Growing palm trees in SC (Anderson, Orangeburg: apartment, to buy, price)

[sandlapper]

Hey matt I see you beat me to the punch LOL, I was all ready to launch my photos of palmetto trees in Columbia.

[waccamatt]

Sandy, I'd still like to see your pictures! After reading the original post again I realized it was just someone trying to sell trees, lol. How could anyone say there are hardly any palm trees in Columbia?

[sixinthefamily]

WACCAMATT,

If post a picture of a very sad looking palm tree from my yard in Fort Mill any chance you can tell me what type it is and if I can save it. It is very tall but have very little leaf like stuff on the top.

Thanks

[waccamatt]

Depending on how sad it looks I should be able to give you some advice. I did a lot of research before planting my palms. While palms DO grow in Columbia, we are a borderline region for many palms and they require care. Go ahead and post it and I'll see if I recognize the tree.

[vwsam]

There are even palm trees up here in Greenville. I've seen 3 good sized palms in other yards in my neighborhood (2 about 15' tall each!), and a few in front of businesses around town. So - you can plant them up here, but they probably need to be either mature when planted or of a cold hardy variety. Personally - I have smaller Sago palms, and they have done fine so far.

[Bananajoe]

Sabal palmetto are a very tough and cold tolerant palm species. WE grow them here on our island located off the south west coast of Canada. They will tolerate more wet and heavier soils as well. Trachycarpus fortunei grow in abundance though. Cheers, Banana Joe

[Geechie North]

Originally Posted by ColdCanadian

I heard that sabal palmettos are native to a fairly narrow coastal strip in the Carolinas. The range from extreme southern NC to within maybe 5 miles from the coast, within about 10-15 around Myrtle Beach, and around 30 miles around Charleston down to to the Georgia line. It probably has to do with the record lows still being mild enough.

.

Pretty much accurate. Remember the record low (-19F) for the state in general, while the extreme minimum isotherm of 0F extends from Bamberg through Orangeburg and advances to western Georgetown County in the northern coastal plain

[Tennesseestorm]

Originally Posted by vwsam

There are even palm trees up here in Greenville.

Yep, I was visiting relatives in Anderson, SC over the weekend and as always, saw many palm trees in the area.... in fact, when in Lancaster, SC last year, I also saw many palms there.

On Saturday we were driving through west Anderson I was able to get a "rough" shot of these palms in a lawn. I counted about 12 of them, which is overkill. I think they are Cabbage palms... Cabbage palms do not seem to do all that well in upstate SC, as they like central and coastal SC better, but the Windmill palm, Sabal Palm and Needle palms would thrive there. Also the Sabal Birmingham palm... I have one of those as well.


As far as palms go, I even have some here at my home in northeast Tennessee! Hardy palms though, such as the Windmill, Sabal Minor and Needle Palm. ALL have thrived. I will post some photos tomorrow.

There is a family in Kingsport Tennessee that has a host of palms, including a large Cabbage palm that has said to do well. I have photos of it too... will find and post.

[Mrs. P]

I don't know what kind of "palm" trees they are but on 160 in Fort Mill (located on the state line of NC and SC) there are many palm trees planted right now. And those trees made it through the dusting of snow we had last year up here in this part of the state. There are also a few neighbors of mine that have planted them recently in their yards.

I am an avid gardener and watch and note these kinds of things. Also the maps that put areas of our country in different numbered sectors by which one is able to plant things and the plants survive has been changed in the last few years. Fort Mill/Rock Hill/Charlotte metro was always a 7.

Charlotte was a seven.....it's now a seven B and so is northern SC by Charlotte (though we tend to be 1 -5 degrees warmer than Charlotte on a given day). I was discussing this with a place I have been buying my plants from, and the guy there said it's a matter of time till ALL of SC is zoned an 8...which is considered the beginning of tropical.

[Geechie North]

Umm, couple of things:

A. Sabal and cabbage palms are the same species.

B. While hardiness zones are changing, some, (extreme s. Wisconsin is now seeing some trees more typical of central Ill.), variability is the theme of our changing climate. So don't be taken off-guard when the old record minimum temp returns.

C. SC, NC, Tenn, etc are in the subtropics (Koppen scale) which means the coldest month averages above freezing; south Jersey is also subtropical.

Spend time in Venezuela or Brazil to see what a real tropical climate is like.