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Sabal palmetto palms have also been called "Cabbage" palms because they're harvested for use in salads as hearts of palm.� The shag of dead leaves beneath the green crown on palm trees is sometimes called a "petticoat".� The leaf bases, minus leaves, along the trunk are called "boots".� If left on the palmetto tree, they give a basket weave effect to the trunk.

Palm trees are primitive plants.� They can't be made to branch and they can't be shortened by topping.� Their growth bud is in the very center of the foliage in the crown of the tree.� If the bud dies, so does the tree.�

Occasionally you might see an irrigation pipe run up the trunk of a palmetto with a sprinkler head at the top.� According to experts, this is a definite no-no.� No one knows how the idea originated but it has a life of its own.�

Some people think if the growth bud is brown, it needs water.� Not so.� It's probably dead and no amount of water will green it up.� Palms don't take in water through their leaves, only through their roots.� Splashing excessive water directly on the crown of the tree encourages bud rot and can kill the tree.�

The trunk also won't repair itself.� It's a single stem with all its cells developed before it starts to elongate into a trunk.� It cannot regenerate new wood.� Any injury to the trunk is permanent.� Braces should never be nailed directly to the trunk.�

Unlike most others in the plant kingdom, palms should be planted when they're in active growth during the spring and summer.� They like it hot.� Palmetto palms also transplant best with a tall trunk established, the roots cut off, and most or all of the leaves removed.� If they haven't started to stretch with a trunk, they should only be transplanted as a potted plant.

Water is essential to their survival.� They need water every 4-5 days for the first 4-6 months while they become established.� Check the backfilled soil to make sure it's getting wet to a depth of 6-8 inches.� This surrounding soil should not dry out but also should not become swampy.

Palmettos like fertile, moist, well-drained soils.� Once established in the landscape, they need watering every week during the summer's active growth period.

Their biggest requirement other than water is the proper fertilizer.� Palmettos suffer from deficiencies of magnesium and manganese.� They need a fertilizer that contains as many minor elements as possible.�

Leaves with spots or streaks of yellow, orange, or brown could mean they need some extra fertilization.� They also don't tolerate cold weather as well, if they're sickly.

What is the allure of these old plants?� Most likely it is the tropical effect the palmettos create.� There is something exotic about these tall, handsome, natural umbrellas.� Perhaps they're popularity has to do with a memory or a dream as much as aesthetics.�

Warm tropical days, moonlit nights, soft music, and palm trees swaying in the wind conjure up a feeling of peace and solitude, a personal island in the sun.� Palm trees beckon 'Slow down'.� While they reach for the sky, you can add a hammock and stretch out.� Just don't nail it to the palmetto.

---Anne K Moore---