Sabal minor questions...

kspalmguy · Post by **kspalmguy** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 7:56 am

Hello all:) I recently bought a couple Sabal Minor "McCurtain" from Bryan at Alligator Alley in OKC...I was told to place the pots in shallow pans of water, and always keep the pans full...however, one of the palms' roots is growing out of the holes in the bottom of its pot, and I'm wondering if I should plant them in larger pots, or keep them how they are until planting this spring? Thanks!

turtile · Post by **turtile** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 3:55 pm

Leave it the way it is. The roots are growing out of the bottom because there is water there!

kspalmguy · Post by **kspalmguy** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 4:00 pm

Haha alright thanks for the reply:P I was just concerned about rotting, but so far, these guys are happy:)

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 7:50 pm

These are tough palms. Down in McCurtain County, some grow in swamps, others in dry, rocky "soil." I'd leave 'em be for now, and if they do dry out for a spell, no worries.

When it comes time to plant them, I'd go through the extra effort to cut the pot away from those long roots vs cutting the roots.

sashaeffer · Post by **sashaeffer** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 2:24 pm

Nice post. I also was given that advice for a Sabal Louisiana that I bought from Steve Anderson...which made me question about when I plant it in the ground this spring about how wet I'm supposed to keep it as I thought they were also drought tolerant.

cuja1 · Post by **cuja1** » Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:28 am

I have one in a pot and I try to keep the soil constantly moist and it's doing fine. I can finally see that it is growing because a new spear has emerged. Mine also came from alligator Alley.

kspalmguy · Post by **kspalmguy** » Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:21 pm

I have mine set up on tray tables in front of the dining room window, they get a little sunlight that way in the evenings...I have high hopes for these guys around here...I also have a 5 foot pindo and 4 foot Trachy, but I don't have as high of hopes for them, even with protection...

cuja1 · Post by **cuja1** » Thu Feb 13, 2014 10:11 pm

kspalmguy wrote:I have mine set up on tray tables in front of the dining room window, they get a little sunlight that way in the evenings...I have high hopes for these guys around here...I also have a 5 foot pindo and 4 foot Trachy, but I don't have as high of hopes for them, even with protection...

Yeah, I may just leave my Trachy in a pot inside.

KrisK · Post by **KrisK** » Thu Feb 13, 2014 11:06 pm

Minors are very drought tolerant once they're established. They will appreciate extra water til established, and even after establishment will enjoy additional water. Well watered minors will put out about 4 fronds each growing season.

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 5:24 am

Good point, KrisK. In the wild, the biggest ones are in the wetter soils.

sashaeffer · Post by **sashaeffer** » Fri Feb 14, 2014 5:26 am

Good info. Have a place that is always damp, but very little direct sun but lots of bright light outside. Would love to put something like this in the ground..and overwinter it there.

kspalmguy · Post by **kspalmguy** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:05 pm

My Sabal McCurtains...should I plant these guys this spring or give them another year in pots? Haven't seen much growth in these, but then again, didn't really expect to:P

sashaeffer · Post by **sashaeffer** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:13 pm

Wow, those are nice size. I bought the smallest Steve Anderson sells last year, put it in the ground mid summer and didn't supply it with any heat protection, just a semi clear storage tote so it wouldn't get crushed by snow and it is still alive today. It is MUCH smaller than yours.

Also over wintered a Cape Hatteras Sabal I got from Steve. It was a 5? gallon and it sailed through winter as well but it had both heat around the roots and christmas lights for warmth.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 1:47 pm

kspalmsguy:

Ditto to the Wow comment from Scott.

Those two are beeeeeeeeeeautiful.
Definitely plant them this spring.

Barb

kspalmguy · Post by **kspalmguy** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 2:34 pm

The palms blushed when I showed them your posts;) Haha! Thanks for the feedback...I imagine I'll plant them first of April. I'm honestly surprised they haven't "palmated" (could this be a new word?

) yet, but probably soon.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 3:00 pm

They'll appreciate real daylight.
Might even sunburn, but no worries, new leaves will be acclimated so you'll probably cut those off later anyway.

Barb

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 4:59 pm

I concur. Plant them this Spring.

KrisK · Post by **KrisK** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 5:49 pm

They look nice. They'll appreciate being in the ground. I agree with the others, and I'd plant them as soon as the ground temp is >60F. I don't like Kansas' mesonet site as much as Oklahoma's but best I can tell, your soil temps are probably in the mid 30sF. http://mesonet.k-state.edu/weather/weekly/ here is where I arrived at that figure. I couldn't find a location for wichita\ El Dorado, so I used the data from St Johns, KS. Oklahoma's mesonet is by counties so it's easier to see what each is experiencing. Maybe I'm using the Kansas one wrong, I'm not used to it.

As for palmate leaves, they look like they have a few more years to go. They will push out bifurcated straps, then trifurcated straps, then they will begin growing palmate leaves.

kspalmguy · Post by **kspalmguy** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 6:17 pm

Thanks for the link and the info!! That's good to know about the soil temps!

TerdalFarm · Post by **TerdalFarm** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 8:35 pm

KrisK is the greatest. We all appreciate his posts.

Zabola · Post by **Zabola** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 2:57 am

Yes they are beautifull palmguy, Scott glad to see your survived ( what were the lowest temps and for how long? ) Will have to germinate them from seeds

sashaeffer · Post by **sashaeffer** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 3:14 am

Zabola, lowest true temp got down to -14F, although we had a lot of sub zero temps this winter. Coldest in 30 years. In reality, in years past it would rarely get to even zero around here so always questioned the 5B zone rating we had.

Zabola · Post by **Zabola** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 3:20 am

Understand, this one was or is a catastrophy.. the winter i mean.

sashaeffer · Post by **sashaeffer** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 3:24 am

Time will tell in another month when some palms can be uncovered to see what damage is. I have one Trachy in the ground that has done fine but it like my Cape Hattaras has root heat, and christmas lights for warmth. Biggest thing I battle really is condensation and fungus on fronds so when we have nice days I can easily take top off and let it get some fresh air and dry out.

Zabola · Post by **Zabola** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 5:39 am

This is how i deal with the problem of condensation and cold but this was a mild winter too.
http://palmapedia.com/index.php?action= ... 4585;image
http://palmapedia.com/index.php?action= ... 4587;image
http://palmapedia.com/index.php?action= ... 4589;image[/url]
see how dry the soil is..

sashaeffer · Post by **sashaeffer** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 5:46 am

after translation, said I am not allowed in that section

Zabola · Post by **Zabola** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 6:06 am

Of course you have to be a member

f**k i hate putting pictures on some stupid site so you can take a look ok i'll try..

Zabola · Post by **Zabola** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 6:11 am

http://s21.postimg.org/e25rlwqg7/DSC_0067.jpg
http://s21.postimg.org/464om9ko7/DSC_0068.jpg
http://s21.postimg.org/xiqh8flk7/DSC_0069.jpg

http://postimg.org/image/u0ehc1ko3/
http://postimg.org/image/vgpzu6nkz/
http://postimg.org/image/nlfgfddyb/

Ok now?

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 11:18 am

Yup, OK now.

That soil IS dry...succulents would love it too.

Love the rock wall, perfect!

Barb

Zabola · Post by **Zabola** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 2:21 pm

Ha ha ha thanks Barb maybe some agavas or cactus, my english is not perfect but you got the point.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 2:37 pm

my english is not perfect

Yes it is!

KrisK · Post by **KrisK** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 5:11 pm

You're welcome kspalmguy !

Thanks Eric, you're a scholar and a gentleman!

kspalmguy · Post by **kspalmguy** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 6:21 pm

Wow, I enjoy reading everyone's replies...thanks!

sashaeffer wrote:Zabola, lowest true temp got down to -14F, although we had a lot of sub zero temps this winter. Coldest in 30 years. In reality, in years past it would rarely get to even zero around here so always questioned the 5B zone rating we had.

I was thinking the same thing about down here around Wichita...we're a 6b, but the past few winters, we probably were 7b temperatures. This winter sure showed us we were truly 6b though;)