((Butia x Jubaea) x Jubaea) v.s east coast heat and humidity

[Merlyn]

That's a gorgeous palm!  If I'm reading the above right, it's about 11 years old from a seedling and is a Butia x Jubaea x Jubaea cross, correct?

[swolf]

RJ, I planted it once it outgrew the ‘tall’ (Steve brand) 5 gallon pot.  But in general I’d encourage pampering them in a pot until larger.  Yes, Merlyn2220, that’s correct.  I appreciate the expressions.  Nice thing is that these Jubaea crosses should be sustainable even in most zone 8 areas.

Steve

[RJ]

36 minutes ago, swolf said:

RJ, I planted it once it outgrew the ‘tall’ (Steve brand) 5 gallon pot.  But in general I’d encourage pampering them in a pot until larger.  Yes, Merlyn2220, that’s correct.  I appreciate the expressions.  Nice thing is that these Jubaea crosses should be sustainable even in most zone 8 areas.

Steve

I plan on ordering a few. Looks like it will be awhile before they hit the ground though per your suggestion. Did the ones that failed to thrive do so relatively quickly? 

 

 

[swolf]

Auto-spell check error — Stewe (itself a typo of Stuewe) is the pot manufacturer.

RJ, if you’re getting seedlings, it’s good that you’re planning to buy a few since they’re variable and it can take some time to see their ‘true colors’ in terms of vigor and humidity tolerance.  Seems the JxB F1 are more consistent, but both crosses are great buys.

Steve

[RJ]

 

13 minutes ago, swolf said:

Auto-spell check error — Stewe (itself a typo of Stuewe) is the pot manufacturer.

RJ, if you’re getting seedlings, it’s good that you’re planning to buy a few since they’re variable and it can take some time to see their ‘true colors’ in terms of vigor and humidity tolerance.  Seems the JxB F1 are more consistent, but both crosses are great buys.

Steve

I figured you intended Stuewe and Son. I've used them for years. 

 

I have a few BxJ F1's but would like to include a few JxB F1's in my garden. I have not considered ((BXJ)XJ) but perhaps I should give them a whirl as well. I'll probably order them up within the month.

 

 

[swolf]

Here’s a smaller one that shows nice form and glaucous/silvery underside to leaves whereas most show more green.  Not a vigorous grower (my meager fert hasn’t helped) but I bet it will be a looker when it eventually attains adult size.  Hope the cell phone camera caught at least some of the beauty: 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

Always nice to see pics of Jubaea hybrids. Especially for us in the Southeast that will prolly never have a trunking Jubaea =/ 

[yabazid]

I think we should make a separate thread for the southeast Jubaea hybrids growers so we don’t get confused by growth rates and conditions of other growers in more favorable conditions 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

@OC2Texaspalmlvr when did you move to the Southeast, lol?

All kidding aside there is a very large pure jubaea in san Antonio and a few that are most likely trunking right now northeast of you in Cleveland.  I havent seen those in person in a few years as you have to drive 700' through a locked gate on private property to view them. They were 8' tall 4 years ago and planted out as 15g plants in 2007-2008. 

Ive said it many times that I believe Jubaea not being able to handle humidity is a load of BS. Just because they wont grow in Florida doesnt mean they cant handle humidity.  I know of many pure jubaea that have been growing on the swamps edge in Louisianna for the last 12 years and look just as nice or better than any california plant.  There are a number of pure jubaea, albeit smaller, in houston and per the climate data below has had more days with heat indices above 105 than any other major city besides New Orleans in the last 40 years.  If they did heat hours instead of raw days i would bet Houston would come out on top in the 95 degree category as well because you don't have daily convective showers like peninsular florida experiences most of the summer which dramatically cools things off in the afternoon. Houston is quite oppressive given it's a full zone or more colder than st pete and miami with their much longer growing season. 

  https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/US/hot-humid-days-cities.php

So to summarize if jubaea grows in Houston it will grow anywhere in the south east if there isnt an issue with the soil.  I believe the issue is specifically nematode related much like trachycarpus which will grow just fine in houston and in pots in peninsular florida.

That's my two cents. 

[Fusca]

56 minutes ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

@OC2Texaspalmlvr when did you move to the Southeast, lol?

Southeast Texas?  

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

26 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Southeast Texas?  

yup yup haha OK were just the south !!! @TexasColdHardyPalms I really hope your right about the humidity thing. I so want a trunking Jubaea,  if not ill take ever Jubaea hybrid I have room for =) 

I believe @meteorologistpalmguy is growing a pure Jubaea in North Houston and was doing well the last time I heard 

[Swolte]

@TexasColdHardyPalms, do you know if these Jubaea were growing in clay soil, by any chance? I wonder, since nematode activity is higher in sandy soils. 

~ S  

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Clay in lousiana and the texas ones have been in a sandy loam. The ones here in pure sand and sandy loam do better than the ones in clay but that probably has more to do with sun exposure than the soil. They need afternoon shade here to do the best. Theyll tolerate full sun but they dont look the best or grow as fast.  Dappled shade is better than full sun. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

I have been giving my seedling full thinking thats what it wanted but the tips have been turning a dark brown. Maybe I'll move it to get some aftenoon shade. Lots of growth but very compact so far. Definitely the slowest palm im growing. 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Jubaea are a lot like trithrinax. They need to put out an insane amount of roots before they start growing quickly.  I think the harsh environment they live in has programmed them to grow this way since really tough times could be around the corner at any moment.  Jubaea is probably the most drought tolerant palm that we grow. Brahea armata, t. Campestris are close but i think jubaea would come out on top.   

[swolf]

I didn’t yet get to cleanup and take an updated photo of the above curvy favorite but here is the nearby sibling with white petioles.  These BJxJ are pretty varied in form.  I hope the crown expands to catch up with the fairly thick trunk.  This palm started flowering in 2022.  

[swolf]

Newer photo of original (curvy) BJxJ.  You can see the trunk some from this angle since I whacked more lower fronts damaged by palm skeletonizer 🤨.  Time to get off the couch and spray some insecticide.

[Alberto]

On 1/13/2023 at 4:08 PM, swolf said:

I didn’t yet get to cleanup and take an updated photo of the above curvy favorite but here is the nearby sibling with white petioles.  These BJxJ are pretty varied in form.  I hope the crown expands to catch up with the fairly thick trunk.  This palm started flowering in 2022.  

What is the circunference of the trunk of this (BxJ)x J? I' d like to compare to my B. eriospatha x Jubaea....

[swolf]

Hi Alberto, nice to see you posting again!  I’ll have to get back to you on your question tho.  Both siblings I posted pics of are quite thick trucked — I’ll try to remember to measure the diameter of one or both later this week.

[swolf]

@Alberto This cross is thick trunked but certainly not as thick as most of the JxB F1s.  All good since the crowns also seem a bit more compact — good proportions!

Anyhow, from another angle, the BJxJ in front looks attractive and more reminiscent of the standout BJxJ behind it.  Even palms have good camera ‘sides’ and bad ones 😏