Butia Collection with variations including hybrids!

[NESH]

Hello PalmTalkers and Butia fans!

First off I am very grateful to have this wonderful site to learn so much from and be able to share with folks who enjoy palms as much as I do. Today I wanted to share with you some pictures and descriptions of several Butia palms I have acquired over the years. I have always been fascinated with Butia. Their overall variability including color and their overall toughness for a feather leaf palm has made them one of my favorites. Clearly not the crowd pleaser or a fan favorite, I do consider them a good investment and reliable palm for any southern California garden. They are always an easy grow and most sizes including boxed plants are available from almost any nursery. As a matter of fact I don’t believe I have ever lost a Butia! I can’t say the same for any other genus, even Chamaerops.

I have enjoyed grabbing different variations of Butia as I have visited many nurseries during the past several years. I was always on the lookout and did my best to grab anything that appeared unique or had an unusual characteristic. Many of these palms were acquired from big box stores and were selected for their uniqueness which stood out amongst the many to choose from. I have always suspected some of these palms were most likely hybrids. With Phil Bergman’s (junglemusic) recent video on identifying hybrids I was able to key a few of them out. Here is his video in case you have not seen it.

http://ftp.junglemusic.net/Butia%20X%20Jubaea%20,%20hooks%20and%20zig%20zag.wmv

Please feel free to share any ideas or feedback about the palms or what they may be.

Although they can be discouraging with their relatively slow growth, it does seem speed picks up once a trunk develops like many other palms. Here they are, enjoy!

Butia 1.

This was planted from a small 24” box in 2011. The palm has been slowly been shaded out with surrounding plants, I am constantly cutting back leaves of taller palms to allow more heat to it. This particular palm has a very light blue color and has a very droopy appearance. Perhaps the light conditions are contributing to this.

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Butia 1 (continued)

Butia 2&3.

These two palms were acquired around 2011 as 1 gallon plants. They appeared to have some of the hybrid characteristics when first planted. The one in the front is now showing “hooks” and does appear to be a hybrid. These palms have also unfortunately become shaded out and this has contributed to mediocre overall growth.

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Butia 4

This palm distinctively stood out while selecting it from a large group of 5 gallon Butia palms around 2010. It carried a blue/green color and the leaf arrangement was different. I kept it potted for 2 years and finally planted it in 2012. Just recently it began to put out the hooks, lightning bolts, flabs and other indicator of a Butia x Jubea hybrid!

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Butia 4 (continued)

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Butia 5

This palm was selected amongst several 5 gallon plants in 2012 and it appeared to show a considerable more amount of leaf sheath fiber. Once planted it began to exhibit an unusual leaf pattern not common for Butias. So far no other signs of hybrid on this one.

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Butia 6

This Butia has always held a light baby blue color. You will notice the leaflets are all held up and not in a droopy fashion such as Butia #1. The interesting thing about this palm is the petiole is smooth until you get down hear the trunk and even then they are very subtle. It gives the palm a very clean look and you would not be able to detect any thorns unless you carefully looked!

[NESH]

Butia 7

This was planted in 2011 as a 24” box and was selected from 100s of Butias noticing it had begun to trunk and flower at a very small size. I was intrigued by the fact it was “dwarfed” and bought it as a 24” box even though it was no larger than a 15 gallon. This palm has remained very small compared to most butia, the overall trunk size no larger than a shovel. Notice it has almost no petioles.

[NESH]

Butia 8

This palm came from bluebell nursery as a 15 gallon plant. This palm stood out for being very brown in the trunk including the boots. You will notice most Butias take on a different color on the boots. I was told this one produces red fruit however it is yet to flower and seed. Nothing else too special about this one at this stage.

[NESH]

Butia 9

This palm was also selected from a large group of Butias for sale. It always had a queen palm looking trunk. It DOES NOT exhibit any of the common characteristics of a hybrid, however it has always stood out to me and left me wondering what it is.

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Butia 10

Also selected from a large group of Butias, this one has always had an interesting color and had boots that turned a darker color as they aged. Nothing else too exciting about this one.

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Butia 10 (continued)

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Butia 11

This is a double that I acquired a 5 gallon in 2012 from lowes. The color and leaf structure stood out even at that small size. It struggled for a few years but recently began to put out new healthy leaves that showed the characteristics of a hybrid with the hooks and all.

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Butia 12

This is a Butia that I found at a random small nursery that had no other Butias for sale. It is the most standard looking of all my Butias including the color, thorns and leaf structure. It was different than my others so it joined the collection!

[NESH]

Butia 13

This appears to be the same palm as Butia 11 but as a single. This was just planted 2 weeks ago from a 5 gallon. It shows some small hooks and exhibits the same color and leaf structure as the others that turned out to be possible hybrids.

[NESH]

Butia 14

This one is a dog. Its one of those palms that are ugly in a cool way. The trunk does not create boots in the fashion we are used to seeing in Butia. Its trunk is very wooly and the entire palm is not very large. This was selected from a large group of Butias because it looked nothing like a Butia! I don’t know if this a cross or just an ugly Butia. Either way I like it!

[NorthFlpalmguy]

Very nice collection! Butia's are my favorite.

[SailorBold]

Very Nice.. and thank you for sharing. They are great palms and the foliage very resistant to frost (which is why I like them and the hybrids too...)

But OTOH..... Very confusing.. and still even to this day some of the palms in my collection.. I am unclear as to what they are.

Butia.... The Washingtonia of the Southern Hemisphere... but worse....

[Brad Mondel]

It's good to know someone else shares the same love for Butia as I do!

Edited July 15, 2015 by ArchAngeL01

[NESH]

Sailorbold, "confusing" is a very fitting word for this genus.

ArchAngeL01, they really are underrated and underused, well at least not in my garden.

[Josh-O]

this genus is sooooooooooooooooooo susceptible to hybridization

Heck, you can even grow the same specie in full sun and another in shade and they will look totally different.

[Brad Mondel]

I couldn't help but notice some of the butias are over pruned. How come? Just lack of space?

[Alberto]

Thanks for sharing! I also like Butias very much!