I like the way this author describes growth rate - SLOW!
http://www.texasgardencenter.com/sabal_texana.htm


wrote:
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I planted a sabal texana this past April with a 7' trunk and while it
had healthy cut back green leaves, it has yet to take off. Most of the
foliage went brown except for the center 2 fans. I don't know if I
should keep the ground very wet, moist, or just rely on the rain. I
live in the western part of Texas where we get an unreliable 22 inches
of rain per year. I also have 2 Washingtonia Robustas that I planted
at the same time and one has a crown of big fans and the other is like
this sabal, green in the middle, but just sits there and won't take
off. I figured it might be too hot (I read somewhere where you're
supposed to shade the fans from too much sun when you start them out,
which I didn't).
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Can you overwater? This is dark black ground with no sand or rocks. I
also killed back the bermuda grass in about a 5' radius of the palms
with roundup to keep the grass from competing.
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if you want to email me direct, take the Z's out of my email address

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Celestial Habitats by J. Kolenovsky
2003 Honorable Mention Award, Keep Houston Beautiful
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