Serenoa Repens

[PlanterPalm]

Under the right conditions would it be possible to grow a Saw Palmetto indoors, in a pot?

[JohnAndSancho]

I don't see why not, but one of those conditions is gonna be patience. From what I've read they do well in shade and lower light so in my definitely not an expert opinion, I don't see why not, but I'd stick it outside as much as you can. 

[PalmatierMeg]

You may not find out until you try it. You will need a deep pot with adequate drainage holes, loose coarse potting mix, no black, mucky houseplant soil or top soil. They like heat, can take full sun and are relatively drought tolerant. They also cluster. In habitat in FL they often grow in alkaline soil. Fertilize & water sparingly during spring/summer. When outdoor lows stay above freezing best put them outside until fall lows fall below freezing. They need outdoor time in warm weather. I'm not sure but I believe they don't like long term pot culture so be very careful when repotting. In the wild trying to transplant wild Serenoa almost always results in death of palm because the act of digging fatally damages the underground growing points of the stem.

I suggest you try green Serenoa to start. I've found the blue/silver Serena are much less robust than green. I've lost the majority of silver Serenoa I've grown

[happypalms]

You can do anything you want it’s a free world. And who are we to tell you anything different. Feel free to grow an elephant indoors if you want, it’s a free world 🌎 

[PalmatierMeg]

On 10/14/2025 at 3:17 PM, happypalms said:

You can do anything you want it’s a free world. And who are we to tell you anything different. Feel free to grow an elephant indoors if you want, it’s a free world 🌎 

I wish.

I should have mentioned. that FL has a serious problem with people trespassing onto parks, restricted wildlife areas and private property to poach Serenoa seeds to sell to seed peddlers and prostate medicine manufacturers. I've had my saw palmettos stripped of their seeds overnight. It's illegal of course but you have to catch them in their vans full of pickers. Seeds ripen July/Aug. in my part of FL. If someone asked for seeds politely I would probably give them some, but no one asks; they just steal. This larceny is interfering with reproductive. wild Serenoa and endangering whole populations of this native palm.

So, be careful if you go looking or you will be cited and your haul seized if you pick a wrong location.

[PalmatierMeg]

On 10/13/2025 at 10:54 PM, PlanterPalm said:

Under the right conditions would it be possible to grow a Saw Palmetto indoors, in a pot?

You can try but I doubt it. This palm is a clumper that grows large root balls sending up ever increasing stems. It would require frequent pruning (it is a spiny demon with barbed petioles and sawlike leaves) that may and probably would fatally damage it. It would require a large pot to accommodate all that subterranean growth. You might have a better chance planting it on the south side of a wall or your house, then protecting it with supplemental heat, including the ground around it. It would take forever for it to grow too tall to protect. I once worked for GE in Washington DC and became familiar with Buffalo, Binghamton, Syracuse, Burlington etc. and their terrifying winters (to me). No palm in the world could survive a winter in those places without serious protection. But I don't think Serenoa repens makes a good houseplant. For a large part of the year it requires full sun to partial shade, warm to hot (talking 90F+ daytime temps) and warm to warmish nights.  You will have to provide supplement heat, light and humidity indoors, not stick them in pots and drop them nearby a window. Plus, I suspect this species, like many others similar will hate pot culture and want to be in the ground.

I'm not trying to discourage you from trying them as houseplants but you will have to work hard and diligently to accomplish what you seek. My experience talking to people wanting to overwinter palms is that they refuse to study, read books and PalmTalk about palms, learn and do due diligence to discover what works and what doesn't. They grow bored and frustrated, then neglect their palm until it keels over dead. I hope you are a rare exception to that trend. Good luck.

[Palmensammler]

Hello Meg,

Thank you for your explanation.  Since I saw a saw palmetto in Florida in 1992 I was always thinking of growing a Serenoa here in Germany where it needs to stay in a pot.  But they are hard to find and if you find one it's mostly expensive.  So after I read your comments I will not search anymore and save a plant and money.

Thanks again. 

Eckhard 

[happypalms]

8 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

I wish.

I should have mentioned. that FL has a serious problem with people trespassing onto parks, restricted wildlife areas and private property to poach Serenoa seeds to sell to seed peddlers and prostate medicine manufacturers. I've had my saw palmettos stripped of their seeds overnight. It's illegal of course but you have to catch them in their vans full of pickers. Seeds ripen July/Aug. in my part of FL. If someone asked for seeds politely I would probably give them some, but no one asks; they just steal. This larceny is interfering with reproductive. wild Serenoa and endangering whole populations of this native palm.

So, be careful if you go looking or you will be cited and your haul seized if you pick a wrong location.

Not surprisingly that the trade in illegally poached or stolen seeds goes on. 
If it’s in demand and especially for medicinal reason that only increases demand. 
The black market trade steps in criminal organised gangs do the rest. 
Animals have become extinct or on the verge of extinction for such a trade. 
So yes it’s not quite a free world anymore I guess when money is involved in such a commodity. 
I guess growing an elephant indoors is not such a grand idea after all. I will stick with a few indoor plants for now but not serenoa palms. 

[JohnAndSancho]

I'm germinating some indoors or attempting to, but they're going outside in spring to bulk up. And once they get bigger they either go in the yard or get sold. And mine were obtained legally and someone else has offered to send me some more and I kinda need to follow up on that at some point. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Serenoa will do great outdoors where you live. You would laugh, except it's not funny but 40 years ago when I first visited Florida I asked our bus driver what were the light green "palm like" plants growing along the roads in Central Florida. He spat out, "Saw palmettos. Nasty, spiny things should be eradicated wherever they grow." By the time we moved to Cape Coral in 1993, local municipalities were planting them in highway medians, beneath overpasses and on commercial properties. Opinions on Serenoa had turned 180 degrees. Instead of being nuisances subject to eradication, they were natives that contributed to the ecosystem and provided food for wildlife. People used to cut down or dig up mangroves to improve waterfront views. Now mangroves are sacrosanct and you can be arrested and fined big bucks if you cut one branch without a gov't permit. Then again, recent major hurricanes have shown mangroves form buffers against storm surge as well as provide shelter for newly hatched fish.

[PlanterPalm]

On 11/8/2025 at 1:09 PM, PalmatierMeg said:

You can try but I doubt it. This palm is a clumper that grows large root balls sending up ever increasing stems. It would require frequent pruning (it is a spiny demon with barbed petioles and sawlike leaves) that may and probably would fatally damage it. It would require a large pot to accommodate all that subterranean growth. You might have a better chance planting it on the south side of a wall or your house, then protecting it with supplemental heat, including the ground around it. It would take forever for it to grow too tall to protect. I once worked for GE in Washington DC and became familiar with Buffalo, Binghamton, Syracuse, Burlington etc. and their terrifying winters (to me). No palm in the world could survive a winter in those places without serious protection. But I don't think Serenoa repens makes a good houseplant. For a large part of the year it requires full sun to partial shade, warm to hot (talking 90F+ daytime temps) and warm to warmish nights.  You will have to provide supplement heat, light and humidity indoors, not stick them in pots and drop them nearby a window. Plus, I suspect this species, like many others similar will hate pot culture and want to be in the ground.

I'm not trying to discourage you from trying them as houseplants but you will have to work hard and diligently to accomplish what you seek. My experience talking to people wanting to overwinter palms is that they refuse to study, read books and PalmTalk about palms, learn and do due diligence to discover what works and what doesn't. They grow bored and frustrated, then neglect their palm until it keels over dead. I hope you are a rare exception to that trend. Good luck.

You know what thats very helpful. Unfortunately with the apartment complex Im in I could only do indoor potted palms. The soil outside is just horrendous and dead (also shards of glass). It just snowed today but funnily enough but maybe ill plant some when Im older and have a place down south. But Honestly I might get one in the late spring and experiment. I really appreciate your knowledge and wisdom.

[5am]

 

On 10/13/2025 at 9:54 PM, PlanterPalm said:

Under the right conditions

The right conditions may be hard to meet indoors but it should be possible. For roughly 3 years S. repens has been one of my easiest growers and it's in an oversized tall pot. It doesn't even look any worse for wear when I spend a couple weeks away! But it's still small and it's outdoors. Indoors will be different, but if it's affordable why not try? 

Well... Here's one possible reason. These things live up to the "saw" moniker. A seedling will need years before it's bushy enough to be a concern but an older plant will require some careful planning for indoor placement.

[PalmatierMeg]

6 hours ago, 5am said:

 

The right conditions may be hard to meet indoors but it should be possible. For roughly 3 years S. repens has been one of my easiest growers and it's in an oversized tall pot. It doesn't even look any worse for wear when I spend a couple weeks away! But it's still small and it's outdoors. Indoors will be different, but if it's affordable why not try? 

Well... Here's one possible reason. These things live up to the "saw" moniker. A seedling will need years before it's bushy enough to be a concern but an older plant will require some careful planning for indoor placement.

I agree. Serenoa hate pots and want to be in the ground. But, hey, they are worth trying if you don't break the bank. Just report back to us so we all learn something

[SeanK]

On 11/9/2025 at 9:54 AM, PalmatierMeg said:

Serenoa will do great outdoors where you live. You would laugh, except it's not funny but 40 years ago when I first visited Florida I asked our bus driver what were the light green "palm like" plants growing along the roads in Central Florida. He spat out, "Saw palmettos. Nasty, spiny things should be eradicated wherever they grow." By the time we moved to Cape Coral in 1993, local municipalities were planting them in highway medians, beneath overpasses and on commercial properties. Opinions on Serenoa had turned 180 degrees. Instead of being nuisances subject to eradication, they were natives that contributed to the ecosystem and provided food for wildlife. People used to cut down or dig up mangroves to improve waterfront views. Now mangroves are sacrosanct and you can be arrested and fined big bucks if you cut one branch without a gov't permit. Then again, recent major hurricanes have shown mangroves form buffers against storm surge as well as provide shelter for newly hatched fish.

I recall Serenoa being planted along I75 at the FL/GA border 20 years back. I like them. I see them out on Hilton Head Island under mature LL Pine and they look great.