The Sago Palm is a beautiful dark green accent palm that blends well into many landscape themes. It has a slow growth habit and high cold tolerance make it a good choice for the Lowcountry.
Other names:
King Sago, Sago Cycad, Japanese Sago
The Sago palm actually isn’t a palm at all, but belongs to the cycad family. It is very versatile species that tolerates shade to full sun.
It is a slow growing palm that can get up to 10 ft. tall and 10 ft wide and form multiple trunks. It works great as an accent palm that blends well into many landscape themes. At the base of the trunk small basal offsets form referred to as “pups”. These can be gently separated and planted.
Sometimes you may notice a Sago can look very different in growth habit from another. The King Sago (Male) has a cone like reproductive structure and the Queen Sago (female) has a wider pineapple top like structure. However the King Sago is mostly used in nursery settings.
The Sago palm is toxic to humans and animals if ingested. The Queen Sago seed is reddish orange in color and could look like a ball to a dog. This is part of the reason the King sago is more widely used as well as a more uniform and rounded growth habit.
If you are looking for a unique and beautiful accent piece for your home or office we recommend the Sago Palm in Mt. Pleasant, Charleston, Kiawah SC and surrounding areas.
We’ll be adding detailed information for taking care of your Sylvester Date Palm. For now, though check out our general tips for palm tree care.
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