Euterpe oleracea cold tolerance

[Zeeth]

What zone would you rate the Euterpe oleracea at? Is it more or less tender than say, a Cocos nucifera? I was looking into this palm, but I wanted to know if it would just die in the winter. Thanks

Keith

[edric]

I lost both of mine last year at 47 or so, in my opinion it's to cold in Miami for this palm, Ed

[amazondk]

It´s native to equatoral lowland Brazil if that heips,

dk

[Palmə häl′ik]

I'd think you'd be alright down there Keith. It's a 10a palm right?

<edit> Whoops. No it's not. I must've been thunkin' bout E.Edulis

[Zeeth]

I'd think you'd be alright down there Keith. It's a 10a palm right?

<edit> Whoops. No it's not. I must've been thunkin' bout E.Edulis

So E.Edulis is more hardy? Is the quality of the fruit from these much less? I know there is less pulp, but that doesn't necessarily make the fruit bad

Keith

[Tyrone]

You can get a E edulis X oleracea now. They survived in our nursery last winter, and E oleracea doesn't stand a chance in our winters. It should give you the best of both worlds.

Best regards

Tyrone

[palmsOrl]

In Betrock's Guide to Landscape Palms, Euterpe oleracea is one of the few palms listed as being for zone 11 + only.

-Michael

[Davidl]

I lost a E edulis X oleracea last year after the temps got close to freezing but if you never get to that you should be ok.

[mnorell]

I have some of the dwarf (commercial) form of E. edulis in seedling size, in full shade but with no additional heating (yet). We are in the midst of a terrible record cold-spell right now and the temp this morning was 41.7F, the high was only 60.7F. The plants, at least right now, look gorgeous, not a scratch on them and no other outward sign of cold. I believe I've read that at least this form has survived typical central Florida winter temps and recovered from temps around freezing. Of course E. edulis is both much more cool and cold-tolerant, and I've been trying to get my hands on those hybrids as well...

[Davidl]

E. edulis is more cold hardy for me at least so far. Last year it was not hurt at all when the E. edulis x oleracea died.

[amazondk]

I would imagine that the traits of one palm to another may not be passed along to the hybrid always. The area where the E. edulis is native s much different than that of the Euterpe olearcea. The area where the E. olearcea is native is the river delta area of the Amazon River. This is at sea level on the equator. The E. edulis grows along the southern coast of Brazil in the coastal mountains. It may not freeze frequently where they grow, but it does get pretty cold. I am going to try some E. edulis here. They should grow alright. Since cold is not an issue, it may be the lack of a cool season that impacts them somewhat.

dk

[MattyB]

Euterpe edulis was a real champ in our freeze of '07. Many saw mid 20's and suffered no damge. Amazing!

[SunnyFl]

I have some of the dwarf (commercial) form of E. edulis in seedling size, in full shade but with no additional heating (yet). We are in the midst of a terrible record cold-spell right now and the temp this morning was 41.7F, the high was only 60.7F. The plants, at least right now, look gorgeous, not a scratch on them and no other outward sign of cold. I believe I've read that at least this form has survived typical central Florida winter temps and recovered from temps around freezing. Of course E. edulis is both much more cool and cold-tolerant, and I've been trying to get my hands on those hybrids as well...

Dwarf edulis? (the ears perk up) Where oh where might I find one?

How cold did you get? I was driving across the glades yesterday and my car thermom read 55. And it felt like it, too. This gonna be a bad winter and, I'll bet, a long one. Wet & cold - just what palms hate.

[mnorell]

Sorry! I meant to say the dwarf form of E. oleracea, not edulis. It is called 'Pará Dwarf' and is said to flower and fruit at a small size (3ft), and thus easily grown in containers to protect it from extreme cold. The fruit are also supposedly quite large, this being because it has been selected over time for its commercial qualities. I got mine from someone in Ft Myers through a large online auction site, I don't know whether he's a palm society member so think I'm forbidden to mention the name here. However he says it has survived 30F in his yard in Ft Myers. If you Google it you should find a source, I have seen several vendors offering this form of the plant.

I think it's well established that E. edulis is much hardier to cold and freezing temps than E. oleracea, but because of oleracea's clustering habit, there's at least some possibility it could recover from a freeze by sprouting from underground. E. edulis, being a solitary palm, would of course die if the bud were destroyed in a freeze. It's a little depressing to hear that the clustering hybrid that has been recently distributed appears to not have much hardiness.

Edited October 20, 2009 by mnorell

[DoomsDave]

Get edulis instead. I've got a number here in Shangri La Habra, and they do okay, much better in the summer. They should grow like gangbusters for you, but beware of frost.

[Palmə häl′ik]

You may be able to get away with a E. precatoria too Keith.

[peachy]

E. edulis and E. espiritosantensis both do well here and are unaffected by cold or a mild touch of frost. E. oleracae on the other keels over in a cool breeze. Anyhow, oleracae is a clumping species and we all know how ugly most of them are.

Peachy

[Paul The Palm Doctor!]

Euterpe I would think is slightly more hardy than Cocos nucifera, but only by 2 degrees F. (and that's ONLY perhaps.)

Paul

[amazondk]

Peachy,

I do not know about the merits of clumping palms or not. But, in my climate with enough room E. olearcea can create some great effects. Since they grow everywhere you look they are not hard to find. And, ones that are just sort of neglected sometimes look the best.

dk

[Palmə häl′ik]

Nice palms Don. Thanks.

[Tyrone]

You may be able to get away with a E. precatoria too Keith.

I lost a lot of my E precatoria's from Don in my unheated cold frame in winter. They were doing so well until mid winter they started to drop. It never went below 6 or 7C in there and generally got to 20C or more during the day. I have 3 left now, so maybe they're the strong ones which will kick along and get stronger this summer. Still, I doubt they'd make it outside for me. E edulis orange crownshaft were right next to them and they stayed a nice dark green all winter long. I would like to try the E oleracea Para Dwarf if they have some cool tolerance, also the E edulis X oleracea which made it through winter at the nursery. I'm intrigued that the E espiritantos (spelt wrongly) went well in the cold for Peachy. I must look out for that one again.

Best regards

Tyrone

[PalmatierMeg]

I have the feeling the E. oleracea seedlings I planted in the shade garden this spring will soon be goners. Guess I better plan their replacements.

[osideterry]

I had to look up E. espiritosantensis (aka E. edulis sp orange crownshaft). Here is a photo from the PACSOA site. I've never heard of this Euterpe before, but if it's hardiness is similar to edulis, I'm very interested in trying it.

[mnorell]

Terry, I think E. espiritosantensis may very well be different from what some vendors are selling as 'orange crownshaft.' RPS makes a distinction on their website between the two, and other seed/plant-vendors have also been selling the non-specific E. 'orange crownshaft.' This latter plant apparently comes from a cold-winter area of Argentina, whereas E. espiritosantensis comes from a much more tropical area of Brasil. This has been discussed recently in another thread...not sure if any consensus was reached, however. I wonder if Peachy might have the cold-provenance orange Euterpe, as I think there's certainly been some confusion on this topic.

Don, those oleraceas in your pix are fabulous things...what a shame you have to look at those all day long!!

[amazondk]

Michael,

It is hard to deal with seeing these things all over town. And, on top of that they re mixed in with Euterpe precatoria and Mauritia flexuosa.

Regarding the E. espirtosantensis they are native to an area of the coastal range north of Rio de Janeiro in the state of Espirito Santos. This area gets cool and even freezes up high in the mountains. But, my guess would be that they are less hardy than the E. edulis from further south.

Tyrone, Sorry to here about the E. precatoria that I sent over. I hope some make it. The only place that gets near or below freezing around here is run by electricity and normally full of food.

dk

[Tyrone]

Michael,

It is hard to deal with seeing these things all over town. And, on top of that they re mixed in with Euterpe precatoria and Mauritia flexuosa.

Regarding the E. espirtosantensis they are native to an area of the coastal range north of Rio de Janeiro in the state of Espirito Santos. This area gets cool and even freezes up high in the mountains. But, my guess would be that they are less hardy than the E. edulis from further south.

Tyrone, Sorry to here about the E. precatoria that I sent over. I hope some make it. The only place that gets near or below freezing around here is run by electricity and normally full of food.

dk

It was definitely worth a try Don, and I thank you for your generosity. Even if the remaining ones live in the tunnel for a few more years will make it worth it as it's a beautiful palm. I've heard of some succeeding with this one in areas like mine and some failing, so maybe it's an individual plant thing, or maybe there are some E precatoria's which come from higher altitude that have some cool tolerance??????? Right now, I'd probably rate E precatoria as tropical as Verschafeltia splendida and some of the Seychelles palms. Still I love the genus and will grow every Euterpe (and Prestoea which is closely related) as I can get my hands on and has half a chance in my climate.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Palm Guy]

Want to try this palm out but not sure if it will like our cool winters either.

Im growing both E. Edulis sp Orange Crownshaft and E. Espiritosantensis. The only noticeable difference is that the coloration is slightly more pinkish on the E. Espiritosantesis and the Orange Crownshaft species has a more orangey/marroon color. They both seem to be picking up in speed as the cool season progresses.

[peachy]

Well Don, I admit they are nice looking palms but wouldnt they be so much nice if only they were singles.

Peachy

[amazondk]

Peachy, I

I guess taste is a persnsal thing. I like many clumping palms. But there are a lot of single trnckin E. precatorias around as well.

dk

[peachy]

Now that is what I call a pretty palm. Neat, tidy and one can see all the nice features that give it such good looks, features that are indistinct in a clumper.

Peachy

[amazondk]

Peachy,

I have to agree with you about that. I personally think that the E. prectaoria is one of the most beautiful palm trees around. I am putting in several groves of them on my country place.

dk

[peachy]

I have never seen them for sale here or I would probably have one by now. Grrr

Peachy

[DoomsDave]

Don, what a screamingly beautiful world we live in!

More pics of the ollies!

[palman]

In the US, I'd say south of Alligator Alley near the coast only.