Cabbage Palm (Sabal palmetto)

Also known as: Sabal palm

Quick Facts

• Type: palm
• Size: 40-60 ft tall
• Sun: full
• Water: low
• Soil: Adaptable; sand to muck, tolerates salt
• USDA zones: 8-11

Florida's state tree – a rugged, hurricane-proof palm crowned with fan leaves.

Leave the boots (old leaf bases) on for wildlife habitat; transplant only in the warm months.

In the Landscape

Florida's signature palm for streets, beachfronts, and naturalistic groupings. Equally at home as a lone specimen or swaying in a hammock-edge cluster; its salt and wind tolerance are unmatched.

Care & Propagation

Plant in full sun in almost any soil. After transplanting, water deeply and often until new roots establish — then it needs almost nothing. Prune only brown, dead fronds; never 'hurricane cut' green fronds, which weakens the palm. Leave the old leaf-base 'boots' on for wildlife habitat.

Grow from seed, but be patient — seedlings are slow and take years to form a trunk. For instant impact, transplant field-grown palms in the warm months: remove nearly all the fronds, plant at the original depth, and water deeply for 8 months or more while entirely new roots regrow from the trunk base.

Wildlife Value

Unpruned cabbage palms with their boots intact are favorite roosts for Florida's insect-eating bats — nature's mosquito control. The boots also shelter tree frogs, anoles, nesting birds, and even ferns, while the flowers and black fruits feed pollinators, birds, and raccoons.

🌱 Fun fact: A transplanted sabal regrows its entire root system from scratch — the old roots die and a brand-new set emerges from the trunk base, which is why it survives transplanting with nearly all its fronds removed.

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🌴 In Florida

Leave the boots (old leaf bases) on for wildlife habitat; transplant only in the warm months.

🌿 Keep exploring

More Florida natives worth meeting:

• Buccaneer Palm (Pseudophoenix sargentii)
• Dwarf Palmetto (Sabal minor)
• Florida Thatch Palm (Thrinax radiata)