Sabal palmetto is a native plant here in North FL where it can get into the teens in some areas in the rural parts away from larger cities. Perhaps the Jungle Music site will have a "lowest of the low" temp listed for it on their palm culture page. It can certainly handle 28.

sabal palmetto is a little more cold hardy than a windmill. When you say it hasn't done anything potted indoors for three years, do you not pull it outside during the summer and leave it in the sun. If it's indoors 365 it won't do anything! The older and larger you can get it the more hardy it will be. Especially if you leave it out more and more in the spring and fall. Moving it in only when it's going to drop very cold or cold for an extended period.

Palmetto is NOT more cold hardy than T.fortunei.

At best, they're about the same. However, palmetto demands alot of sun and heat to thrive and store starches. It has tropical origins. Trachies are temperate palms that thrive in autumnlike conditions.

You say the lowest temp was 28º. Where, When? In Atlanta, we bottomed out near 16º this past winter. Your minimum temps occur in the wee hours of the morning.

I think he was saying his lowest temp of 28º was inside his palm protection construction, unless I misread. If that is the case, likely a palmetto could survive the same conditions (of protection), but will not likely grow as fast as the Trachy. We all know neither a Trachy or Palmetto would survive outdoors unprotected in Ohio. (Perhaps in freaky mild year the Trachy might - but we haven't seen any of those lately)

Dave,,,Your right! Inside temps was 28. I have no other choice but to plant it and at least it may grow a little. The others I have indoors are growing alot including a 11 ft. jelly palm.,,,I was told when I bought it in Mytle Beach 4 years ago it would last a very long time indoors. Bill

Sabal Palmetto seems hardier than T. Fortunei when young. But a large trunking T. Fortunei will become much hardier with size while the Palmetto will not.

I humbly request to a picture of an 11 foot jelly-pindo palm growing indoors.

Hey Kevin,,I sent you a photo of my 11 ft. jelly palm at your email address. Have not figured out how to post on this forum yet. Bill

Hey bill I would love to see it too please? me email is imcuban2@hotmail.com

Well you just made a believer out of me! I cant believe that the rootball for a pindo can be small enough to fit in a pot that size and still keep the tree healthy!! Wow! Just out of curiousity...next summer Im going to have to pull my two pindos up out of the ground. Both are about 5 ft. tall and 6 and 8 ft. across. How much rootball will I need to take with me when I pull them up?

Kevin,,I did mention that the pot has bulged enough to split the one side. I will repot it in a few weeks hoping to find a 30,35, gal.one somewhere. Bill

I had one small seedling ( Sabal Palmetto ) I planted it in the ground
because i got tired of it waiting to grow in the pot..
and even after the nasty winter we had complete with ice and snow ..it is still surviving i figured it would be dead
but it's still thriving !

I bought a small sabal minor (is that the same thing as a sabal palmetto?) that has been in the ground outdoors here for three winters now. It is in a sheltered area near the house wall on the south side. I don't protect it much, just a little bark mulch on the bed like all my other plants, and a spray of Wiltpruf in the fall and maybe once in the winter if the weather cooperates.

I get some pretty severe leaf burn when the weather is nasty, but I cut them off and it grows new ones. Of course, it hasn't increased in size much. I think more winter protection and more sun would help (it gets shaded a lot in the summer once the bananas get all).

Watergal, Sabal Minor and Sabal Palmetto are two different species, former typically being a non trunking variety even though with age they will have somewhat of a trunk, and the latter being a trunking species.

downeastmd, thanks for the info - I'm pretty new to the hardy palm thing. I went with the nontrunking on the advice of the "Palms Won't Grow Here.." book, since I have clayish soil and wet, soggy springs where I live.