Acai Palm

[royal-cocoapalm]

I know the Acai palm is indiginous to central and south america and is part of the Arecaceae family but do they grow in south florida at all and for the locals in south fl where are most of them abundant, i dont think ive seen any of them grow around town.

[Nigel]

I know the Acai palm is indiginous to central and south america and is part of the Arecaceae family but do they grow in south florida at all and for the locals in south fl where are most of them abundant, i dont think ive seen any of them grow around town.

I would think it would do very well in Florida, however it is an understory palm and only seems to like direct sunshine when mature. They do best in shade of other taller plants and there is nothing more beautiful in my opinion.

[palmsOrl]

They are very beautiful, but from my understanding, their (Euterpe oleracea)requirement is an ultratropical zone 11 climate. Only the FL Keys would provide this, and I don't know whether they can tolerate salt in the air.

-Michael

[Walt]

I know the Acai palm is indiginous to central and south america and is part of the Arecaceae family but do they grow in south florida at all and for the locals in south fl where are most of them abundant, i dont think ive seen any of them grow around town.

Unless I'm mistaken when I took the below photo, the I.D. sign read that clump of palms are Euterpe oleracea (Acai), growing at Fairchild Tropical Garden, Miami.

[amazondk]

I have a lot of Euterpes around where I live. My favorite is the Euterpe precatoria which is one of the natives here. The Euterpe olearcea grows natively over on the mouth of the Amazon in the state of Para. Both of them will grow in South Florida. But, freezing temperatures will definately do damage. The Euterpe edulis, or juçara palm from southern Brazil is a better choice for anywhere north of Miami. My place is still a bit overgrown as I have not been able to do much maintanence post rainy season. But, hopefully it will get into shape soon.

As to sunlight. I have a group in full sun that have been in the ground now going on 2 years. They are doing well. I have to keep them watered in our dry season though. The small one in the left front corner is the size the larger ones were when I planted them.

Nigel, Actually the E. precatoria is an emergent tree in the forest. Well, it does not get 90 meters tall like some emergent forest trees do. But, the big ones do poke through the canopy. And, they frequently grow in more open areas along river courses and the like. Such as the picture of the mature one below.

My two year old son Caio for scale. This picture was taken two weeks ago.

I have a bunch of them growing in the shade in the secondary forest area of my land. They develop different than the ones in full sun. I think the ones in full sun grow faster.

And, here is a mature E. precatoria down in front of the Mauritia grove on my place. They grow a little higher than the Mauritias and do not like being as wet as the Mauritias. But, they two trees make a great combination.

[Palmsbro]

On 8/29/2010, 12:47:02, royal-cocoapalm said:

I know the Acai palm is indiginous to central and south america and is part of the Arecaceae family but do they grow in south florida at all and for the locals in south fl where are most of them abundant, i dont think ive seen any of them grow around town.

I haven't seen any even where they can be grown (solid UDSA z10a+).

[royal-cocoapalm]

1 minute ago, Palmsbro said:

I haven't seen any even where they can be grown (solid UDSA z10a+).

Yea I haven't seen any grown anywhere in florida either, I'm curious if its just because it needs ultra tropical conditions or is it something else. I have seen other things that need similar conditions that with care can grow in at least south florida, so I'm wondering if its just too difficult, I would love to have my own tree and eat the acai off the tree in florida if possible.

[PalmatierMeg]

I tried several very young one of several Euterpe spp but the record freeze of Jan. 2010 wiped them out. I've decided they are too cold sensitive for my area and have an aversion to my alkaline soil. Too bad because they are lovely.

[Palmsbro]

6 minutes ago, royal-cocoapalm said:

Yea I haven't seen any grown anywhere in florida either, I'm curious if its just because it needs ultra tropical conditions or is it something else. I have seen other things that need similar conditions that with care can grow in at least south florida, so I'm wondering if its just too difficult, I would love to have my own tree and eat the acai off the tree in florida if possible.

Your area (USDA z9a?) is far too cold for this palm.

3 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

I tried several very young one of several Euterpe spp but the record freeze of Jan. 2010 wiped them out. I've decided they are too cold sensitive for my area and have an aversion to my alkaline soil. Too bad because they are lovely.

Maybe they are a USDA zone 10b palm, then (and could maybe survive Miami southwards along the FL keys) or 11a+?

[royal-cocoapalm]

2 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

I tried several very young one of several Euterpe spp but the record freeze of Jan. 2010 wiped them out. I've decided they are too cold sensitive for my area and have an aversion to my alkaline soil. Too bad because they are lovely.

Yea that was the worst freeze all of florida experienced in over 20 years, it was sad to see so much tropical vegetation die off from that experience. I almost feel like they are the most beautiful palm, the fonds are so elegant and seem to hang of the stem so gracefully, I almost feel like I might like it better than the coco palm. The thin bark with the combination of the fonds are what make it unique, plus the bonus is the acai fruit. There has to be someone who has successfully grown one somewhere in florida, apparently they found a way to grow it at the fairchild tropical park but I'm guessing under extreme care.

[PalmatierMeg]

Actually, I'm in zone 10a/b on the FL west coast.

[royal-cocoapalm]

2 minutes ago, Palmsbro said:

Your area (USDA z9a?) is far too cold for this palm.

Maybe they are a USDA zone 10b palm, then (and could maybe survive Miami southwards along the FL keys) or 11a+?

Yea I was referring to mainly south florida (miami, ft lauderdale, palm beach, naples, fort myers) area, I part of the year down there but have yet to find it all the places I've looked, I wonder if it needs more of a amazon environment not just tropical. 

[royal-cocoapalm]

On 8/29/2010, 9:19:09, amazondk said:

I have a lot of Euterpes around where I live. My favorite is the Euterpe precatoria which is one of the natives here. The Euterpe olearcea grows natively over on the mouth of the Amazon in the state of Para. Both of them will grow in South Florida. But, freezing temperatures will definately do damage. The Euterpe edulis, or juçara palm from southern Brazil is a better choice for anywhere north of Miami. My place is still a bit overgrown as I have not been able to do much maintanence post rainy season. But, hopefully it will get into shape soon.

 

As to sunlight. I have a group in full sun that have been in the ground now going on 2 years. They are doing well. I have to keep them watered in our dry season though. The small one in the left front corner is the size the larger ones were when I planted them.

 

Nigel, Actually the E. precatoria is an emergent tree in the forest. Well, it does not get 90 meters tall like some emergent forest trees do. But, the big ones do poke through the canopy. And, they frequently grow in more open areas along river courses and the like. Such as the picture of the mature one below.

 

 

My two year old son Caio for scale. This picture was taken two weeks ago.

 

 

I have a bunch of them growing in the shade in the secondary forest area of my land. They develop different than the ones in full sun. I think the ones in full sun grow faster.

 

 

And, here is a mature E. precatoria down in front of the Mauritia grove on my place. They grow a little higher than the Mauritias and do not like being as wet as the Mauritias. But, they two trees make a great combination.

 

Have you actually seen them growing in south florida, I would like to find them. The last pic with the mature one looks gorgeous, those fonds are amazing. I would agree that they probably do better in full sun like most palms.

[Palmsbro]

5 minutes ago, royal-cocoapalm said:

Yea I was referring to mainly south florida (miami, ft lauderdale, palm beach, naples, fort myers) area, I part of the year down there but have yet to find it all the places I've looked, I wonder if it needs more of a amazon environment not just tropical. 

Have you checked the Florida Keys themselves (especially the Key West area)?

[Palmsbro]

16 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Actually, I'm in zone 10a/b on the FL west coast.

Got it. https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KFMY/2009/7/31/CustomHistory.html?dayend=1&monthend=5&yearend=2010&req_city=&req_s.

The 2009/2010 winter looked pretty bad for your area (31 °F for Ft. Myers!).

13 minutes ago, royal-cocoapalm said:

Have you actually seen them growing in south florida, I would like to find them. The last pic with the mature one looks gorgeous, those fonds are amazing. I would agree that they probably do better in full sun like most palms.

Agreed. I'm not sure what you mean by 'most palms' though as there are plenty of palms that do very well as understory specimens (in both the wild and cultivation), though a lot of them love sun.

I want to see more Euterpe oleracea!