Butia x Parajubaea

[Alberto]

I know that Parajubaea's are very particular about transplanting and Butia´s are easy.

What about the hybrid? Have somebody tried to transplant young palms??? thanks!

[PalmGuyWC]

Alberto,

I live in a harsh climate with chilly winters and frost off and on for 3 or 4 months, then extreme heat in the summer. I usually plant in the ground when the palms are slightly root bound in 5 gal. containers, and that usually means with 2 or more divided fronds. When planting a palm (of any kind) I have a hole of amanded soil ready to accept the palm, and I don't allow the roots to dry out. That means the palm is slid out of it's container with minimum root exposure and planted in 5 minutes. Adjustments might have to be made to make sure the palm is planted at the proper level. I usually plant in late spring or early summer when the ground has warmed up.

I followed the above procedure when I planted my Butia X Parajubaea. The root ball stayed intact as it was slightly root bound, and the palm never skipped a beat, in fact it exploded with growth and has never slowed down. I followed the same procedure with a P TVT and got the same results. I am particulary carefull with Parajubaeas not to disturb the root ball.

When I get a new palm I usually grow it up in as much sun as possible and let it grow for a year or two before I plant it. That way, the palm is sun harden and accustomed to my climate. All of the Cocoid hybrids like a sunny spot with as much sun as you can give them and regular watering.

Dick

[iamjv]

My BxP went into the ground as a large 1 gallon plant... I opted to plant it in the ground for it wasn't doing much for me in the container. It has done better since I placed it in the ground.

Both of my BxS and BxJ went into the ground as a 3 gallon and 5 gallon (respectively). Each never missed a beat and are doing well.

Jv

[Alberto]

Thank you Dick and Jv!

Maybe I wasn´t clear enough .... I want to know if the hybrid is easy or difficult to dig up and tranplant to another place or pot.... Thank you!!!

[Charles Wychgel]

Maybe I wasn´t clear enough .... I want to know if the hybrid is easy or difficult to dig up and tranplant to another place or pot.... Thank you!!!

Alberto,I would like to know this also but I doubt if anyone could give you an answer, these hybrids are so rare and expensive....I only have one so would never take the risk.

[PalmGuyWC]

I would never move my Butia X Parajubea either.......since it's in the best place I could find with sun most of the day. Mine has a basket ball size trunk now, and is to big to move. Since they are so robust, and butias move eaisly, I expect you coud move your hybrid with ease. Once planted, I have rarely moved palms since I give a great deal of thought they are getting planted in the right place. Alberto, if your move yours, let us know the outcome. How about a before and after picture?

Dick

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

Alberto, I can tell you a little about this. My Butia X Parajubaea cocoides (Patrick) are pretty tough. They were bought as small liners and grew very quickly. I re-potted into one gallon pots which quickly rooted into the ground. I had to break the roots out of the ground to put them into my heated winter greenhouse. The next spring they were re-potted to 3 gallon. They again rooted into the ground and had to be pulled from the ground to go into the greenhouse. The greenhouse was shaded and cold but they grew well there. The next spring I was very busy and left them there until mid summer. When I went to move them they were rooted so well into the ground that I decided to leave them till next spring. By then they were getting big and were very well rooted into the ground. I had to really work hard to tear, cut, and pull them out, and broke many roots. I put them into 15 gallon pots and they took off with growth. By the end of summer they had roots into the ground again and so again they were ripped out for winter storage. Last winter, in their un-heated and shaded greenhouse they got down to 14F two or three times. They had spear pull in the spring but made a full recovery with copper fungicide poured into the spear. They are today still very healthy. This tells me that they are not so delicate about root breakage and are pretty cold hardy as well as having strong recovery abilities.

[PalmGuyWC]

Jeff,

It's pretty incredable that your B X P has survived 14 F (-10C) several times. Nigel from the UK reported that his took 18F and below freezing many times with no damage. I have raved about this hybrid before, but I can't say enough good things about it. I would imagine when they grow up and have a woody trunk they will be even more cold hardy. Of all the hybrids that Patrick S. has done, this is my favorite hybrid. It has a very distinctive apperance and grows very fast. Mine even grows in very cool weather, and it leaps in the warmer months.

Recently Patrick has crossed Butia with Parajubaea Sunkha and TVT, but they are very small yet. I can hardly wait to see what they develop into. they should be even more cold hardy since P. cocoides is the most cold sensitive of the group. I can imagine Butia X P. TVT will be a very robust, large, tough palm.

Dick

[Darold Petty]

Hello to all, I have nothing to contribute to this discussion. However, I just started to post pictures, and I wanted to show the pollen donor for Patrick's BxP cross. This is my Parajubaea cocoides,.. an older picture, it has about 1 meter additional trunk now.

[PalmGuyWC]

Hi Darold,

Thanks for posting a pic of your P. cocoides. I'm sure it's the largest one growing in San Francisco, and is also the daddy to many hybrids growing around the globe.

Dick

[Vic]

Hello to all, I have nothing to contribute to this discussion. However, I just started to post pictures, and I wanted to show the pollen donor for Patrick's BxP cross. This is my Parajubaea cocoides,.. an older picture, it has about 1 meter additional trunk now.

Hi Darold, that is a great looking palm and i presume the Daddy of my new Hybrid i got from Patric. Can i ask you how old it is? Any chance of a more recent picture? give you an excuse to try out your new picture posting skills

Cheers

Vic

Edited December 13, 2008 by Vic

[PalmGuyWC]

Vic,

In case Darold didn't see your recent post, I can assure you his P. cocoides is the daddy of your B X P hybrid. His is the only one that is accessible in the entire San Francisco Bay area. There are some mature ones growing in our Palmatum in Oakland, but they are to tall to reach the inflorescences.

Darold lives just a short distance from the Pacific Ocean and in one of the cooler parts of San Francisco. It is often foggy there. It's a pity that Parajubaeas aren't all over San Francisco, but they are so new to cultivation and most people have never heard of them. It's my dream to see a dozen planted in Union Square which is the most visited park in San Francisco.

Darold and I recently donated some Parajubaeas and Ceroxylons to the the Strybing arboretum in San Francisco, so we hope to see them growing there soon. Keep us posted on how your B X P hybrid is doing in the UK.

Dick

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

Alberto, I can tell you a little about this. My Butia X Parajubaea cocoides (Patrick) are pretty tough. They were bought as small liners and grew very quickly. I re-potted into one gallon pots which quickly rooted into the ground. I had to break the roots out of the ground to put them into my heated winter greenhouse. The next spring they were re-potted to 3 gallon. They again rooted into the ground and had to be pulled from the ground to go into the greenhouse. The greenhouse was shaded and cold but they grew well there. The next spring I was very busy and left them there until mid summer. When I went to move them they were rooted so well into the ground that I decided to leave them till next spring. By then they were getting big and were very well rooted into the ground. I had to really work hard to tear, cut, and pull them out, and broke many roots. I put them into 15 gallon pots and they took off with growth. By the end of summer they had roots into the ground again and so again they were ripped out for winter storage. Last winter, in their un-heated and shaded greenhouse they got down to 14F two or three times. They had spear pull in the spring but made a full recovery with copper fungicide poured into the spear. They are today still very healthy. This tells me that they are not so delicate about root breakage and are pretty cold hardy as well as having strong recovery abilities.

Dick, just to clarify about the temps, these BXP were in a 12 foot x 8 foot PVC pipe and single layer polyethylene enclosure, but with zero added heat and almost 100% shaded, but not from overhead. I looked up the actual temps I recorded and the outside temp was 14F two nights and 16F another night. I don't know what the temp inside the enclosure was but probably not more than two degrees better than the outdoor. But there was no full exposure to the outside elements such as air movement. Still the plants appeared perfect until the cover was removed in April. Then the spears quickly browned even though all other leaves were perfect. You can imagine how horrified I was, but they quickly grew back out. I agree with you that it's a great hybrid and when they get real wood on the trunk they will gain more hardiness.

[Alberto]

Hello to all, I have nothing to contribute to this discussion. However, I just started to post pictures, and I wanted to show the pollen donor for Patrick's BxP cross. This is my Parajubaea cocoides,.. an older picture, it has about 1 meter additional trunk now.

Thanks for the answers!! Darold,also thanks for the pic of my palms daddy!

What are that other palms...I can see a white trunk (Ceroxylon?)and also a nice little clumping palm (Dypsis sp?,baronii?).....

[Darold Petty]

Vic, My Parajubaea was planted as a two leaf seedling directly into the ground in March, of 1983.

Alberto, I left my camera at a family member's home and I won't retrieve it until 25 Dec. I will post a current, and larger photo and identify the palms. Yes, it is Ceroxylon parvifrons, with about 4 m of trunk.

Seasons greetings to all!

[freakypalmguy]

That is a magnificent looking tree and home Darold. I have one of it's offspring as well and look forward to watching it grow.

Matt

[Vic]

Vic,

In case Darold didn't see your recent post, I can assure you his P. cocoides is the daddy of your B X P hybrid. His is the only one that is accessible in the entire San Francisco Bay area. There are some mature ones growing in our Palmatum in Oakland, but they are to tall to reach the inflorescences.

Darold lives just a short distance from the Pacific Ocean and in one of the cooler parts of San Francisco. It is often foggy there. It's a pity that Parajubaeas aren't all over San Francisco, but they are so new to cultivation and most people have never heard of them. It's my dream to see a dozen planted in Union Square which is the most visited park in San Francisco.

Darold and I recently donated some Parajubaeas and Ceroxylons to the the Strybing arboretum in San Francisco, so we hope to see them growing there soon. Keep us posted on how your B X P hybrid is doing in the UK.

Dick

Thanks Dick,

I'm just glad it arrived, the next few months will be critical while it settles in. I will keep it potted for a couple of years, then plant out when its a reasonable size. I'll let you know how it gets on.

Vic

[Vic]

Vic, My Parajubaea was planted as a two leaf seedling directly into the ground in March, of 1983.

Alberto, I left my camera at a family member's home and I won't retrieve it until 25 Dec. I will post a current, and larger photo and identify the palms. Yes, it is Ceroxylon parvifrons, with about 4 m of trunk.

Seasons greetings to all!

Cheers for that Darold, your a lucky man having a parajubaea of that size

[Sandy Loam]

I have just moved my Butia Odorata x Parajubaea Cocoides hybrid from a pot into the ground.  What kind of soil does this hybrid like? (Rocky and dry or moist clay? ... or something else?)  Does it like the soil to remain moist or does it prefer for its roots to dry out fully before its next watering? 

I have planted mine in soil that I would describe as somewhat sandy clay (retains a fair bit of moisture, but not like true clay soil).  I did not plant it on a high-draining slope, so it may be constantly wet during our summer rainy season.   It is certainly not planted in a valley or wet hole, but on the other hand, I did not mound it up with a rocky base or plant it on the side of a slope. Was this a mistake?

Finally, I have planted it a partially sunny, partially shady location.  Hopefully this will work out for my Butia x Parajubaea.

Thanks to anyone who can offer advice on these points, especially soil quality and wetness. 

[Tom in Tucson]

My Butia (mutt) x Parajubaea cocoides is planted in a mix of coir and native desert soil (decomposed granite, caliche and alluvial clay). This hybrid and my Butia paraguayensis x Parajubaea cocoides are fairly drought hardy, but grow much faster with daily water (if warm).

BTW, the exposure is like yours.

HTH,

Tom Birt - Casas Adobes, AZ

Hi 82°, Lo 50°

Edited November 25, 2017 by Tom in Tucson

[Sandy Loam]

Tom, it sounds as though your BxP enjoys a high draining and somewhat coarse soil mixture.  I am now wondering if I should have made amendments to make this palm feel as though it is in a dryer, higher location.  The Butia part of it won't care.  Butias seem to handle all sorts of soil and wet conditions here in northern Florida.  It is the Parajubaea Cocoides part that concerns me.

I just read the Palmpedia entry on this palm.  It says, "not known in the wild."  In other words, it has no natural habitats, making it difficult for us to guess where this palm would like to grow in nature.  However, Palmpedia also says, "full sun, well drained position," which means exactly that.  It would also appear that the Andes mountains are its primary place of cultivation. 

Does anyone else have experience with the soil preferences of this hybrid?  Has it been finicky for anyone in certain types of soil?

[Tom in Tucson]

If the mountain coconut (P. cocoides) part of this hybrid's habitat (which I believe was found a few years ago in Peru near the Ecuador border) is a concern, it shouldn't be. This hybrid does not seem to have any aversion to the same heat levels that a Butia mutt can tolerate. I had the same concern at first and assumed that a Butia mutt x Parajubaea sunkha would be a safer bet. I was wrong.

HTH, Tom Birt - Casas Adobes, AZ

Hi 89°, Lo 50°
 

 

Edited November 26, 2017 by Tom in Tucson