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austinl01 · 09-05-2007, 04:57 PM

Hey all,

This is a very hot topic! I believe it is very wrong to dig a rare palm from the wild such as a needle palm. These are vanishing so quickly because the animal (hypothesized to be a sloth) that distributed the seeds in the past is now extinct. The needle palm is such a beautiful shrubby palm with nice green leaves and typically lots of suckers. I would be ecstatic to see such a palm in the wild in Georgia or Florida. It would be a terrible crime to dig up a needle palm from a forest because: 1. it's an endangered species; 2. it is quite rare in the wild; 3. the animal that helps with the spread of the palm is extinct; 4. it spreads so slowly. Now, I know that several of these points are related, but they are all important nevertheless.

Why try to dig up a wild palm such as the needle when they are readily available both online from numerous sources and at some local nurseries? It would be irresponsible not to purchase a seed grown specimen from a reputable source. I can give you about 5 good sources on where to buy a needle palm.

Now, the issue of sabal minor. This palm is very abundant all over the southeast. Due to the abundance, I felt that I would not disturb the stand of palms in my area. I personally have tried to dig up sabal minors in the past down in southern Arkansas. When you try to dig one, you will see that it's almost an impossible feat. The roots go straight down into the muddy soil making it very, very difficult not to cut the roots on the palm. Any cut roots results in total root die-back, which puts the palm at major risk for death. I must say that the wild palms that I've dug did not survive. I would have been better off sprouting seeds or buying a sabal minor from a nursery. I have and will not dig up any more sabal minors because it just doesn't work; and I advise you to do the same. I would be happy to send you some native Arkansas sabal minor seeds this fall when I go down and collect some.

Now, given that I tried to dig up native s. minors, I am helping nature (giving back) by spreading sabal minor seeds in the area to get a natural stand of them going. Yes, I took palms in the past and don't deny it, but I'm also giving back to nature what I have taken. I was going to do this from the start, and I think it's the responsible thing to do.

Until seeing palms growing in their natural habitat, one can really not appreciate their beauty and gracefulness.

Because of the threat to native palms, many people (including myself) do not give exact locations of the palms that we find. There's too much at risk for spreading such information on the internet.

Bottom line: Don't attempt to dig s. minors or needle palms.

Austin