I was really surprised how big they actually are. 

I am searching for Sabals similar to the size of palmetto or bigger, which are hardier though. I am in zone 7b Eastern Austria. Got some Sabal minors but I suppose they don't get leafs as big as palmetto do they? 

I have found Sabal tamaulipas which are supposed to get bigger than minor. But those are really hard to find here in europe. And other suggestions on big growing Sabals for my climate?

Thank you!

Will

That’s awesome looks like great place to check out. Some trunking sabals to try that are more cold hardy than palmetto. Sabal Birmingham might be the toughest, slower than the other 2. Sabal louisiana fast growing, will eventually trunk, but shorter overall at maturity. A little less hardy than Birmingham. Sabal brazoriensis fastest growing of the 3, makes a massive plant. Less cold hardy than the other 2. If you’re 7b these should do fine, may be a little slower since you might not have the summer heat they love. 

[Will]

15 hours ago, teddytn said:

That’s awesome looks like great place to check out. Some trunking sabals to try that are more cold hardy than palmetto. Sabal Birmingham might be the toughest, slower than the other 2. Sabal louisiana fast growing, will eventually trunk, but shorter overall at maturity. A little less hardy than Birmingham. Sabal brazoriensis fastest growing of the 3, makes a massive plant. Less cold hardy than the other 2. If you’re 7b these should do fine, may be a little slower since you might not have the summer heat they love. 

Great thank you very much! Got 2 Louisiana, which I gonna plant in the ground in spring. I was looking for Brazoriensis but its really difficult to find them here in Europe. I suppost palmetto isn´t a safe choice in 7b is it?

[UK_Palms]

21 minutes ago, Will said:

Great thank you very much! Got 2 Louisiana, which I gonna plant in the ground in spring. I was looking for Brazoriensis but its really difficult to find them here in Europe. I suppost palmetto isn´t a safe choice in 7b is it?

It’s difficult to find any Sabals in Europe, especially the UK. I have been searching for years. Other European countries won’t even ship to us here now following Brexit being made official in January 2021. I have had to start all my Sabals from seed pretty much and even the seeds were hard to come by. My provisional testing here suggests Sabal Bermudana, Domingensis, Mexicana and Minor are the hardiest palms for my location after Trachycarpus Fortunei. It’s a shame they’re so slow growing though, especially up here at 51N. 

[teddytn]

31 minutes ago, Will said:

Great thank you very much! Got 2 Louisiana, which I gonna plant in the ground in spring. I was looking for Brazoriensis but its really difficult to find them here in Europe. I suppost palmetto isn´t a safe choice in 7b is it?

Lots of people have success in 7b with palmettos here. The palmettos that are easy to get your hands on in the states are mostly from Florida. The most desirable palmettos for 7b would be from North Carolina, south carolina, Georgia, and Texas. The weaker blood lines get weeded out by the cold there and usually the ones that survive would make more cold hardy seedlings if you believe cold hardiness can be handed down genetically 

[Marco67]

Vienna might be even 8a but incomparable with locations in north Carolina or other places on the US east coast.  For example Wilmington is almost on the same latitude as Casablanca Morocco If you plant a big Palmetto it might grow backwards, a small one will grow extremely slow.  You could give it a try though if you can get one.  

 

 

[Will]

Yeah the last years we are more a 8a than 7b. This winter has been a solid 8b till now. The problem is even if it doesn't get really cold, day time temps also don't get high and can stay around freezing for a few days. I don't know if that would hurt them.

I have heard of somebody close growing a Sabal Mexicana for some years without protection. A palmetto would worth a try.

[Marco67]

I have planted all sorts of Sabals Minors like Louisiana, Texensis and mccurtain which were grown from seed.  They don't get damage in our winters but are incredibly slow. 

You have the advantage in Austria that your summers are a bit warmer than ours on the coast. 

[Will]

3 hours ago, Marco67 said:

I have planted all sorts of Sabals Minors like Louisiana, Texensis and mccurtain which were grown from seed.  They don't get damage in our winters but are incredibly slow. 

You have the advantage in Austria that your summers are a bit warmer than ours on the coast. 

Yeah but our winter can get quite cold. We have seen some nights with -7/-8°C this winter.

Probably gonna protect all the Sabals I am planting the first 1-2 years.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Will