Solar eclipse jubaea x butia settling in

[MIKE82397]

I planted this jubutia and butia on 4/9/24 literally during the solar eclipse. They were busting out of 7 g pots I had them in so I decided to give them a shot in the ground. They are a little exposed out in the yard but I plan on winter protection probably mid Dec thru early Feb here in NC foothills solid 7b sketchy 8a. Gets lots of sun all day. Hot and humid summers. Had to mound up the butia a bit because of rocky soil where I was planting. Looking forward to watching them thrive here. The first pics are recent and the last ones are when 1st planted back in April. Both are pushing out a huge spear so I guess they’re happy for now. Thoughts tips and advise always welcome and appreciated 

[RJ]

Looks great I planted a jubxbutia about a month ago, and a butiaxjub last year. Both are doing fantastic 

[SailorBold]

Those are great.. I doubt you'll have problems with the jxb... I'd only be slightly worried for the butia.. but butias do great in your region..  another hybrid you'd might want to try is bxj or bxjxb.. which is more spear hardy..

[MIKE82397]

Oh wow! Is there a visual difference or any other distinguishing characteristics. Just comparing the butia and the hybrid I have  it has the green petiole bases that are pear shaped otherwise they look similar at this size anyway. I’m hoping they’ll form a personality all their own as they grow. 

[SailorBold]

4 minutes ago, MIKE82397 said:

Oh wow! Is there a visual difference or any other distinguishing characteristics. Just comparing the butia and the hybrid I have  it has the green petiole bases that are pear shaped otherwise they look similar at this size anyway. I’m hoping they’ll form a personality all their own as they grow. 

To me.. my jubaeaxbutia hybrid feels more plastic like..and more rigid in growth..perhaps upright..fronds are v shaped moreso..  my bxjxb (which is blooming first time this year!!!) Is softer and more droopy.. and the spear is thick and meaty..

I'd say they look similar but looking closely there are differences.. one other being the jxb is a bigger palm..

I'll take a Pic of the spear tomorrow.. the one advantage to the bxjxb.. (where butias spear pull here..and die while the leaves may have no damage...) is with the jubaea added.. the spear can take several more degrees of freeze..

[MIKE82397]

Great info thank you. Look forward to the pictures of yours

[SailorBold]

On 6/19/2024 at 7:08 PM, MIKE82397 said:

Great info thank you. Look forward to the pictures of yours

Sorry took a bit..!  But here is my bjxb....it just separated a couple fronds so it was much thicker. They open from the tip down so you'll see the spear with a drooping opening frond up top..  

[MIKE82397]

Man! That’s a massive looking palm spear. Nice and green. Probly 4 or more fronds. Seems to be very happy in your climate.. Looking good!

[MIKE82397]

So not quite the one year anniversary of planting 4/9/24 but close enough to post a couple pics. Probably overprotected this winter in foamboard boxes but wasnt taking any chances. So I dug 4  12” diameter holes 4 ft apart and filled with concrete. Then I lag bolted some 4x4 post brackets that are removable to each of the pads. Then built the sides and slanted top with the foam Board screwed to the 4x4s. Lots of the winter I just had the top on if it was raining to keep dry. So in milder weather the whole thing is removed. They’ve definitely grown and seem happy although they’re planted on a rock.

[SailorBold]

For reference here is my JxB f3 when it was smaller.. actually planted about the same size as yours.. what was your ultimate low this winter?  Mine has proven to be very cold hardy.. this year is the 2nd time it's been cold damaged..

[jwitt]

@SailorBold what low did you measure and how much damage?

[SailorBold]

16 hours ago, jwitt said:

@SailorBold what low did you measure and how much damage?

I had a low of 6f.... 80% defoliated...pretty severe..  it's going to take over a year to regrow the crown..

[MIKE82397]

Oh wow. That’s massive . I hate that it was damaged.  I think my low temp here was 12F. But I had them all buttoned up in those boxes with a strand of mini lights and a flood light on thermocube so they really stayed nice and toasty. I did let them go with just the mini lights later in the winter with the sides off the boxes above 20f and daytime in the 40s.  I’ll protect as long as I can but maybe push them a little as they mature

[jwitt]

1 hour ago, SailorBold said:

I had a low of 6f.... 80% defoliated...pretty severe..  it's going to take over a year to regrow the crown..

That does suck, but at the same time impressive.  Overall that is a very leaf hardy palm at the end of the day. 

The good thing out of this, is that you now have solid reference for leaf damage.

 

 

[SailorBold]

15 hours ago, MIKE82397 said:

Oh wow. That’s massive . I hate that it was damaged.  I think my low temp here was 12F. But I had them all buttoned up in those boxes with a strand of mini lights and a flood light on thermocube so they really stayed nice and toasty. I did let them go with just the mini lights later in the winter with the sides off the boxes above 20f and daytime in the 40s.  I’ll protect as long as I can but maybe push them a little as they mature

Yeah.. once larger other than wrapping the trunk you're not easily going to be able to cover it..so keep that in mind..but where there's a will..

12f isn't bad.. I think duration will be more of an issue..  leaf damage starts at 9-10f.. my filiferas get damage most of the time this one will not.. 

Keep it up.. im looking forward to updates!

[SailorBold]

15 hours ago, jwitt said:

That does suck, but at the same time impressive.  Overall that is a very leaf hardy palm at the end of the day. 

The good thing out of this, is that you now have solid reference for leaf damage.

 

 

Yeah.. other than these funky winters....its evergreen..  the sabal riverside has zero damage..its a strap leaf tho...

[Tom in Tucson]

On 3/31/2025 at 6:34 PM, MIKE82397 said:

So not quite the one year anniversary of planting 4/9/24 but close enough to post a couple pics. Probably overprotected this winter in foamboard boxes but wasnt taking any chances. So I dug 4  12” diameter holes 4 ft apart and filled with concrete. Then I lag bolted some 4x4 post brackets that are removable to each of the pads. Then built the sides and slanted top with the foam Board screwed to the 4x4s. Lots of the winter I just had the top on if it was raining to keep dry. So in milder weather the whole thing is removed. They’ve definitely grown and seem happy although they’re planted on a rock.

From the pics I've seen on this board in the past, if I had to guess an ID, I'd say they are either standard silver Butia odorata, BxBJ, or at the most BxJ (not JxB). I have never seen any JxB that have leaves that are that silver, or recurved. Despite that, they're still great looking palms that are well worth growing!

Hi 69˚, Lo 51˚

[BeyondTheGarden]

@MIKE82397 where did you source this?  Sorry if I missed it.