Plant Finder

Other Names:  Texas Sabal Palm, Mexican Palmetto

Description:

This stately and robust native palm makes a perfect landscape accent; tolerates drought and adapts to a wide variety of soils; quite resistant to cold spells as well; young plants will flower and bear fruit

Ornamental Features

Texas Palmetto features showy panicles of creamy white flowers held atop the branches in mid fall. It has attractive green evergreen foliage. The lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and remain green throughout the winter. The fruits are showy black drupes displayed in late fall.

Landscape Attributes

Texas Palmetto is an evergreen tree with a strong central leader and a towering form, with a high canopy of foliage concentrated at the top of the plant. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Texas Palmetto is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Vertical Accent
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Texas Palmetto will grow to be about 50 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a high canopy of foliage that sits well above the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. As it matures, the lower branches of this tree can be strategically removed to create a high enough canopy to support unobstructed human traffic underneath. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It is quite adaptable, prefering to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is native to parts of North America.

Texas Palmetto is a fine choice for the yard, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.