Saving a Patrick Hybrid

[JohnAndSancho]

Okie dokie. I've had a Butia Lyto hybrid I bought from Patrick a few years ago. I was in the middle of a family emergency when we had a freak cold snap down to 9° and bringing plants in wasn't really on my radar. 

It looked fine until maybe a couple weeks ago. I made sure not to water it days before we were supposed to get a freeze, but there's 0% chance it was totally dry. 

Y'all know these things are expensive and hard to get. I'll take pictures tomorrow, but I pulled 3 spears. 

 

It's still got a few green fronds and lots of brown ones. I've seen larger plants saved by cutting them down. Key word being larger. This one is still in a pot and probably hasn't grown as much as it could the last year because I've kind of had to barricade it due to stupid feral cats. The good news is during the cold snap it was behind a brick wall on 2 sides. 

 

Should I try h202 or copper fungicide in the grow hole? It's still firm at the base, not squishy like the plants I normally kill. I'd like to save it if possible. 

[Mazat]

5 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Okie dokie. I've had a Butia Lyto hybrid I bought from Patrick a few years ago. I was in the middle of a family emergency when we had a freak cold snap down to 9° and bringing plants in wasn't really on my radar. 

It looked fine until maybe a couple weeks ago. I made sure not to water it days before we were supposed to get a freeze, but there's 0% chance it was totally dry. 

Y'all know these things are expensive and hard to get. I'll take pictures tomorrow, but I pulled 3 spears. 

 

It's still got a few green fronds and lots of brown ones. I've seen larger plants saved by cutting them down. Key word being larger. This one is still in a pot and probably hasn't grown as much as it could the last year because I've kind of had to barricade it due to stupid feral cats. The good news is during the cold snap it was behind a brick wall on 2 sides. 

 

Should I try h202 or copper fungicide in the grow hole? It's still firm at the base, not squishy like the plants I normally kill. I'd like to save it if possible. 

i read about it in the French forum Fous de palmiers.

You would have to look there via Facebook as the website is not working at the moment.

Very beautiful and expensive plant.

hope for you that it survives

[Allen]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/00AvfykeaGw

 

[JohnAndSancho]

3 hours ago, Allen said:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/00AvfykeaGw

 

Thanks Allen. Mine's a lot smaller, does that matter? And do I continue to water it as normal? We're still seeing night time temps in the 40s, is that relevant?

[Allen]

Water very sparingly - small doesn't matter. 

[JohnAndSancho]

Welp I squirted some h2o2 into the growth point and I didn't see or hear any bubbling, so I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Fwiw it never saw frost, snow, ice, or any precipitation. It just got left outside, without any protection other than the brick wall. 

The brick in the pot is umm.. to keep the cats from pooping in it, and after the 3rd time they tipped it over and knocked all the soil out, I also added some rocks in the bottom of the pot to weigh it down and placed it here. A few years ago I staked it down before it had fully rooted in this pot and what I had to tie it off with was a doggie doo bag, so anyway I took that and the twine and the stakes off today. 

The soil is roughly 1/3 parts each Miracle Gro cactus soil, pumice, and Repti Bark. Again I made sure not to water it for days before a freeze, and made sure no water was in the reservoir of the pot. I've got an idea of where I can move it to get a little more light on the front of the house. This thing loved the full Texas sun on a concrete patio, but I also didn't have to worry about cats pooping in it or digging it up or knocking it over there either. 

I don't even remember what I named this one, but it looks like hell right now. 

 

 

 

[JohnAndSancho]

Should I move it to a brighter location? I gave it the chop stick test and I got deeeeeeeep in there before I felt anything solid. 

 

I'm gonna follow the advice from Allen's videos and start hitting it with copper fungicide in a few days after the initial h2o2 splash. 

[JohnAndSancho]

Bumping this. It still has a few green fronds and the base is still firm. Should I move it to a brighter location? Do I need to worry about keeping rain out of the growth point? 

[JohnAndSancho]

Welp it's still not dead but it's not doing much either. Kinda sad because I remember having to repot this thing twice in one summer due to its explosive growth in the Texas sun. 

[RJ]

9 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Welp it's still not dead but it's not doing much either. Kinda sad because I remember having to repot this thing twice in one summer due to its explosive growth in the Texas sun. 

Every time I’ve had a hybrid do something similar it’s gone toes up. Not trying to be a Karen , but that’s just my experience. I just lost one of my favorites this spring for u known reasons. Spear went crispy and that was that. 🤷‍♂️

[KPoff]

10 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Welp it's still not dead but it's not doing much either. Kinda sad because I remember having to repot this thing twice in one summer due to its explosive growth in the Texas sun. 

@JohnAndSancho I’m not familiar with this hybrid but Butia are hardy. I’m not sure where you’re at in Texas but couldn’t you plant it in the ground if it recovers?

[Fusca]

On 4/23/2025 at 9:53 PM, JohnAndSancho said:

Bumping this. It still has a few green fronds and the base is still firm. Should I move it to a brighter location? Do I need to worry about keeping rain out of the growth point? 

Hey John, first time seeing this thread.  Yeah it looks sad.  I would give it a bright spot and yes, keep the rain out of the growth point if there was cold damage.  I hope it comes through but coming back from 9°F in a pot is asking a lot.

[JohnAndSancho]

10 hours ago, KPoff said:

@JohnAndSancho I’m not familiar with this hybrid but Butia are hardy. I’m not sure where you’re at in Texas but couldn’t you plant it in the ground if it recovers?

I was in Huntsville, but I'm back in East Mississippi now. I could plant it out, but it's really swampy here. I dunno how well these things handle wet feet, but I've got options. I could give it full sun or I could give it lots of shade. There's tons of oaks and giant crape myrtles here. 

 

8 hours ago, Fusca said:

Hey John, first time seeing this thread.  Yeah it looks sad.  I would give it a bright spot and yes, keep the rain out of the growth point if there was cold damage.  I hope it comes through but coming back from 9°F in a pot is asking a lot.

It's been through hell already from the cats. Aside from being a chew toy, they've knocked it over and dumped all the oil out of it twice. I found a bag of some really shiny rocks and added those in there for weight and put the brick on top to keep them from pooping in it. I dunno if that was a good idea or not but it weighed it down enough. Then I put it in the chair behind the wall to protect it from them. After the cold I had 3 spears pull 😬 I had a mangave that I put in a hanging basket to keep them out and oh God it completely melted. Anyway I'll keep hitting it with h202 and move it to a sunnier spot - the Mississippi sun and humidity is somehow worse than Texas so we'll see what it does. Normally when plants die on me they get squishy and this ones still firm. 

[JohnAndSancho]

It'll get afternoon and evening sun in this spot without the risk of rain getting into the growth point or getting baked. Also impossible for the cats to knock it over again. Chop stick test says it's growing. Gave it half a gallon of water, too. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

@JohnAndSancho Hey as long as the chopsticks show growth keep babying it. Never give up on these things. This palm is an absolute beast ! It's WAY bigger then i ever expected it to get ! 

T J 

[JohnAndSancho]

2 hours ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

@JohnAndSancho Hey as long as the chopsticks show growth keep babying it. Never give up on these things. This palm is an absolute beast ! It's WAY bigger then i ever expected it to get ! 

T J 

Unit! How old is it? I can only imagine how big mine would be if it was still on that patio in Huntsville. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

5 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Unit! How old is it? I can only imagine how big mine would be if it was still on that patio in Huntsville. 

So it's been in the ground about 3yrs now from a 5gal. It has been a beast ever since I have gotten it from Patric as a 4x10. 

T J 

[Laaz]

You remember my Yatty mule...

 

 

[Laaz]

Today.

 

 

[JohnAndSancho]

I went and checked on mine again. It's still under the edge of the roof, and it's rained every day for a while now. I gave it the chopstick again and the new growth hasn't moved much, but it's definitely pushing lots of roots - it's pushing itself out of the pot again. It's done this a couple times, so it definitely wants to go in the ground but I don't want to add any more stress to it right now. Aside from the cold, it's had its fronds chewed and ripped off by the cats, it's been knocked over and had all the soil dug out a couple times. 

 

What do y'all think? How well do these handle swampy conditions? I already know how much they love sun. I also want to put it someplace it'll be seen. 

[JohnAndSancho]

I dragged it out into the sun and watered it again. Whatever new growth it's pushing is going at a glaciers pace, but it feels heavier and it's def pushing itself up again. I found a huge pot tucked away in the old barn, but if this thing survives all the hell it's been through, I think it'll be the first palm I ever plant out. 

I saw some webbing, but I'm pretty sure it's from actual spiders. I saw a couple when I moved it. Still nothing squishy. I know I'm being impatient because I'm used to watching this thing put out massive growth almost daily. 

[JohnAndSancho]

I put it in the sun again. I started pulling back some of the old leaf bases looking for bugs and didn't see anything. The chopstick test says it's moving on the inside. I guess next time I need to take a sharpie with me to mark it. Maybe I'm being optimistic but I thought I saw a spear pushing, but it's hard to tell with all the fibers and hair. I also threw a little extra dirt to cover up the exposed roots. He's heavy. 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Sharpie mark whatever spear is observable. Or if you don’t have another leaf to make a reference mark on, use a stick. Just put a stick close to the spear and make a straight mark starting on the stick and ending on the spear. That way you get a good reference for any movement.

[JohnAndSancho]

It definitely looks like it's peeking up. It's a far cry from its former glory, but after cutting off all the dead fronds and - this sounds crazy - giving it sun and water, it looks better. 

 

Who knew that plants like sun and water? 

[JohnAndSancho]

Y'all. 

Y'all. 

Y'all. 

 

It's tiny. It's brown. It's a nub right now. But it's a spear. It didn't pull. 

 

This SOB is alive after all the hell it's been through. 

[JohnAndSancho]

To the experts- one more year in the pot to recover and plant it out in the spring? Or go full Leeroy Jenkins and dig a hole while I'm already digging holes?

[Rubberboots]

2 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

To the experts- one more year in the pot to recover and plant it out in the spring? Or go full Leeroy Jenkins and dig a hole while I'm already digging holes?

@JohnAndSancho be gentle and let that spear come out...I would take my time with it and monitor the watering.

[JohnAndSancho]

I didn't have my phone with me when I checked it today, but it is indeed pushing a new green spear!  I've been leaving it out in the sun and rain, I'm going to go give it another squirt of copper fungicide tonight just to be safe. And I noticed some tiny little bugs running around on the fronds - for some reason, I bought some systemic insecticide a long time ago which... I'm glad I did, but 90% of everything I've grown over the years has been indoors. Maybe I mix him up some Stink Water™ for being such a good plant and surviving. 

 

*Stink Water™ is a diluted mix of fish emulsion, liquid seaweed, and chelated iron. It can get a little fragrant. 

[Rubberboots]

24 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I didn't have my phone with me when I checked it today, but it is indeed pushing a new green spear!  I've been leaving it out in the sun and rain, I'm going to go give it another squirt of copper fungicide tonight just to be safe. And I noticed some tiny little bugs running around on the fronds - for some reason, I bought some systemic insecticide a long time ago which... I'm glad I did, but 90% of everything I've grown over the years has been indoors. Maybe I mix him up some Stink Water™ for being such a good plant and surviving. 

 

*Stink Water™ is a diluted mix of fish emulsion, liquid seaweed, and chelated iron. It can get a little fragrant. 

@JohnAndSancho does that pot have drain holes in the bottom...don't over water... would love to see this make a comeback...soil type?

[Rubberboots]

@JohnAndSancho what palm is this again...in English 🤣

[JohnAndSancho]

Just now, Rubberboots said:

@JohnAndSancho does that pot have drain holes in the bottom...don't over water... would love to see this make a comeback...soil type?

Oh yeah, it drains. It's in a mix of bark, pumice, and Miracle Gro cactus soil. When I first started into palms, I thought those bottom watering pots were the greatest thing since if I over watered I could just dump it out - and Target had big ones for like $8 at the time. The downside to these pots is having to fish big roots out of little holes. I do not like these pots much anymore 😂 it's ok to buy cutesy pots if you've only got a few plants, but after like 10 or more, who cares? 

[Rubberboots]

13 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Oh yeah, it drains. It's in a mix of bark, pumice, and Miracle Gro cactus soil. When I first started into palms, I thought those bottom watering pots were the greatest thing since if I over watered I could just dump it out - and Target had big ones for like $8 at the time. The downside to these pots is having to fish big roots out of little holes. I do not like these pots much anymore 😂 it's ok to buy cutesy pots if you've only got a few plants, but after like 10 or more, who cares? 

🤣🤘🏿

[JohnAndSancho]

1 minute ago, Rubberboots said:

@JohnAndSancho what palm is this again...in English 🤣

It's a hybrid from Patrick Schafer. It's a Butia x Lytocaryum Weddelanium hybrid. Lemme see if I can find an old pic of how it looked in Texas... 

 

The little one on the left is what I started with. 

 

Then I repotted it. I think I had to repot it twice that summer. 

 

If you find my old threads on here (Indoor Squad, and Patio Squad) plus my YouTube channel (dbljzzl - I haven't made any updates on there in years!) there's probably more. Lol most of the pics on my phone are of the dog. Anyway if you want some hybrids that nobody else has, Patrick is the man. He's kind of an enigma, sometimes he replies to emails sometimes he doesn't. But his palms are apparently bomb proof. Bring your checkbook. 

 

 

[JohnAndSancho]

Too late to edit? But I should clarify the hybrid is the 2nd from the right in the first pic,.not my old neighbors vegetable plant. 

[Rubberboots]

Yea but in English...Pindo jelly palm /...🤔🤣

[JohnAndSancho]

11 hours ago, Rubberboots said:

Yea but in English...Pindo jelly palm /...🤔🤣

Yeah. Sort of. He mixed one of those with a Lytocaryum Weddelanium which is also known as a baby coconut palm or a wedding palm. It's a man made hybrid. 

[Swolte]

Glad things look up! I have one as well and its resilience always surprises me. You're not out of the weeds yet, though. I would probably keep it in the pot and indoors for a winter.   

[JohnAndSancho]

17 hours ago, Swolte said:

Glad things look up! I have one as well and its resilience always surprises me. You're not out of the weeds yet, though. I would probably keep it in the pot and indoors for a winter.   

i cleaned out the add-on room to the house and it's super bright and always warm in there. Not that I want to see 9° again in my lifetime, but we're ready and if it really gets stupid, there's a propane heater in there. 

[JohnAndSancho]

It's sloooooooowly pushing out a new spear. We had a lot of rain so I tilted it over to let all of the excess water drain out. I moved back some of the dead leaf bases to expose the new growth some more - it's funny that the inner fronds were the ones that browned off and died but the outer fronds are still green, I thought it'd be the opposite. It's def got plenty of sun and water lately so hopefully it returns back to its glorious self. 

[JohnAndSancho]

I started peeling back some dead leaf bases to help it. I'm an idiot, but it really looks like it's trying to push 2 spears at once to me. I just can't peel back much more without peeling off the still green outer fronds. I think it lost more inner growth than outer.