Saw Palmetto, Delivered and Planted in Southwest Florida
Saw palmetto is a Florida native fan palm that grows slowly as a shrub, and it is about as tough as landscape plants get here: salt, drought, sandy soil, wind and cold are all fine. It suits native beds, buffers and low-water yards. Green plants come in 3 and 7 gallon and a silver form in 25 gallon, delivered and planted.
- Light:
- Full sun to part shade
- Water:
- Low; drought tolerant once established
- Salt:
- Moderate to high; a coastal native
Saw Palmetto sizes we deliver and plant
Every size below is planted by our crew, set at the right depth and watered in. Send the size and how many, and we text back a planted price, usually within the hour during the day.
| Variety or form | Sizes | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Saw Palmetto | 3 Gallon, 7 Gallon | The native green form in 3 and 7 gallon, for mass plantings, buffers and natural beds. |
| Silver Saw Palmetto | 25 Gallon | A silver-blue form in 25 gallon, a bolder, more sculptural accent with the same toughness. |
Saw Palmetto in SW Florida, at a glance
- Mature size here
- 3 to 6 ft tall, slowly spreading to 6 ft wide or more
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Water
- Low; drought tolerant once established
- Salt tolerance
- Moderate to high; a coastal native
- Cold tolerance
- Excellent; hardy to roughly 11 to 15°F, so cold is not an issue in SW Florida
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Spacing
- 4 to 6 ft apart for a mass planting
- Florida native
- Yes
- Botanical name
- Serenoa repens
Where Saw Palmetto works in a SW Florida yard
Use saw palmetto in groups of three to five with a native mix: Sabal Palm for height, Coontie and Muhly Grass for texture, and Wild Coffee in the shade. It handles the hot, dry, salty spots where other plants fail.
The silver form is a bold accent in gravel or against dark mulch, and works best as a single or a pair. Give each plant room to spread.
- Native landscape beds
- Coastal and canal lots
- Low-water mass planting
- Buffers and screening
- Wildlife plantings
How our crew plants it
Plant container-grown saw palmetto, not wild-dug plants, which rarely survive. Dig the hole twice as wide as the container and no deeper, with the top of the root ball level with the soil.
Space 4 to 6 ft apart for a mass. Backfill and water in well. Give it the extra watering Lee and Collier allow for new plantings, then these palms need very little.
Care after planting
- Water on the extra new-planting schedule for a couple of months, then let rain do most of the work.
- It grows fine on very little fertilizer, so if you feed it at all, use a palm fertilizer with micronutrients in spring or fall and never during the June 1 to September 30 ban.
- Remove only dead fronds and leave the green ones, which keep the plant strong.
- Leave the white spring flowers and blue-black fruit alone, since bees and wildlife use them.
What to watch for
- The leaf stalks carry sharp teeth that cut skin, so keep it away from walkways, play areas and pet runs.
- Dense palmetto is natural cover for snakes and other wildlife, so keep it back from doors and tidy the edges.
Saw Palmetto questions we hear
Is saw palmetto salt tolerant?+
Yes, it is one of the best palms for salt. UF/IFAS lists its salt tolerance as moderate to high, and it grows naturally in coastal scrub. It handles salt spray on canal and Gulf-side lots, wind and poor sandy soil, and it also holds up well in hurricanes.
How fast does saw palmetto grow?+
Slowly. It forms a creeping trunk that takes many years to spread, which is why a 7 or 25 gallon plant gives you shape now. In return it needs almost no water, fertilizer or trimming once established.
Can you dig up a wild saw palmetto and replant it?+
You can try, but success is poor. UF/IFAS notes saw palmettos are best started from containers and are difficult to transplant from the field. Nursery-grown plants come with an intact root ball and settle in. If you are clearing a lot, use container-grown plants instead.
Updated October 2026
Get a planted price on Saw Palmetto
Tell us what and how many. Quinten prices it from the nursery's live list and texts you back, usually within the hour during the day.
Only need the plant delivered, no planting? It is on our nursery's list at Palm & Plant Co.
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We deliver and plant across Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples, Estero, Bonita Springs and about an hour around.