Palm Tree

Sago Palm Tree: A Palm That Is Not A Palm Tree
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios

A Sago Palm Tree is one of the most popular ornamental plants. You can see it everywhere: in hotels, resorts and in well-landscaped gardens. It became a popular landscaping plant because of its pinnately shaped leaves that resemble the leaves of some palm tree species. Yes, the name Sago Palm Tree is a misnomer. It is NOT a palm tree, but as mentioned, an ornamental plant. Its resemblance with the family of palm trees made it earned such a name.

A Sago Palm Tree is a very beautiful evergreen plant, displaying a dark green, thin, pointed, pinnate leaves and bears fruit at the top of the trunk, just like a Coconut Tree. It can be cultured into a 'Bonsai' for it to stay shrub-sized even if it matures. A bonsai Sago Palm Tree is perfect for small home gardens and hotel gazebos. But if the area has enough height to accommodate an 8 feet tall Sago Palm, it would be better to allow it to grow to its maximum height and display its statuesque beauty.

With its beauty, however, lies a danger. Landscapers and horticulturists warn garden owners of Sago Palm's danger to household pets. The Sago Palm Tree is toxic to pets like dogs and cats. If your pet accidentally ingest not just leaves but a fruit, stem or a nick of a Sago Palm's trunk, it may cause vomiting, hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, liver failure or even death to your beloved pet.

You may plant a Sago Palm in your garden if you don't have pets at home. If you do, however, it would be best if you just buy a couple of silk or artificially made Sago Palms. Silk palm trees will not only save you from worrying about your pet's well-being, it will also save you the trouble of trimming and watering.

BIG Mike is a well known author, developer and Adsense expert as well as the owner of Niche Maniacs - a unique Adsense Marketing System designed to build long-term passive income streams from Adsense, Amazon, YPN, Chitika and other PPC services.