Palms trees are becoming more popular in the Augusta area. They are appearing in more landscapes, I see more ads in the paper for them and there is even a nursery called A Palm for You in Martinez.

Joe LeVert, who teaches horticulture at Aquinas High School, is one of the foremost palm experts in the Southeast. He has several planted at the school and is a big promoter of palms in the area.

The cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto) is the one seen the most in the Augusta area. This palm is the state tree of South Carolina and Florida. It grows beautifully in Augusta. There are huge ones around, some as much as 40 feet tall.

Some at the Federal Building complex on Telfair Street are about 80 years old. So they have been through heat, drought and cold weather.

The dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor) grows in swampy areas around places such as Alexander Drive off Washington Road and in many areas around Beech Island. This is a shrub-size palm with bluish leaves, growing 4 to 6 feet tall and equally as wide. The seed of this palm attracts birds. It will grow in sun or light shade.

Another native is the needle palm. (Rhapidophyllum hystix). It is a clumping palm with medium-green leaves, growing slowly to 8 to 10 feet tall. It is one of the easiest palms to grow in the Southeast.

The last of the four native palms is the saw palmetto (Serenoa repens). Many have heard of the health benefits of using an extract from the berries of the saw palmetto. It is a shrubby palm that grows 5 to 10 feet tall, occasionally forming a trunk. Typical plants have green leaves, but blue, silver and white forms are highly prized.

Another palm that does great in clay soils is the Chinese windmill palm (Trachycarpis fortunei). This is the palm you see around Sacred Heart Cultural Center. It has a small trunk, and the crown is not that big, maybe 6 to 8 feet in diameter. They are kind of a delicate palm and have attractive yellow flowers and blue seeds. They will grow in full sun or light shade.

The last of the six palms that can thrive in this area is the jelly palm (Butia capitata). It has a feathery-like leaf and will grow in sand or clay. It is a graceful palm and it has edible fruit. You can eat it right off the tree or make jelly out of it, hence the name. It grows to about 20 to 30 feet tall and does best in full sun.

One of the things people like so much about palms is that they make the landscape look Southern. And their big leaves offer a different aesthetic for the yard when matched with trees or shrubs that have smaller leaves.

The ideal soil for growing most palms is well-drained, fertile and slightly acidic. In many areas around Augusta, soils are heavy, poorly drained and extremely acidic. Fortunately, many palms that are native to swampy areas will do just fine in this type of soil as long as you dig a wide, shallow planting hole and add lime to the soil.

If your soil is heavy clay, it also helps to wash most of the potting soil off the roots before planting. This allows the palm's roots to make better contact with the native soil. The windmill palm actually does better in clay soils. If you plant it in sandy soil, you tend to get nematodes that can kill the palm. But the nematodes don't seem to hurt the other five types of palm that can live in this area.

Most gardeners know that the best time to plant an ornamental tree or shrub is in the fall so the plant will have time to grow roots before the summer heat arrives.

It is just the opposite for palms. The first winter is the most stressful for them, so they are best planted beginning around the first of March and through April. But all the palms mentioned are often planted during other months and usually turn out fine.

Palms will tolerate some drought but when you are first getting them established, you want to keep them well-watered. Even after they're established, palms will perform better if they are kept watered.

Reach Sid Mullis, the director of the University of Georgia Extension Service office in Richmond County, at (706) 821-2349 or smullis@uga.edu..