Texas Sabal Palms - Cold Hardy Palm
Trees
(Sabal texana or Sabal mexicana)
Cold Hardy to 16 - 18
degrees (lower depending on the age and growth of the
cold hardy palm tree), The Texas palm (Sabal texana
or S. mexicana), also known as Texas palmetto, Rio
Grande palmetto, palma real, and palma de Micharas,
is a native of the lower Rio Grande valley. It is a
stocky palm that grows to a height of twenty to
forty-eight feet and has large blue-green,
fan-shaped leaves that form a thick, rounded crown.
Texas Sabal Palm Trees
The Texas Sabal Palms have:
- A canopy (mature) which may be 8 to 25
feet across..
- 10-25 fan shaped leaves ranging in color
from deep emerald green for palms in shade
or part shade, to lighter green for palms
receiving more sunlight.
Texas Sabal Palm Trees
Stately and
robust, Texas Sabal Palms grow up to 50’ tall
with a solitary trunk, 8-32” in diameter. The
canopy of a mature Texas Sabal Palm Tree may be 8-25’ across.
The gray trunk has closely spaced annular rings.
Usually part of the trunk remains covered with
old leaf stem “boots,” that often split at their
bases. These persistent boots form a
characteristic crosshatch pattern on the trunk.
The petioles (leaf stems) are smooth and
completely thornless and may be up to 15’ in
length. Texas Sabal Palm Trees have 10-25 fan-shaped
leaves ranging in color from deep emerald green
for palms in shade or part shade, to lighter
green for palms receiving more sunlight. Each
leaf has 80-115 leaflets with characteristic
threads unraveling along the margins. The Palm Tree's leaves
have prominent and strongly downward arching
costas (leaf midribs) which give them a
three-dimensional effect. Texas Sabal Palms may
flower when very young, often blooming when the
trunk is small or even nonexistent. The Texas
Sabal Palm Tree produces small white flowers in a branched
inflorescence about as long as the leaves. Male
and female flowers are borne on the same plant.
The fruits are round-oval and black when ripe.
The Texas Sabal Palm can be distinguished from other
palmate-leafed palms by its long, smooth,
nonthorny petioles and the long, downward
arching costas.
Texas Sabal Palms Usage
Use Texas
Sabal Palm Trees in formal groupings, as a lawn tree, in
large-scale plantings and as that special accent
tree. The Texas Sabal Palm is best suited to medium or large yards
since the Palms may grow 50’ tall and spread 25’
across. Texas Sabal Palm Trees may be used in a variety of
situations since the Palms are tolerant of wind,
drought, salt, and most soil types.
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