Saw Palmetto
Serenoa repens
The backbone shrub of the Southeastern pine flatwoods and scrub — low, sprawling clumps of fan-shaped fronds (green or a striking silver-blue) on creeping woody stems, with saw-toothed leaf stalks. Slow but nearly indestructible: fire-, drought-, and salt-proof. Its fragrant spring flowers are a premier nectar source (palmetto honey), and the black berries feed bears, birds, and more.
- Family
- Arecaceae
- Type
- shrub
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 3–7 ft
- Spacing
- 4–10 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- April, May, June
- Bloom colors
- white, cream
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, mammals
- Landscape uses
- specimen, naturalizing, erosion control
- Native states
- AL, FL, GA, MS, SC