Sabal minor

[Colin1110082]

Hello all, I am in zone 6A Massachusetts and I would like to buy a 3 gallon Sabal minor from north east Ohio palms probably within the next months. I just have a few questions. For starters, do they tolerate a lot of sun? The spot I want to plant is in full sun from 8AM-3PM. This spot will also be slightly raised. On top of this, what type of soil, fertilizer, planting techniques, and winter protection is recommended or needed? Also how often to water? This spot is inside the corners of two vinyl fences, and wind protected from the west and south, with some minor protection from the north. I also want to plant a musa Basjoo some elephant ears, and maybe some hibiscus right next to it, but as of now the Basjoo are warming up to sub. Thank you for reading, any thoughts appreciated!

[Allen]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLmsaMHjYk8

My minor info

[Ben G.]

1 hour ago, Colin1110082 said:

Hello all, I am in zone 6A Massachusetts and I would like to buy a 3 gallon Sabal minor from north east Ohio palms probably within the next months. I just have a few questions. For starters, do they tolerate a lot of sun? The spot I want to plant is in full sun from 8AM-3PM. This spot will also be slightly raised. On top of this, what type of soil, fertilizer, planting techniques, and winter protection is recommended or needed? Also how often to water? This spot is inside the corners of two vinyl fences, and wind protected from the west and south, with some minor protection from the north. I also want to plant a musa Basjoo some elephant ears, and maybe some hibiscus right next to it, but as of now the Basjoo are warming up to sub. Thank you for reading, any thoughts appreciated!

To answer a few of your questions:

Yes, they will tolerate full sun. Since your region is less hot than their natural environment, I would guess they would prefer more sun in your neck of the woods.

I don't think they are picky about soil at all. They probably won't want to waterlogged when it is freezing outside, but that is about it.

Water regularly when newly planted, but they probably won't need extra water in your region once established.

Just remember that they grow slowly, so they will look bad for a long time if they are damaged. So keeping snow and ice off the fronds may go a long way to keeping them looking good for you.

I say this as someone who grew them in Oklahoma during a timeframe in which we went below 0F six times in eight years. They will survive very cold winters, but they will outgrow their damage very slowly.

[Colin1110082]

2 hours ago, Allen said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLmsaMHjYk8

My minor info

Thanks for the video, just watched it now. It’s amazing how big Louisiana gets. I don’t think the Northeast ohio ones are Louisiana variety. So no specific soil? I’ll just use whatever I use for the musa basjoo which would probably be some sort of well draining tree soil with compost

[Allen]

All my palms I just dig a hole and put direct in the ground with native soil.  Sometimes I mix a little compost with the backfill soil or soil conditioner but you don't want to create the bathtub effect in clay soil.  The palms in the rocked areas in my videos are in very tough clay.    Clay is actually a good soil in many ways especially if kept moist.  The bananas like more organic stuff mixed in and a raised bed is beneficial to them

[RJ]

Your biggest issue in MA will be rocks 😮‍💨. I doubt you have clay. More of a granite sand soil, but the topsoil in your neck of the woods is usually pretty good. 

[Alex Zone 5]

If money isn't a factor, buy a 7 gallon palm instead. It will be bigger, more mature, less prone to damage.  

If you want a bulletproof palm go for a needle.

My 3 gallon Sabal minor didn't make it. It's on the right side of the window the left. It was boxed in with the needle. I was using 100 incandescent mini lights.

Needle has been there 3+ years 

[Colin1110082]

3 hours ago, Alex Zone 5 said:

If money isn't a factor, buy a 7 gallon palm instead. It will be bigger, more mature, less prone to damage.  

If you want a bulletproof palm go for a needle.

My 3 gallon Sabal minor didn't make it. It's on the right side of the window the left. It was boxed in with the needle. I was using 100 incandescent mini lights.

Needle has been there 3+ years 

We get a lot of rain and I was told needles don’t like that, and Sabal minor is a tougher palm. I don’t think I‘ll be getting a 7 gal. I’ll probably stick with the Sabal minor. If anyone thinks I should get a needle instead then I’ll do that, it’s just I heard Sabal minor is more tougher. What happened to your Sabal minor? Also are needles forgiving?

[Colin1110082]

On 6/1/2024 at 8:07 AM, RJ said:

Your biggest issue in MA will be rocks 😮‍💨. I doubt you have clay. More of a granite sand soil, but the topsoil in your neck of the woods is usually pretty good. 

We have a sandy loam it’s usually well draining but gets very dry quick or if we get a lot of rain it becomes a soupy mess. We have lots of rocks but those can be removed quite easy. I might amend the soil a bit with compost or mix in palm citrus and cactus soil if that works, same with the banana I’ll do the same just mix in food or compost 

[RJ]

9 hours ago, Colin1110082 said:

We have a sandy loam it’s usually well draining but gets very dry quick or if we get a lot of rain it becomes a soupy mess. We have lots of rocks but those can be removed quite easy. I might amend the soil a bit with compost or mix in palm citrus and cactus soil if that works, same with the banana I’ll do the same just mix in food or compost 

Your soil by itself will work pretty well. Adding some compost IMO is usually a good idea. I’ve been making planting beds down here at my house for palms. I’ve already used 8in excess of 20 tons of compost. As long as your soil is well draining I think it’s a good idea. You don’t want to make a fish bowl  of compost by digging a hole that doesn’t drain well then slapping your palm in it with a ton of compost. Nasty sloppy mess. I e come to the conclusion that raised beds are our friends, more opertunity to amend the soil with compost, while improving drainage. Win win in my book.

 

You’re lucky you don’t have a ton of big rocks, must be somewhat loser to the coast.

[Colin1110082]

9 hours ago, RJ said:

Your soil by itself will work pretty well. Adding some compost IMO is usually a good idea. I’ve been making planting beds down here at my house for palms. I’ve already used 8in excess of 20 tons of compost. As long as your soil is well draining I think it’s a good idea. You don’t want to make a fish bowl  of compost by digging a hole that doesn’t drain well then slapping your palm in it with a ton of compost. Nasty sloppy mess. I e come to the conclusion that raised beds are our friends, more opertunity to amend the soil with compost, while improving drainage. Win win in my book.

 

You’re lucky you don’t have a ton of big rocks, must be somewhat loser to the coast.

Well we’re planning to build a rock wall and we need to fill it with soil so just use native soil to fill it with? 

[Colin1110082]

13 hours ago, RJ said:

Your soil by itself will work pretty well. Adding some compost IMO is usually a good idea. I’ve been making planting beds down here at my house for palms. I’ve already used 8in excess of 20 tons of compost. As long as your soil is well draining I think it’s a good idea. You don’t want to make a fish bowl  of compost by digging a hole that doesn’t drain well then slapping your palm in it with a ton of compost. Nasty sloppy mess. I e come to the conclusion that raised beds are our friends, more opertunity to amend the soil with compost, while improving drainage. Win win in my book.

 

You’re lucky you don’t have a ton of big rocks, must be somewhat loser to the coast.

The problem is that my local stores don’t sell native soil and I don’t have anywhere in my yard I can dig it from. Is there any store bought soil suggestions?

[Jack Lord]

45 minutes ago, Colin1110082 said:

The problem is that my local stores don’t sell native soil and I don’t have anywhere in my yard I can dig it from. Is there any store bought soil suggestions?

We have thick clay down here. I always use a mix of mainly small wood chips, peat moss, and a dash of both the native top soil and some of the clay.  Some compost too. Somethimes I dig the main hole and then use a post hole digger and dig down from the bottom of the hole and fill it with pea gravel for drainage. Top it all off with some mulch. Works great.

In my experience, Sabal Minor and Needles are equally cold resistant. I have both but like the look of Sabals a bit more.

[Colin1110082]

23 hours ago, Jack Lord said:

We have thick clay down here. I always use a mix of mainly small wood chips, peat moss, and a dash of both the native top soil and some of the clay.  Some compost too. Somethimes I dig the main hole and then use a post hole digger and dig down from the bottom of the hole and fill it with pea gravel for drainage. Top it all off with some mulch. Works great.

In my experience, Sabal Minor and Needles are equally cold resistant. I have both but like the look of Sabals a bit more.

I’ll probably do Sabal but people on the Palm talk forum on Reddit are mixed saying needle and Sabal. 

[Jack Lord]

11 hours ago, Colin1110082 said:

I’ll probably do Sabal but people on the Palm talk forum on Reddit are mixed saying needle and Sabal. 

 

Get a couple of both.

[Colin1110082]

Unfortunately I have to push the planting back another full week I’ll be planting next weekend along with the hardy bananas