Looking lovely in the garden now is one of the most overlooked of the Southeast US native palms. Sabal etonia may look superficially similar to the better known Sabal minor, but while Sabal minor is typically found in swamps and ditches, Sabal etonia comes from dry sandy scrub habitat in North Central Florida. It is effectively a dwarf Sabal palmetto with a subterranean trunk, and the same costapalmate leaves (the center of the leaf folds downward). The specific epithet “etonia” is a corruption of the early American settler’s name for the scrub habitat in which it grows, Etoniah Creek, a stream in Putnam and Clay counties in Florida..
Our 20-year-old specimen measures 4′ tall x 8′ wide. Sabal etonia also has much smaller leaves with narrower leaf segments than either Sabal minor or Sabal palmetto, and much more condensed flower spikes. As the leaves age, expect small threadlike filaments to appear on the leaves…great for sewing if you find yourself on a central Florida sand dune with a needle and no thread. So far, our plants have endured 7 degrees F. with no damage.
Like trees, “The best time to plant a sabal palm was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.”
I was down east recently at Gary’s Nursery in New Bern, NC and was very impressed with the enormous Sabal minor he has growing in the landscape there. My 40plus year old S. minor is a respectable 4-5ft H with several fans, but mine looks like a pup compared to his beast. There must be something in the water around New Bern. Gary and his wife also showed me where they planted several Sabals together in a clump and did the same with Trachycarpus f. to very good effect. The clump of three Trachycarpus fortunei resembled a small needle palm!
I currently have Sabal minor, birmingham and uresana, and also a Sabal palmetto ‘Fat Boy’. I’m interested in trying one of the relatively ‘faster-growing’ sabal palms like Sabal x brazoriensis.
Do you have any suggestions on faster growing sabals or any other relatively fast growing hardy tropical-like plant for our zone 8a climate?
Thanks,
Greg
I wouldn’t consider any sabals to be fast-growing, but Sabal minor var. louisiana seems to be the fastest one we’ve tried.
Looks and sounds familiar to the ones growing on sandy hills dotted with pines in South Georgia
That would be very interesting, since it’s never been known from Georgia. What county, and do you have photos, especially in flower.