Saw palmetto
Serenoa repens (W.Bartram) Small
Also called saw palmetto.
Shrubby native fan palm that spreads by creeping trunks into dense, long-lived colonies. Green and silver-blue forms are sold.
Size over time
Typical landscape size 1.2–2.1 m (4–7 ft) tall and 1.2–3 m (4–10 ft) wide; slow growth, about 10 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.12) from the #3 install size.
Bloom
Cream flowers, Apr–Jun (northern-hemisphere months; timing shifts with region and season).
| Plant | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saw palmetto : Apr–Jun |
Design notes
- Saw-toothed leaf stalks — keep back from walks.
- Slow to establish and resents transplanting of large clumps; use container plants.
Regions
Native range: Coastal Plain of the Southeast, especially Florida.
Native to these OpenLandscape3D pilot regions:
Native status describes where the species occurs naturally. It is not a promise that it suits a particular garden; site conditions decide that.
Related plants
Plan with Saw palmetto
Place it in a design, check it against your zone, light and moisture, and see it at year three and year ten.