Hello everyone, as the title says I'd like to hear your opinions/experience on growth rate of these two species. While they come from different climates and even continents, they seem to have a lot of in common - similar clumping characteristics, trunks barely emerging from the ground, quite similar overall look of the plants, frost tolerance, but what about the growth speed, is there any difference between these two slow growers?

Edited October 1, 20223 yr by MSX

I have grown both now! and in my opinion the sabal are faster! 

Nannorrhops are above ground growers. They could get quite a bit taller than most minors & faster in my case. I have a Nannorrhops Arabica & its about 3.5 feet tall with 4 trunks now after 3 years in the ground. I planted it as a straped leave seedling. If I had to give a comparison to Nannorrhops it'll be Acoelorrhaphe Wrightii or Serenoa Repens in its growth structure. 

 Nannorrhops Ritchiana, when a trunk flowers it dies..

I separate palm growers into two categories: 

1. Collectors: Those that want oddball, hard-to-find plants, or push zone limits.

2. Landscapers: Those that want to create an outdoor ambiance while incorporating palms to create a tropical look.

The answer to your query lies in how you view yourself. For the price of one Nannorrhops ritchiana, you can buy a dozen S.minors or 2 Serenoa and 6 S.minors.

Photo of my Nannorrhops Arabica today, *correction I just measured, 4.5 feet tall to the top of the leaves 😂

Nannorrhops are so rare(pricier too) plus they are finicky about water requirements. They enjoy dry roots and sandy/rocky soil.  

My Nannorrhops didn't last long here in the northeast. So minor it is.

Well if you get something like a 'Louisiana' minor it will grow really fast.

 

7 hours ago, Jubaea_James760 said:

Nannorrhops are above ground growers. They could get quite a bit taller than most minors & faster in my case. I have a Nannorrhops Arabica & its about 3.5 feet tall with 4 trunks now after 3 years in the ground. I planted it as a straped leave seedling. If I had to give a comparison to Nannorrhops it'll be Acoelorrhaphe Wrightii or Serenoa Repens in its growth structure. 

 Nannorrhops Ritchiana, when a trunk flowers it dies..

Interesting…when most agaves flower, they die as well…

Growth in Dallas

On 10/1/2022 at 3:31 PM, Alex Zone 5 said:

Nannorrhops are so rare(pricier too) plus they are finicky about water requirements. They enjoy dry roots and sandy/rocky soil.  

My Nannorrhops didn't last long here in the northeast. So minor it is.

Hah! It's amazing how different palms are cultivated in different environments. In South Florida, the way to speed up the growth rate of Nannorrhops is to plant it in well-drained soil and give it full sun and LOTS of water! Even so, they're pretty slow. 

I have had both growing at my property in San Antonio, Texas for years.  Both are slow growers. and both are cold hardy.  In my personal anecdotal experience, I have found Sabal minor to be more cold hardy, and slightly faster growing.  I have also found the "Green" form of Nannorrhops ritchiana to be more cold hardy than the "Silver" form of the same.  I have both planted as under story palms, so my observations are biased by shade growth.

I recently ordered a nannorrhops seedling on eBay. It was left in a hot mailbox while it was moist in a plastic bag. When I got it in my house it looked like it was going to die. It's color was bad and it looked like it had been steamed in that plastic bag. I potted it up and crossed by fingers that it would survive.

It really only had two strap leaves and one long tap root. The two leaves shriveled over a few days, but the newest little leaf looked like it might be growing. I marked it yesterday with a black marker, and this is how much it grew in just 24 hours! It looked to be about 1/2 inch. Definitely faster than Sabal minor of similar size, in my experience.

 

 

On 10/1/2022 at 11:00 AM, SeanK said:

I separate palm growers into two categories: 

1. Collectors: Those that want oddball, hard-to-find plants, or push zone limits.

2. Landscapers: Those that want to create an outdoor ambiance while incorporating palms to create a tropical look.

The answer to your query lies in how you view yourself. For the price of one Nannorrhops ritchiana, you can buy a dozen S.minors or 2 Serenoa and 6 S.minors.

I agree that those are definitely popular approaches to Palm growing but I actually fit into BOTH categories…

I also like smaller Palms (see screen name) and avoid larger palms and I avoid Blue palms. I like Blue palms in other peoples yard but they don’t fit my “tropical paradise theme” backyard.