View Full Version : Sabal Minor transplanting question.
glued2it
04-15-2009, 08:27 AM
There is an old rundown house not to far from me.
There is a sabal minor palm in the flower bed in front of the house.
The house probably hasn't been lived in for at least 15 yrs.
How difficult would it be to transplant it?
Tog Tan
04-15-2009, 09:13 AM
Jeremy, in this situation, you will have to consider the size of the plant. The Sabal minor, though is not as big as other palms, has a very strong root system. If it is a matured one, the roots are well established and the removal of it without taking the time for it to adjust to the shock will definitely kill it.
With an old palm, it is best to dig a trench around it so that the roots are cut away but the main mass still remain intact. The plant should be watered during this period of at least 3 weeks or even longer depending on the size of the plant. It is best that during this period the plant should not show too much stress like wilting leaves, etc. The last part of its ordeal is to have it dug up with a small excavator with the soil around it. It's a big, long and messy job and there's no short cut to it. Yanking the plant out will surely kill it.
Dalmatiansoap
04-15-2009, 10:14 AM
Have to agree with Tog, we tried such thing few times and all palms drieds in 2 months.
Now we planted some olives and grapevines and everything grows well.
:woohoonaner:
austinl01
04-15-2009, 11:20 AM
I agree. I've dug up 10 sabal minors before and not one made it. They are a very, very difficult palm to transplant with almost 0% success. Once the roots are severed, they die. Good luck!
Patty in Wisc
04-15-2009, 11:44 AM
Tog is right...dig around it & chop off smaller roots surrounding then let it sit. Then dig down on one side & go under rootball . Water & let this sit awhile - maybe a week (?) Do it in stages so it's not such a shock.
I have a friend in forestry & this is how they dig up & transplant trees... a little at a time. How big is it anyway?
I have canary island date palm in a 30 gal pot & every 2 yrs I re pot & trim a LOT of roots off from being rootbound. It can handle it.
just j
04-15-2009, 12:04 PM
they r similar to bismarck they dont have a tap root so u dont have to worry about that but u have to dig them up with the dirt staying around the roots like tog said some can handle the roots being cut but this one cant i killed alot of sabels and bismarcks this way repotting for some reason the silvery leaved palms cant handel this. is this one green or silver and how big is it u might have to go in with a bob cat or backhoe if its bigger than 7-8 feet
glued2it
04-15-2009, 12:41 PM
Here's a smaller palm of some sort. I don't know what it is but I have had my eye on it too.
I haven't called the property owner to see if I can dig this one up yet.
Would I have more luck plucking this one out?
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd186/glued2it/Picture425-1.jpg
Tog Tan
04-15-2009, 12:50 PM
Looks like the patio is getting in the way. In this case, Take out as much of the root ball with the earth. I had much success with palms from the wild of this size kept within a clear plastic tent to keep the moisture in after replanting. This way the new shoot will not get dried up. Just make sure the soil is kept moist during the recovery period. Over here it takes as long as 3-4 months before it gets out of ICU.
glued2it
04-15-2009, 01:28 PM
I'll give the owner a call and see if they'll let me have it.
What kind is this one?
Tog Tan
04-15-2009, 01:36 PM
I'll give the owner a call and see if they'll let me have it.
What kind is this one?
Jeremy, its hard to tell but you can check out the archives at rarepalmseeds.com and try to figure out from the locality it came from. Other than than you can compare the seeds when it fruits. Long way to go rite? :ha:
glued2it
04-15-2009, 01:54 PM
Looks like a Yucca glauca to me.(soap weed)
turtile
04-15-2009, 02:54 PM
Sabal minor needs to have all the leaves removed. Yuccas are teh opposite. Its hard to kill them.
just j
04-15-2009, 05:50 PM
Sabal minor needs to have all the leaves removed. Yuccas are teh opposite. Its hard to kill them.
no dont cut the leaves it will take 5 years for them to grow back
glued2it
04-15-2009, 06:40 PM
no dont cut the leaves it will take 5 years for them to grow back
According to this write up from the University Of Florida;
http://www.plantapalm.com/Vpe/horticulture/transplanting-palms.pdf
The survival rate for cabbage and sabal palms transplanted without leaves was 90% compared to 60% for those transplanted with one third of their leaves remaining.(page 6)
However they didn't show a time frame.
Tog Tan
04-15-2009, 10:10 PM
Jeremy, that's why I was talking about the clear plastic for humidity retention if the plant is small. Here, when they transplant big palms for landscaping, all the leaves are cut off. This is to ensure that the plant does not dehydrate before the roots set in. With our climate, the new leaf normal emerge within 2 months after transplanting.
vBulletin® v3.6.8, Copyright ©2000-2020, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.