Saw Palmetto (Serenoa Repens)

Saw Palmetto, or Cabbage Palm, is a multi-trunked, clumping palm that grows low to the ground with a spreading habit at 5′-10′ high by 4′-10′ wide. It is a native of the southeastern United States and is often used in local landscaping as a border plant, ground cover, or hedge. Bees and butterflies visit the fragrant yellowish-white flowers, which are a source of delicious palmetto honey, and birds and mammals enjoy the ripe berries.

Its foliage is fan-shaped and green to bluish-silver with saw-toothed stem edges. Indigenous people of the southeastern U.S. eat the ripe fruits, and they are also sold as a supplement for urinary issues, migraines, and hair loss. Some believe that the berries are an alternative cure for prostate cancer, so to preserve the plants from being over-picked, anyone in Florida wanting to harvest the berries must get a native plant harvesting permit issued through the

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Division of Plant Industry (DPI)

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Saw Palmettos prefer sandy soil but are tolerant of many soil types as long as they are well-draining. They grow well in full sun to partial shade and need to be watered well when young after planting. Once established, they are slow-growing, tough, long-lived plants that are fire, insect, and drought resistant. They make excellent horticultural plants in the Southeast, but it is well to plant them away from high-trafficked areas so their spiny foliage can’t cause injury. Saw Palmettos are hardy in USDA zones 8+