Sabal minor makes a fine addition to the landscape. I do get eyebrows raised when I speak of its virtues. This shrub-type palm with large palmate leaves has been documented to withstand temperatures of minus 15 degrees. Cold hardiness of palms and some trees and shrubs is determined by how much hardening off has occurred before the cold weather starts. In other words, if it was 80 degrees the day before the minus 15 cold snap, forget it.
Opinions differ about the cold hardiness of palms.
For instance, some reference books say the Sabal palmetto is more cold hardy than the Sabal minor. While it may be prettier, I have not found it to withstand temperatures anywhere near what our native Sabal minor can withstand. Ga. The needle palm forms clumps and usually doesn't even blink when the temperature reaches zero. Some people have had theirs defoliate at minus 16 degrees but bounce right back in the spring. These palms usually reach about 4 feet in height.