Butia crown rot recovery

[Brad Mondel]

The only Butia I could find locally ended up having crown rot so I did some surgery and applications of hydrogen peroxide. Within 24 hours the palm began to grow. Here it is two weeks later: 

looks like a sprouted coconut! 

[smithgn]

Very cool, always nice to bring a palm back from the dead. I was scared the first time I was "sawing" my palm but it's pretty straight forward and easy. Congrats on the recovery!

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Butia are tough and very under used in zone 8 for some reason.  

[Brad Mondel]

5 hours ago, smithgn said:

Very cool, always nice to bring a palm back from the dead. I was scared the first time I was "sawing" my palm but it's pretty straight forward and easy. Congrats on the recovery!

Yes it's scary to think about mutilating any palm but in these cases it's necessary to save their lives. Kinda like emergency surgery lol. 

[Brad Mondel]

5 hours ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Butia are tough and very under used in zone 8 for some reason.  

I agree, only a handful are grown around these parts, most people have Trachycarpus and I think it's because the local nurseries only carry those and promote them as the hardiest. 

[smithgn]

The few Butias I have seen in Greenville were dead. The Red Lobster near Bob Jones had a few and they were fried last time I was up there which was March of last year. Windmills are the best bet in Greenville and I really have no idea why people don't grow them more up there. It's almost a perfect fit since it's a tad bit cooler up there.

[Brad Mondel]

11 hours ago, smithgn said:

The few Butias I have seen in Greenville were dead. The Red Lobster near Bob Jones had a few and they were fried last time I was up there which was March of last year. Windmills are the best bet in Greenville and I really have no idea why people don't grow them more up there. It's almost a perfect fit since it's a tad bit cooler up there.

I've noticed that too, I see a lot of windmills in people's yards when driving by. I've also seen Butias and Sabals. If I have to protect mine every now and then I don't mind. There is a mature Butia on Wade Hampton. It looks beat up but still alive. 

[NorthFlpalmguy]

It'll look funny for awhile but probably pull through. They're shipped up there by the thousands around you so maybe they aren't surviving is all I can think.  Moorehead City, Emerald Isle, Surf City, NC etc all should have Butia everywhere. There's a guy with a 40 acre field of pindos just across the NC line.

[Palm crazy]

Its on it way to a full recovery. Love seeing pics like this and with your summer heat it will look pretty good by the end of summer! Like nothing happen! 

[Brad Mondel]

Thanks everyone! I'll definitely post updated pictures later. I wish I could find Butias for sale in containers here but so far the only place that has them are too big. Tons of Rhapidophyllum and Chamaerops however.  

[Howeadypsis]

Nice job! Hydrogen peroxide, isn't that bleach?

[Brad Mondel]

It has a mild bleaching effect but no it's not exactly bleach. It can be used as a base for making non chlorine bleach. 

[willials]

Excellent photos. I wasn't sure if you were posting from SC or Cali. I see Pindos all over the place when in Cali. During Christmas Break, we vacationed in Dana Point and the city has hundreds of Butia near the downtown area. Maybe they are more on the fringe of the climate zone in SC? I know they are here in the PNW. I have one in my backyard near Seattle (pic below). There are a couple of local palm dealers who have them, but they extremely rare to see in this area. I've seen a few mature hybrids here but no pure Butias planted here other than mine. They are extremely slow growing here due to the cool summers but mine hasn't died through our mild wet winters either. They sometimes get leaf damage but that's it.

Butia in Seattle (3 years in ground)...

[Brad Mondel]

16 hours ago, willials said:

Excellent photos. I wasn't sure if you were posting from SC or Cali. I see Pindos all over the place when in Cali. During Christmas Break, we vacationed in Dana Point and the city has hundreds of Butia near the downtown area. Maybe they are more on the fringe of the climate zone in SC? I know they are here in the PNW. I have one in my backyard near Seattle (pic below). There are a couple of local palm dealers who have them, but they extremely rare to see in this area. I've seen a few mature hybrids here but no pure Butias planted here other than mine. They are extremely slow growing here due to the cool summers but mine hasn't died through our mild wet winters either. They sometimes get leaf damage but that's it.

Butia in Seattle (3 years in ground)...

I'm currently in South Carolina. When I was in California I visited Seattle, Vancouver, Portland and I saw many Trachycarpus but I never saw any Butias. I'm surprised how well it's growing for you knowing how wet you guys stay in the winter. 

[Brad Mondel]

Five days from the above photo! Amazing growth: 

[PalmTreeDude]

Amazing what these plants can do!

[willials]

Wow! Super hardy!

[Las Palmas Norte]

NIce one there willials. There was and likely still is, a nice one in Bremerton. The owner sold and moved on but the Butia remained.

click here >>> Bremerton Butia  (scroll down for Butia pics)

One of the Palm enthusiasts here on Vancouver Island has a sizeable Butia with a good 3' or 4' of trunk. Flowers and sets seed each year. I recall seeing a beast in Tacoma (Browns Point area) in the late 90's. Should be a monster now.

 

Cheers, Barrie.

Edited June 7, 2016 by Las Palmas Norte

[Brad Mondel]

That Bremerton Butia looks like a hybrid with Jubaea. 

[willials]

Sweet Bremerton Butia! Thanks for the post. I think that's Axel's page that you linked to. Anyway, that's a monster. Well played, sir.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

On 6/7/2016, 7:26:39, Brad Mondel said:

 

On 6/7/2016, 7:26:39, Brad Mondel said:

That Bremerton Butia looks like a hybrid with Jubaea. 

I agree, it is a hybrid and hasnt yet flowered from what i can tell. 

[Las Palmas Norte]

Here's a fellow palm enthusiasts Butia here in Victoria, BC Canada. This was taken last year in April. Also another of his smaller Butia with a Jubaea.

Cheers, Barrie.

[willials]

Wow, those are monstrous for the PNW. I guess Victoria has a pretty mild micro climate in Winter. We probably get colder here in the Seattle suburbs than you do, being right next to the water. Those must have been in the ground for 20+ years to get that big. Very nice!

[Brad Mondel]

Let's get back to the recovery topic. Here is an update! Amazing! 

Before 6/6/16

 

after 6/30/16:

[smithgn]

2 hours ago, Brad Mondel said:

Let's get back to the recovery topic. Here is an update! Amazing! 

Before 6/6/16

 

after 6/30/16:

This takes the term, "pushing new growth", to a whole new meaning. Normally, a butia would be put-putting along. This one is growing with a sense of urgency! Lol

[Brad Mondel]

Yes he's doing very well! He's on a healthy diet of fertilizer and regular watering. By fall he should be good as new! 

[Brad Mondel]

One week later:

Fastest Butia in history! Two new fronds now!

[SailorBold]

I'm keeping an eye on this thread.. one because that's amazing.. and two.. I feel I might have to do something like that to my Butia in the future.

I haven't experienced spear pull yet ..but from the last two winters there are damaged leaflets (lows ~15f) that mark the growing seasons on both of my butia. Looks like they return well after surgery which is good to know..

[Brad Mondel]

On his third spear in the center since recovery! 

 

[Brad Mondel]

[Howeadypsis]

Whats this hydrogen peroxide mix I hear people use? Thats bleach! Whats the concentration and how effective is it?

[Brad Mondel]

It's just medical grade Hydrogen peroxide 

dilluted to 3%

[Howeadypsis]

17 hours ago, Brad Mondel said:

It's just medical grade Hydrogen peroxide 

dilluted to 3%

Medical grade? To me hydrogen peroxide is bleach! 

[Sanips]

1 hour ago, Howeadypsis said:

Medical grade? To me hydrogen peroxide is bleach! 

Yes, medical grade it's usually sold as 3% or 7% (at least in Spain). It's used to desinfect wounds. Bleeach for me is sodium hypochlorite not hydrogen peroxide.

Edited July 30, 2016 by Sanips

[Howeadypsis]

2 hours ago, Sanips said:

Yes, medical grade it's usually sold as 3% or 7% (at least in Spain). It's used to desinfect wounds. Bleeach for me is sodium hypochlorite not hydrogen peroxide.

No idea about it here. I know that hydrogen peroxide is used in the stuff that women bleach their hair with.

[Brad Mondel]

6 hours ago, Howeadypsis said:

No idea about it here. I know that hydrogen peroxide is used in the stuff that women bleach their hair with.

Hydrogen peroxide does not have the same chemical structure as regular "bleach" which is called Sodium hypochlorite. Hydrogen peroxide mixed with ammonia is used as a bleaching agent for hair dye but it's concentration is higher than the medical grade peroxide. 

H2o2 oxidizes pathogenic fungi and bacteria. This kills the bad organism and leaves behind healthy tissue . 

Stay tuned for updates on this palm, I'm planting it in the ground soon and you can hardly tell that the palm suffered any crown rot now! 

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

Like NorthFlpalmguy said there are tons of Butias in North Carolina along the coast. Way too many to count. It should be the same along the S.C. coast. You would be hard pressed here to find a nursery that does not have them. There are large ones here and thousands that seed. Some have so many seedlings under them that the sprouts look like grass. 

 

[Brad Mondel]

26 minutes ago, Jeff zone 8 N.C. said:

Like NorthFlpalmguy said there are tons of Butias in North Carolina along the coast. Way too many to count. It should be the same along the S.C. coast. You would be hard pressed here to find a nursery that does not have them. There are large ones here and thousands that seed. Some have so many seedlings under them that the sprouts look like grass. 

 

I live in the upstate now, Greenville. There was a ton of options when I lived in Myrtle Beach but up here they're not as popular.  Does my profile still say M.B? 

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

Wow, you are pretty far inland. There are others up that way that grow palms though. I just see "Los Angeles and South Carolina" on your profile and so assumed that if you were growing a Butia you were nearer the coast. Butias are all over the map in hardiness though (even from the same seed batch), so if the cold gets one try another as some blow the doors off others for cold hardiness. Since you like a lot of different plants there is a famous clone of Moso bamboo growing in a cemetary in Anderson, S.C. if you have a place to plant it.

[Brad Mondel]

23 hours ago, Jeff zone 8 N.C. said:

Wow, you are pretty far inland. There are others up that way that grow palms though. I just see "Los Angeles and South Carolina" on your profile and so assumed that if you were growing a Butia you were nearer the coast. Butias are all over the map in hardiness though (even from the same seed batch), so if the cold gets one try another as some blow the doors off others for cold hardiness. Since you like a lot of different plants there is a famous clone of Moso bamboo growing in a cemetary in Anderson, S.C. if you have a place to plant it.

Yes I am inland but still in zone 8a. There's plenty of palms around if you look for them. Sabal palmetto, Chamaerops humilus, Butia odorata, Sabal minor, Cycas revoluta, Rhapidophyllum, even Washingtonia in a few microclimates. Here we have the finest Trachycarpus I've ever seen and I've traveled the entire country... Anyway I planted my three Butias yesterday, I will post pictures of this one when the garden is finished!