In zone 7, you should have some of those in the ground.

Yeah, a'rnt those suppose to be good and hardy? haha

Well windmills, sabal minors and needles in the ground in zone 7.

I have several different sabals including some hardy sabal palmettos. And none of them were happy till I planted them.

Not all Sabals and Trachys are equally cold hardy. Minors, Needles, and T. wagnerianus, Med. fan, and T. fortunei ARE in the ground, containerized are these:

S. mauritiiformis
S. bermudana
S. mexicana
S. palmetto

T. latisectus
T. martianus

I gathered a bunch of sabal seeds from my trip to Florida about a month ago, I just planted them last night. But I was reading something on the web that they are nearly impossible to transplant because if you break just one root the whole plant dies. I'm pretty sure they were cabbage palm seeds. They were the palms you see all over northern florida. Has anyone else heard of this or had this experience?

I have never tried sabals in pots, but my minor has been pretty fast growing. It puts out a good 3 fronds a year, which isnt bad for sabal. Plus I like the silvery foliage on my minor and the fact that it wont get too tall since ti's in a pretty small space.
As for palmettos, some are really slow, and others are suprisingly fast. It depends on how much hot and humid weather you get and on the genetics of that individual palm. I have seen some grow really fast and robust and others that grow 2 fronds a year. And if you live on the west coast, all sabals are VERY slow growing, especially if you live right near the water. The palmettos I saw in San Diego were a few miles inland and several years old, but still very very young looking.
And i notice that the tropical sabals are a little faster growing.
-Alex

Springpatch: Actually, Sabals are known as one of the easier palms to transplant. The roots will die back, but that is expected. The plant won't die though if it is watered well for the first year or so after transplant. This helps the roots to grow back. Many places cut off all of the branches, claiming that this helps the Sabal to grow back more quickly. Per the book "Florida Gardener's Guide", the University of Florida has even endorsed this. I don't see how this would help however, since palms are also said to thrive from the nutrients of yellowing leaves. Why not let the leaves and branches die back naturally and cut them off when they're dead?

Here is a link that might be useful: Virginia Beach Weather

I really think most(if not all)Sabals will benefit most from a deep pot.

I looked at one of the Brazoria seedlings I was moving and
discovered it had broken out the bottom of the plastic cottage
cheese container it's growing in!

No easy feet(no pun intended),I think they also like cheese but I am wrong often.

I have sprouted lots of sabal minors and sabal palmettos from seed in the past few years, both indoors and seed scattered in my garden. They ate very easy to sprout. I clean the seeds of dried fruit and soak for 24 hours in warm water, changing it frequently. I use small, plastic food containers (like Chinese takeout containers) and fill halfway with vermiculute and dampen it. Place the seeds evenly on top, seal with lid and place in a warm place. I use the top of the hot water heater, which is warm, but not hot to touch.

They will sprout in a week or to or some longer. When the have a root sprout and a growing bud starting to grow, I put them in small starter packs (clean, used six/eight packs that annual plants come in). I fill halfway with potting soil, put seedlings in (root down, bud up) and cover with more soil. The sprouts are pretty sturdy and can be handled by the seed. They'll start to push up a green strap leaf from there in a week or two.

It is true about their roots dying back if cut. That is primarily an issue of older palms being transplanted. That is why they get hurricane cut. If you let your seedlings develop a nice compact rootball in the six pack and a few strap leaves before you transplant into bigger pot or garden, they'll be fine. Pot-grown sabals with good rootball and a healthy crown of leaves transplant and recover much better in marginal areas, especially compared to hurricane cut. Just be careful not to cut or break roots when you do repot or plant in-ground and water regularly.

As a side note, don't be afraid to try plant some of the sprouted seeds in your garden for grins. Gary Hollar from Gary's Nursery in NC told me that seedlings started in the garden (naturalized) end up being hardier than ones kept indoors through their early years. Give a few a try in protected spots for fun.

According to some sources seeds of cold hardy palms sown directly in the ground are much more hardy.

Not many people will go around planting seeds where they want there palms to grow....one day(-:

That's pretty much what Gary told me verbatim. I'm finding that true with the palmetto, minor, windmill and med fan seedlings from the ones I cast into the garden spring last year. While the winter was fairly mild, they still saw temps in the mid teens and a few dusting of snow. They all survived well and are growing new strap leaves through the summer. Will be interesting to see how they do in the next winter, if it's more "normal".

That's pretty much what Gary told me verbatim. I'm finding that true with the palmetto, minor, windmill and med fan seedlings from the ones I cast into the garden spring last year. While the winter was fairly mild, they still saw temps in the mid teens and a few dusting of snow. They all survived well and are growing new strap leaves through the summer. Will be interesting to see how they do in the next winter, if it's more "normal".

Definitely.

I put over a hundred T.Takil seeds in the ground,my guess is
they will not even sprout until they feel winters cold and then will start popping in June.

Probably leave at least one in the ground,depending on when/where/if they sprout 0:

That explains why I saw so many cabbage palms with no leaves on them. Thanks!

Springpatch77:

http://www.garysnursery.com/SabalPlanting.html

That's pretty much what Gary told me verbatim. I'm finding that true with the palmetto, minor, windmill and med fan seedlings from the ones I cast into the garden spring last year. While the winter was fairly mild, they still saw temps in the mid teens and a few dusting of snow. They all survived well and are growing new strap leaves through the summer. Will be interesting to see how they do in the next winter, if it's more "normal".

Sorry I just had to see it one more time...kidding

I had some Princeps and a T.Tesan come up in spring after sitting in the soil all winter.

I just covered them with leaves and a bowl and they made it through winter.

They did not make it through spring-transition can be tough coming weakly out of winter....