Sabal minor

Sabal minor, the dwarf palmetto, is a low fan palm of the floodplain forests and swamps of the south-eastern United States, from North Carolina and Florida west to Oklahoma and Texas. Most plants keep their stem below ground and show only a clump of stiff, flat, dark green to bluish fans.

Tall, erect flower stalks rise well above the foliage. It is the most northerly palm of eastern North America and exceptionally cold tolerant.

At a glance

• Native range: south-eastern United States
• Mature size: usually 0.5–2 m; about 1.5 m tall and 2.7 m across in gardens
• Growth rate: slow to moderate
• Light: full sun to deep shade
• Water: tolerates flooding and boggy ground, yet survives drought once established
• Cold hardiness: about −18 °C for most established forms
• Indoors / outdoors: outdoors, including cold-winter gardens

Care

It adapts to soils from sand to clay and favours slightly acid ground. Water new plants regularly. When planting, keep the upper third of the curved young stem, or heel, above soil level. It is generally free of serious pests.

Why Palmpedia: Raised in our Almeirim greenhouse in Portugal and supplied in 15 L to 35 L pots.