Description
Because of its beauty and versatility the cabbage palm is at the top of my list of favorite palms. It is a large robust palm with a single unbranching trunk that grows to about 50 ft (15.2 m) but may occassionally reach heights of 70 ft (21.3 m). The crown is relatively small being 12-18 ft (3.7-5.5 m) in diameter. Like many palms the crown is typically wider when grown in shade and more compact when grown in full sun.

The large leaves have a dull finish and are a medium green, sometimes yellow-green, in color depending on the individual and situation. Each leaf is up to 12 ft (3.7 m) long overall including the spineless petioles (leaf stems) which measure about 5-6 ft (1.5-1.8 m) in length. They are up to 6 ft (1.8 m) in width with drooping leaf segments about 3 ft (0.9 m) long and 2-3 in (5.1-7.6 cm) wide. These segments are split to about half the width of the leaf and typically slough off tan fibers at the edges. Cabbage palm leaves are said to be costapalmate meaning that the leaflets are arranged on the stem in a pattern that is midway between palmate (leaflets arranged like the fingers on the palm of your hand) and pinnate (feather shaped).

Unlike the royal palm, the cabbage palm has no crownshaft. Leaves emerge directly from the trunk which is often covered with old leaf stem bases that are arranged in an interesting criss-cross pattern. Depending on the individual these may persist to the ground even in very old palms. Other trees in the same vicinity may shed their leaf attachments or "boots" as they are sometimes called very early in life revealing a rough fibrous brown trunk. Eventually the trunk will age to gray and the surface will become smooth.

Organic debris often collects in these leaf bases. It is not uncommon to see a cabbage palmetto transformed into a hanging garden of ferns and other species. The leaf attachment planters play host to many other interesting species like orchids, ball moss, resurrection fern and others including the fascinatingly fatal strangler fig.

In mid-summer the cabbage palm bears creamy white flowers on a long branched inflorescence that is held completely within the crown. Flowers are followed in late fall or early winter by black spherical fruit that is about one third of an inch in diameter. Inside is a shiney brown seed that is about one quarter of an inch in diameter. Squirrels, raccoon and many other species of mammal and bird enjoy visiting the cabbage palm for dinner feasts of fruit and seed.

Location
This southeastern U.S. native palm occurs near the coast, from the North Carolina barrier islands to South Carolina, to Georgia, down to the Florida Keys and then up the Gulf Coast to the northwestern Florida panhandle. Sabal palmetto is also native to Cuba and the Bahamas. It is often planted all along the Gulf Coast. Cabbage palm occurs along beaches, sandy bay and estuary shores. It inhabits the margins of tidal flats and marshlands where it often crowds into extensive groves. It's also encountered inland in hardwood hammocks and pine flatwoods. Culture
Sabal palmetto is very salt and drought tolerant and can be used in beachside plantings. It is able to adapt to most types of soil. Cabbage palms are easy to transplant if they have at least six feet of trunk. Commercially the palmetto is dug from the wild and all of the leaves are cut from the trunk (care is taken not to damage the tender bud). All of the roots are cut back as well (damaged sabal die anyway and new ones grow directly from the trunk). A new planting of sabals looks like a garden of telephone poles from a distance! If the telephone poles are kept watered they will soon put forth new roots and leaves within a few months. It's recommended that new trees be staked or otherwise supported until established - especially in windy beachfront situations.
Light: Full sunlight to some shade. Trunk development is suppressed in heavily shaded specimens.

Moisture: Very adaptable. Average moisture will do. Tolerates drought, standing water.
Hardiness: USDA Zones 7b-10. This is a hardy frost tolerant palm.
Propagation: Collect seeds from trees in late fall and early winter. Plant the seeds any time, they will generate over a period of time from 2 to 12 months. Mature specimens are commercially obtained from natural plantings. Transplanting specimens without trunks is seldom successful.

Usage
The cabbage palm is used as an ornamental and street tree, well adapted for group, specimen or avenue plantings. This palm is very salt tolerant and can be grown on the beach or directly at the water's edge of bays and inlets. The state of Florida has been planting cabbage palmettos by the hundreds along the state's freeways. The palm groves refresh the eye and absorb the road noise providing a calming influence for both motorists and the environment. Cabbage palm is very low maintenance and drought resistant making if a perfect choice for urban plantings.

Young potted cabbage palms will take up to ten years before they begin to form a trunk. They grow slowly these first years as root system and the crown forms. Once the trunk does begin to develop the growth rate increases somewhat. The growth rate of cabbage palm can be significantly increased with regular watering and feeding.

Dead leaves may persist on the trunk, hanging from the crown to form a "skirt". In urban situations it is recommended that these be removed, as they create shelter for rats and other undesirable creatures.

Features
Cabbage palm is the state tree of Florida and is displayed on the state flag of South Carolina whose nickname is the "Palmetto State". The durable trunks are sometimes used for wharf pilings, docks and poles. Brushes and brooms can be made from young leaves, and the large fan shaped leaves have been used by the Seminole Indians in Florida as thatch for traditional pavilions, called chickees.