I have a sable palm that grew 4 pods and never produced new "leaves". What happened? They are on a branch that is as big as the main trunk. Can I remove it without having something happen to the main bush?
Sorry, but I don't know what you mean. If you could provide a picture it would help. I know Sabal palmetto fairly well. That's the botanical name for what is commonly called the cabbage palm, and sometimes called the sabal palm. I don't believe there is a sable palm, only misidentified Sabal palmetto. It can be a broad but low growing mound of leaves when it's still quite young, but I probably would not call it a bush. I could very loosely refer to Serenoa repens or the scrub palmetto as a bush of sorts because of its sprawling, prostrate habit. On neither of them would I expect to see pods. They have "berries", or a stone fruit with a hard seed surrounded by a small amount of flesh, juicier on Serenoa repens but quite dry on Sabal palmetto by the time it hits the ground. "Branch as big as the main trunk" really has me baffled.
Somehow, I think they meant Sabal Minor Palms. But if not, the same rule would probably apply. I cut off the flower/seed chutes immediately to stimulate foliage growth. If one is producing four flower stalks, not much energy is left to produce leaves. Also fertilize in spring and early summer. I have six of them, and they do produce a lot of flower stalks/seeds.
