Plant · P-925

Dwarf Palmetto

Sabal minor

Dwarf palmetto is a stemless fan palm that grows straight out of the ground in swamps and floodplains, one of only a handful of palms native to the United States. It shrugs off standing water, drought once established, salt spray, deer and heat, and it is the most cold-hardy member of its genus - some specimens survive well north of where palms normally grow. The fronds are cut for thatch and the fruit feeds birds and mammals, but growth is slow and young plants are the hardest part: they establish poorly and are usually raised in containers for several years before being safe to plant out at the cold edge of the range. It spreads only by seed, never by runner, so a planted clump stays exactly where it was put.