Why are sabals not popular in California

April 19

7 hours ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I think I will start asking nurseries. I think the truth is people don’t know about them, only palm aficionados know about the differences between a sabal and a washingtonia. Most people would assume they’re the same. I think if there were sabals at at box store. I bet plenty of people would buy them. The issue is that they’re not readily available. I can only find them at specialty nurseries that sell varieties of dypsis and other palms that require mor water and care. It’s crazy to me that the king and kentia both more popular and easier to find, both native to Australia the opposite side of the world. Sabals are hardy, tough and native to the country. Its truly bizarre.

90%+ of S.palmetto sold east of the MS River is sold as field dug. There are some seed-grown ones near me planted a dozen or so years ago. They have one to two feet of trunk. A W.robusta at the same age would have 10 feet of trunk.

As I said, people want fast, cheap landscapes. Many have HOA rules. That influences people's buying. Ask the local nurseries. Where I live (Atlanta), palms disappeared completely after the 2014 blizzard. Only a niche nursery will carry them - at that, only Trachycarpus.

April 20

Listen up, everyone, gentlemen of this great forum. Here and forever, long live the Sabales! In our America and the entire world. I have spoken.

🌴🌴🌴🦜🦜

April 20

I’m more concerned why Coccothrinax and Copernicia aren’t grown more here than “Sablah”. 🤣

April 20

9 minutes ago, LJG said:

I’m more concerned why Coccothrinax and Copernicia aren’t grown more here than “Sablah”. 🤣

Too slow to start from seed.

April 20

Imagine the Pseudophoenix Sargentii Navassana, which is slower. I've managed to germinate many.

April 20

17 minutes ago, Hu Palmeras said:

Imagine the Pseudophoenix Sargentii Navassana, which is slower. I've managed to germinate many.

They sprout easily. The hard part is living long enough to see some semblance of maturity on the babies.

April 20

5 hours ago, SeanK said:

90%+ of S.palmetto sold east of the MS River is sold as field dug. There are some seed-grown ones near me planted a dozen or so years ago. They have one to two feet of trunk. A W.robusta at the same age would have 10 feet of trunk.

As I said, people want fast, cheap landscapes. Many have HOA rules. That influences people's buying. Ask the local nurseries. Where I live (Atlanta), palms disappeared completely after the 2014 blizzard. Only a niche nursery will carry them - at that, only Trachycarpus.

But it makes sense in your case, a blizzard killed the palms. Therefore, they’re not viable to sell. In California, palms are super popular and most importantly they survive.

Slow growth is not a bad thing. Plenty of people buy palms specifically for slow growth. Phoenix roebellinis are one of the most popular slow growing palms here. I live in HOA valley, they have no rules against slow growth. Even if growth was an issue hypothetically. Okay, then you just buy the palm mature.

There’s a Pheonix roebellini I can buy down the street with 5 feet of trunk. Its not cheap, but the option is available. There are plenty of commercial nurseries that specialize in selling mature palms like the date, canary date, Mediterranean, and robustas for commercial use.

April 20

13 hours ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I think I will start asking nurseries. I think the truth is people don’t know about them, only palm aficionados know about the differences between a sabal and a washingtonia. Most people would assume they’re the same. I think if there were sabals at at box store. I bet plenty of people would buy them. The issue is that they’re not readily available. I can only find them at specialty nurseries that sell varieties of dypsis and other palms that require mor water and care. It’s crazy to me that the king and kentia both more popular and easier to find, both native to Australia the opposite side of the world. Sabals are hardy, tough and native to the country. Its truly bizarre.

It's not like you can't find them in SoCal if you look in the right places...Palm Plantation in Riverside currently (price-list updated Feb 2026) shows availability on S. minor, S. palmetto, S. 'Riverside' S. uresana. Fairview Nursery (I think in Vista, owned by "Josh O" on this forum) shows availability (not sure how current on the website) on S. etonia, S. palmetto 'Lisa,' S. pumos, S. uresana. Usually Phil Bergman (Jungle Music, Encinitas) has a selection of various Sabal species for sale as well. There are some other sources mostly run by folks on this forum who may also have them. You should also check mail-order sources like Etsy, eBay, and Plant Delights. Sabal King of Texas ("Sabal King" on this forum, he also sells on Etsy "SabalKingofTexas") specializes in mail-order Sabal species and has gobs and gobs of unusual Sabal palms available on his Etsy store right now. Good luck in your searching!

April 20

start looking at the competition that sabals have in california to better understand why sabals are not so common there.

April 20

Friends, these palm trees are for palm lovers, for collectors, for people who hold the entire palm kingdom in one place.

April 20

7 hours ago, mnorell said:

It's not like you can't find them in SoCal if you look in the right places...Palm Plantation in Riverside currently (price-list updated Feb 2026) shows availability on S. minor, S. palmetto, S. 'Riverside' S. uresana. Fairview Nursery (I think in Vista, owned by "Josh O" on this forum) shows availability (not sure how current on the website) on S. etonia, S. palmetto 'Lisa,' S. pumos, S. uresana. Usually Phil Bergman (Jungle Music, Encinitas) has a selection of various Sabal species for sale as well. There are some other sources mostly run by folks on this forum who may also have them. You should also check mail-order sources like Etsy, eBay, and Plant Delights. Sabal King of Texas ("Sabal King" on this forum, he also sells on Etsy "SabalKingofTexas") specializes in mail-order Sabal species and has gobs and gobs of unusual Sabal palms available on his Etsy store right now. Good luck in your searching!

I know, palm plantation is where I got my palms, Mike and Elsa are great. But they also cater to palm enthusiasts. They have a variety of exotic palms. They’re not a regular nursery, they’re like jungle music. Thats my point exactly, you have to go to exotic palm nurseries to buy a very common and native palm.

April 20

1 hour ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I know, palm plantation is where I got my palms, Mike and Elsa are great. But they also cater to palm enthusiasts. They have a variety of exotic palms. They’re not a regular nursery, they’re like jungle music. Thats my point exactly, you have to go to exotic palm nurseries to buy a very common and native palm.

It comes down to money.

How much does the nursery invest, how much demand is there, how quick is the turnaround. If the market in California supported Sabals, they would be mass-grown by Monrovia and sold by all the big box retail stores.

April 20

1 hour ago, SeanK said:

It comes down to money.

How much does the nursery invest, how much demand is there, how quick is the turnaround. If the market in California supported Sabals, they would be mass-grown by Monrovia and sold by all the big box retail stores.

I don’t know the history, but I wonder if it’s ever been tried. Perhaps, like many here, the nurseries figure washingtonias are faster growing and similar so they don’t even try.

April 20

2 hours ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I know, palm plantation is where I got my palms, Mike and Elsa are great. But they also cater to palm enthusiasts. They have a variety of exotic palms. They’re not a regular nursery, they’re like jungle music. Thats my point exactly, you have to go to exotic palm nurseries to buy a very common and native palm.

I'll tell you why, big box stores and general nurseries sell lots of different plant and business person on a computer tells them the same things a car dealer must know. How much does it cost(seed, fertilizer, time), how fast does it sell, and what can you sell it for over your cost. Sabals are a loser in california for one or more of those reasons. Seed is cheap, time is long so fertilizer and upkeep labor is more, and they dont sell for as much as some other palms. Put all the local species in profit order and pick 6 or 8 or 10 whatever the limited sized lineup you want. With hundreds of species possible, sabal falls down the list a ways and the less palm centric sellers don't carry them. And then you consider that its likely big box stores sell more palms than specialty nurseries. Southern California had a ton of specialty nurseries 10 years ago when I lived there, I think the business is well understood.

April 20

56 minutes ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I know, palm plantation is where I got my palms, Mike and Elsa are great. But they also cater to palm enthusiasts. They have a variety of exotic palms. They’re not a regular nursery, they’re like jungle music. Thats my point exactly, you have to go to exotic palm nurseries to buy a very common and native palm.

I hate to tell you, but if you think you can transform the nursery industry, you might want to think again. I think what you're calling a "regular nursery" is a "plant retailer." Big Box stores have overtaken the industry and typically employ people with zero-to-scant knowledge of plants and sell rafts of product carefully coordinated with huge grower-corporations (think "Proven Winners" and the like) disseminated through marketing channels and trade-shows to develop a thirst for some new variety or cultivar in a seasonal blitzkrieg. Of course these big retailers will also carry a selection of bread-and-butter landscape palms: queens, kings, Washingtonia, Butia, Trachycarpus, et al depending on the dictated climate zone. They will likely special-order something if it's available from their regular list of suppliers, but the wholesale growers are also tuned in to what sells and grows quickly because they have to stay in business...and real estate, containers, soil and water are expensive when there's little hope for moving the plants out in good time. A production-to-market time of three years vs. seven years makes a huge difference in the profits of a grower, and as others have mentioned above, this is why you will find queens, kings and in particular Washingtonia over Sabal...they grow, and thus move, quickly. And Joe and Mary Homeowner are happy to see a nice fast-growing "palm tree" at their new tract home because they suffer from our modern-day need for instant gratification.

In SoCal it's almost a miracle that we now see Bismarckia sold regularly in garden centers; with Ravenea heavily pushed for the houseplant market. Yes, Foxtails, Triangles, and a very few others are occasionally encountered, and it took many years for this latter group to gain any kind of foothold, which is really not even a foothold, they're still oddities to many but they grow at a decent speed and growers can probably make a bit of money on them in certain areas. Sabal is not likely to join even that outlier group, despite its hardiness and other positive qualities, because it is just not a fast-growing palm and has no customer familiarity. It's just an uphill battle for both the grower and the larger retail channel.

While the rarer-and-rarer traditional nurseries will most likely order many plants from wholesalers, they are often growers themselves, they may go to great lengths to acquire propagation material of unusual species, nurse them, shift up to saleable sizes all by their own hand. They may buy bud-wood and graft fruit trees using a known rootstock for their area, etc. These are generally multi-generational, dedicated and knowledgeable nursery people whose horticultural and real-world experience in the landscape have gained them a major reputation and make for a completely different experience that appeals to serious gardeners who want to gain horticultural or botanical knowledge. Those nursery-people also gain a lot of satisfaction from interacting with customers and exchanging knowledge and experience. But they are realists, and if you get them into a conversation about something like Sabal, will likely say, "well, we don't get any call for them, so they're just not something we carry, and we can't even special order them without importing them from Florida, because they're just not profitable for growers here. You should go to a specialist palm nursery."

And here we lead back to the community of specialty growers, including backyard growers, who offer a wonderful array of plants that was unthinkable even fifty or sixty years ago. It is thanks to these people who have poured their hearts and wallets into a risky business that we have them...so I think the best thing you can do is spread the word to others about the palms you champion and point people in the direction of these knowledgeable and dedicated nurserymen and women who have enriched our personal and, for many, professional lives with a variety of unusual plants that was unthinkable a few decades ago.

April 20

8 minutes ago, sonoranfans said:

I'll tell you why, big box stores and general nurseries sell lots of different plant and business person on a computer tells them the same things a car dealer must know. How much does it cost(seed, fertilizer, time), how fast does it sell, and what can you sell it for over your cost. Sabals are a loser in california for one or more of those reasons. Seed is cheap, time is long so fertilizer and upkeep labor is more, and they dont sell for as much as some other palms. Put all the local species in profit order and pick 6 or 8 or 10 whatever the limited sized lineup you want. With hundreds of species possible, sabal falls down the list a ways and the less palm centric sellers don't carry them. And then you consider that its likely big box stores sell more palms than specialty nurseries. Southern California had a ton of specialty nurseries 10 years ago when I lived there, I think the business is well understood.

I have never met anyone at our two major big box chains that know anything about plants, let alone palms. The garden center is staffed with cashiers.

April 20

1 hour ago, mnorell said:

I hate to tell you, but if you think you can transform the nursery industry, you might want to think again. I think what you're calling a "regular nursery" is a "plant retailer." Big Box stores have overtaken the industry and typically employ people with zero-to-scant knowledge of plants and sell rafts of product carefully coordinated with huge grower-corporations (think "Proven Winners" and the like) disseminated through marketing channels and trade-shows to develop a thirst for some new variety or cultivar in a seasonal blitzkrieg. Of course these big retailers will also carry a selection of bread-and-butter landscape palms: queens, kings, Washingtonia, Butia, Trachycarpus, et al depending on the dictated climate zone. They will likely special-order something if it's available from their regular list of suppliers, but the wholesale growers are also tuned in to what sells and grows quickly because they have to stay in business...and real estate, containers, soil and water are expensive when there's little hope for moving the plants out in good time. A production-to-market time of three years vs. seven years makes a huge difference in the profits of a grower, and as others have mentioned above, this is why you will find queens, kings and in particular Washingtonia over Sabal...they grow, and thus move, quickly. And Joe and Mary Homeowner are happy to see a nice fast-growing "palm tree" at their new tract home because they suffer from our modern-day need for instant gratification.

In SoCal it's almost a miracle that we now see Bismarckia sold regularly in garden centers; with Ravenea heavily pushed for the houseplant market. Yes, Foxtails, Triangles, and a very few others are occasionally encountered, and it took many years for this latter group to gain any kind of foothold, which is really not even a foothold, they're still oddities to many but they grow at a decent speed and growers can probably make a bit of money on them in certain areas. Sabal is not likely to join even that outlier group, despite its hardiness and other positive qualities, because it is just not a fast-growing palm and has no customer familiarity. It's just an uphill battle for both the grower and the larger retail channel.

While the rarer-and-rarer traditional nurseries will most likely order many plants from wholesalers, they are often growers themselves, they may go to great lengths to acquire propagation material of unusual species, nurse them, shift up to saleable sizes all by their own hand. They may buy bud-wood and graft fruit trees using a known rootstock for their area, etc. These are generally multi-generational, dedicated and knowledgeable nursery people whose horticultural and real-world experience in the landscape have gained them a major reputation and make for a completely different experience that appeals to serious gardeners who want to gain horticultural or botanical knowledge. Those nursery-people also gain a lot of satisfaction from interacting with customers and exchanging knowledge and experience. But they are realists, and if you get them into a conversation about something like Sabal, will likely say, "well, we don't get any call for them, so they're just not something we carry, and we can't even special order them without importing them from Florida, because they're just not profitable for growers here. You should go to a specialist palm nursery."

And here we lead back to the community of specialty growers, including backyard growers, who offer a wonderful array of plants that was unthinkable even fifty or sixty years ago. It is thanks to these people who have poured their hearts and wallets into a risky business that we have them...so I think the best thing you can do is spread the word to others about the palms you champion and point people in the direction of these knowledgeable and dedicated nurserymen and women who have enriched our personal and, for many, professional lives with a variety of unusual plants that was unthinkable a few decades ago.

Im definitely not trying to transform anything. I am just overall inquiring about the reasons. It probably does boil down to money. But I genuinely don’t think that it’s ever been attempted. But there’s probably little to no incentive for a nursery to try.

April 20

19 minutes ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I hate to tell you, but if you think you can transform the nursery industry, you might want to think again.

No need to " think again " Slaying this old Dinosaur is already happening, ..as forward - thinking ..often younger.. people expose the truth about the " old ways " nursery / worn out hort. trade thinking and initiate change..

That said, rutting out the old ways, does takes time..

As much as most of it is mindless trash, ability to get this wheel turning a bit faster than say ..25.. 30? years ago... is at lest one ..of the few.. brighter spots within we can thank the internet for.

21 minutes ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

Big Box stores have overtaken the industry and typically employ people with zero-to-scant knowledge

Definitely true.. For now at least ..See post 1.

This? = 100% true..

26 minutes ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

In SoCal it's almost a miracle that we now see Bismarckia sold regularly in garden centers;

Weird, .. Not constantly stuffed to the gills on the shelves like queens, but see plenty around in most nurseries locally.

28 minutes ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

And here we lead back to the community of specialty growers, including backyard growers, who offer a wonderful array of plants that was unthinkable even fifty or sixty years ago. It is thanks to these people who have poured their hearts and wallets into a risky business that we have them.

Agree, ..though everything in life entails " risk " Plants are pretty risk -less in that respect. Regardless, Backyard and extra - Specialty nurseries should be on EVERYONES radar for the " go to " places for the good stuff..

Don't care if they are next door, 20mi away ..or a few states away, want interesting stuff? don't grumble about proximity, visit them, first ..and /or as often as you can..

This is how you deal fatal blows to the mind draining " Home Despot " and " Scam " Valley tumors.

As a grower? don't throw on the knee pads when corporate dazzlers start waving green paper with numbers on it in your face.

As a client? Know what equals a good buy, vs. being oblivious to what is obvious hoodwinking. Bigger, isn't always better. It's a means to bleed $$$ from people with impatience issues.

April 20

On 4/17/2026 at 6:24 AM, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I don’t think I have ever seen a sabal in private or commercial landscaping. I haven’t seen them at ant box stores. Only place Ive ever seen one is at a specialty exotic palm nursery. Why is that? Im sure they grow just fine in California.

You’ll see them around in Southern California, though they’re a lot less prevalent than most other fan palms.

i used to think that they were slow and that’s not entirely true - though slow is a relative term. They’re definitely sturdy, in Sam Diego, and worth the wait (in my opinion).

Shoot me a DM if you’re having trouble finding any.

Here’s a link to a thread which documents a lot of my experiences:

Not the best picture, but here’s a S. Uresana and a S. Mexicana type, from the other day. I’d estimate that they are around 10years old, from a 5 gallon. They’ve been on their own, without any care, and are self sufficient where I’m at 10a (maybe even 10b). 92104 zip code.

There’s also a S. Bermudana (maybe) and a S. Causarium further to the right, which can’t be seen. Those are also living on their own, with no help. These are growing with a lot of other palms in the 3500-3600 block of Wightman St, and there’s a Livistona Chinensis, Arenga Engleri, and a big Sabal Mauritiiformis two houses south, on Wilson Ave, if you were in the area.

April 21

7 hours ago, Sabal Steve said:

You’ll see them around in Southern California, though they’re a lot less prevalent than most other fan palms.

i used to think that they were slow and that’s not entirely true - though slow is a relative term. They’re definitely sturdy, in Sam Diego, and worth the wait (in my opinion).

Shoot me a DM if you’re having trouble finding any.

Here’s a link to a thread which documents a lot of my experiences:

Not the best picture, but here’s a S. Uresana and a S. Mexicana type, from the other day. I’d estimate that they are around 10years old, from a 5 gallon. They’ve been on their own, without any care, and are self sufficient where I’m at 10a (maybe even 10b). 92104 zip code.

There’s also a S. Bermudana (maybe) and a S. Causarium further to the right, which can’t be seen. Those are also living on their own, with no help. These are growing with a lot of other palms in the 3500-3600 block of Wightman St, and there’s a Livistona Chinensis, Arenga Engleri, and a big Sabal Mauritiiformis two houses south, on Wilson Ave, if you were in the area.

This is in SD area? I think there are a lot more palm enthusiasts in SD. I’ve never seen one in LA county. Im sure there are, but I just haven’t come across one. That’s not really slow growing if that was a 5 gallon. That seems moderate to me.

April 21

On 4/19/2026 at 6:43 PM, LJG said:

I’m more concerned why Coccothrinax and Copernicia aren’t grown more here than “Sablah”. 🤣

Good question... Both genus are comprised of very tough palms that are drought tolerant, light freeze resistant, and are happy to grow in western USA's alkaline soils. Biggest issue I see is their generally slow rate of growth under dry air and desert conditions.

That being said, I've grown out several species of Coccothrinax and other Caribbean native palms from seed, but it generally takes me 7-10 years just to produce a 'west coast' 5 gallon plant for sale. Here's a few examples in order left to right. Coccothrinax argentata,Coccothrinax miraguama, Coccothrinax borhidiana, and a Pseudophoenix sargentii thrown in for good measure. 😄

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

April 21

18 hours ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

This is in SD area? I think there are a lot more palm enthusiasts in SD. I’ve never seen one in LA county. Im sure there are, but I just haven’t come across one. That’s not really slow growing if that was a 5 gallon. That seems moderate to me.

Yes. Central San Diego.

April 22

That one to the right of the driveway is typical 10 years after a five-gallon pot.

Those larger ones would be closer to 20 years. Palmetto is drought tolerant, but it won't grow much. It's a swamp Palm.

April 22

I would think probably because they are so slow not that I think that is a bad thing!!! The first picture is the first palms that I planted in my new house and gave me the palm big the second picture is of some Washingtonian palms I planted about 5 years later all planted from basically 5 gal!! In a residential area who would want a telephone pole looks nice for the neighbors or a good way to find your house!!!

April 22

2 hours ago, 96720 said:

I would think probably because they are so slow not that I think that is a bad thing!!! The first picture is the first palms that I planted in my new house and gave me the palm big the second picture is of some Washingtonian palms I planted about 5 years later all planted from basically 5 gal!! In a residential area who would want a telephone pole looks nice for the neighbors or a good way to find your house!!!

Exactly, robustas are good skyline palms. If you’re a land developer and you plant rows of robustas, in 20 years you’ll have a beautiful skyline with 40-50 ft palms. But that does very little for the personal garden. Its more of a macro aesthetic for the overall area.

April 22

1 hour ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

Exactly, robustas are good skyline palms. If you’re a land developer and you plant rows of robustas, in 20 years you’ll have a beautiful skyline with 40-50 ft palms

eehhh, lol .. i don't know about " good ".. Good enough / ok? ..that sounds more fitting..

Have ..several.. in the street island outside the living room window and ..if a storm, or the city deciding it's time to yank em' happens? i'll celebrate. Shorter, fatter filifera across another street and in some other yards in our neighborhood over the backyard wall are a much nicer look than the Mex fans..

All that said, You know monsoon season is close when they all get their annual, pre- monsoon season haircuts.

April 22

On 4/17/2026 at 9:06 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

This isn't completely correct.. While not " Humid " when compared to S.E.'rn US standards, typical, annual humidity levels in much of CA are more than adequate for most ...if not all... the Sabal sps.. Heat is good enough as well, except maybe in a few spots like San Francisco < though i'm sure the commonest sps would do < are doing?? > fine there > and always chilly areas along the north coast, north of San Fran.

Even here in the ...much drier.. / Quite a bit hotter low desert section of AZ there are folks growing perfect looking " Eastern " Sabals

..If they will grow well here, no doubt, they'll do fine in CA. ...more parts of the state than not at least.

BIG part of the reason Washingtonia could be considered the most common fan palm in this part of the world, compared to Sabal sps. comes down to which was introduced here, first..

..To that end, everyone can thank the Spanish explorers for bringing W. robusta w/ them from Mexico ..On a much more visible - to -all scale than probably had been seen at the time, even if the species / form of Washingtonia itself were already present in specific spots in say AZ or areas of CA closest to the Gulf of CA / Sea of Cortez..

Canary Island Palms, and Schinus molle, aka " CA " Pepper Tree were additional " Spanish Settler imports " brought into CA ( and AZ ) when they settled missions and larger homesteads / Ranchos.

They probably liked W. filifera so much when they saw it that it too became a popular thing to plant on their ranches / within Mission gardens..

After that? newer settlers in CA " caught the bug " ..so to say, and sealed the " iconic status " fate of both Washingtonia and Phoenix canariensis.. Pretty sure you can toss in Jubea as well, though i think it was a later import that didn't garner quite the same level of popularity compared to Canaries at that time.. Could be wrong ofcourse..

No one ( that we know of ) brought Sabal -anything- species with them when they headed west from the eastern US, so... It is only now that people in the west are being introduced to that Genus of Palms.

In time, if promoted, they'll probably take their place in " Palm Star Status " in CA landscapes..

....Reverse is a big reason why Sabal  ..palmetto in particular.. is the eastern / southeastern US equivalent " Washingtonia " ..It is what was around, well known, and easy to access..

..Folks there didn't know what a " Washingtonia " was until much later in time..

As far as Sabal uresana, carefully study the climate where it grows in Mexico, both forms of it.. ...somewhat Southeastern US -ish, minus the constant Arctic Invasion threats during the winters, esp. along the coastal plain.. Not quite the same as what people associate with California ..For the moment at least.

It is however the Saba sp.l i myself would widely promote out there, before all others except species within " Caribbean " group.

" Slow " is a word used only by the " i want instant gratification clan " To the rest of us, Sabal do, what they do after planting..

Treated well, they'll get to where we hope they do, when they do..

See the above..

People generally don't grow, what they don't know. With some promotion, more availability, and a few adventurous gardeners that don't want to grow the same 10 palm species as everyone else, sabals could easily become more common 'out west'.

Foxtails and bismarcks are 2 palm examples, although admittedly faster growers, that have moved from obscure to common in just a 20 year period. (1995-2015)

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

April 22

14 hours ago, 96720 said:

I would think probably because they are so slow not that I think that is a bad thing!!! The first picture is the first palms that I planted in my new house and gave me the palm big the second picture is of some Washingtonian palms I planted about 5 years later all planted from basically 5 gal!! In a residential area who would want a telephone pole looks nice for the neighbors or a good way to find your house!!!

Most commonly misunderstood aspect of planting out a yard of palms. Get those fast growers and have a bunch of poles and crowns so high up you really dont get a view anymore. In a smaller yard its worse as you as the observer must be closer and see less of a tall palm. Colors are dull underneath too, less reflected light that details the visual color of a glacous white or blue palm. Best views of my taller palms are from 50 yards now, off the property in many cases. Back reflected light is stronger in color, it is not as over absorbed so you get brighter color. I have a multi tiered garden, I wanted taller palms to help trap down heat and produce shade for the more sun sensitive one and the bottom tier for privacy. I have no interest in any more fast growing palms. The mid size and lower tiers are what Im looking at, that is where your eyes will rest most of the time. I have one chambeyronia macrocarpa that is getting taller(20') and I already dont get the ideal vantage point to see its best color. The color you see depends of where you the observer are and where are the sun and the palm. It now has more color for the observer standing off the property.

April 22

13 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

eehhh, lol .. i don't know about " good ".. Good enough / ok? ..that sounds more fitting..

Have ..several.. in the street island outside the living room window and ..if a storm, or the city deciding it's time to yank em' happens? i'll celebrate. Shorter, fatter filifera across another street and in some other yards in our neighborhood over the backyard wall are a much nicer look than the Mex fans..

All that said, You know monsoon season is close when they all get their annual, pre- monsoon season haircuts.

I must admit the mex fan palm was the first palm that got me into palms. Being in LA they were everywhere, I remember watching sunsets and seeing them create the iconic skyline that people think of when they hear California. Over time though, much like the syagrus, I definitely don’t prefer them.

The one palm that won my heart, and has still my admiration is the Canary date. The orange seed pods are still gorgeous.

April 23

I have one Sabal , a Riverside or Palmetto . Not sure which , but it grew about the same speed as our Brahea Edulis and Butia Oderata . Way faster than Livistona Chinensis. Mine was a gift from my mentor in 1997 or so . Just a strap leaf baby that I planted on our hill in full sun . Almost 30 years later , it is a full sized beauty . Harry

‘This was about a year ago . I agree they should be more common here in California . They grow so well and look great at all stages of growth. This species , whichever it is , takes a bit of room . Not for a small garden. Harry

April 23

🌴🌴🌴🦜🦜

April 23

21 hours ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

I must admit the mex fan palm was the first palm that got me into palms. Being in LA they were everywhere, I remember watching sunsets and seeing them create the iconic skyline that people think of when they hear California. Over time though, much like the syagrus, I definitely don’t prefer them.

The one palm that won my heart, and has still my admiration is the Canary date. The orange seed pods are still gorgeous.

Mex. Fans, CA. Fans, CIDP and the far and few between Brahea = about as common in San Jose as they are down south and among the 1st palms i also noticed growing up..

That said, it was the ..much rarer ..up there, at the time at least, King Palms that really caught my eye. Somewhere, i have sketches i'd done while in middle school of imagined neighborhoods full of King and other skinnier, feather -type palms.. ..With maybe a few Fan-ys scattered in the backgrounds.

On trips to / thru S. Cal / San Diego, Kentia drew my eyes to them like a moth to a flame, every time ..rather than the well known " CA. " palms.

After many years of seeing lots of other options that are out there since that time, it is still Kings and specific palms seen with that kind of profile that get a bigger :greenthumb: 's up compared to others. Rest? they get a general " that's interesting " nod, ..but aren't anything i'd plant in my own yard.

Only thing time has done is confirmed my experiences with Canaries when younger.. Decent option for parks / large estates ..Not a chance in ..anywhere.. i'd ever plant one ..or 99% of the other Phoenix sps.. in my own yard, ever. lol.

...That said, fruits made excellent artillery as a kid.. :evil:

Queens? Never all that impressed with them. ..even the nicest looking in my own neighborhood back in San Jose got a 🤷🏽‍♂️ when seen.

Foxtails? ..I'll take a Royal instead. Better yet? ..A Foxy Lady ...or 5, ha ha. :drool:

WELCOME GUEST

Why are sabals not popular in California

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