I just harvested a large cluster of pindo (Butia Capitata) seeds from a palm I in planted in my sister's yard several years ago. It never gets watered or fertilized, yet it's outperforming my pindos by leaps and bounds. I'm wondering how long it takes them to germinate, and what medium would be best to plant them in. I'd also like to get some Queen palm seeds and try to create my own 'mule' hybrid.
Your sisters palm's roots may have found a good water source underground. I know ours is doing amazing and I maybe fertilize it once a year and never give it extra water. Others close by don't look as good.
I would think a good seed starting mix would work fine.
As far as growing your own mule palms, since they were first discovered in the wild, I bet it wouldn't be too hard.
Barb
I forgot my sister said it was close to a drainage line. It's also in a warm microclimate close to a 2 story brick structure with a SE exposure. Her palm has never been under ground vole attack, either, Barb. I have decided not to spot water my established palms (or trees and shrubs) anymore, because it attracts voles like crazy. I did a little online research, and I think the Queen and Pindo has to be cross pollinated in order to produce the sterile hybrid mule seed. I was hoping I could cut and press the seeds together, and get a mule. Obviously, I don't know nothin bout birthin no babies;-)
Oh my! I was wondering how you were going to be able to grow a queen palm large enough that it bore fruit. I don't suppose you have a cathedral ceiling in your house?? ;)
I was going to ask someone in the Fl forum for Queen seeds. How are your mule and Queen palm doing? I plan to order one next March. I have 4 Queens that I protected last winter, but they're too small to produce pollen, and I don't think I'm going to protect them this winter. I'm really warming up to windmill palms. This is one that I removed the fibrous material from the trunk. Yes, I have too much free time. lol!
LOL, you need a sex education class. :-) Maybe someone from FL could cross polinate for you.
The queens are so iffy down here, some make it some don't. My son in JAX planted some and they are magnificent after 2 years but he fertilizes heavily. I believe he said he puts one cup of palm ferts per month around each tree. He also waters heavily but they are not bothered by voles in his area.
As the song says, "don't know much about biology", ardesia:) I'm going to order a mule palm next March, and baby it for 4 or 5 years. How is your heliconia doing? My out of zone parrot's beak is growing well, with several colorful flowers/brackets.
Doing fine but no flowers yet. Good for you with that Parrots Beak!
I just went out and took a few pics. Was going to take lots of photos, but couldn't handle the heat and humidity.
I love Pindo Palm jelly. I have seeds that were planted over a year ago and have not come up. GRRRRR
Lavina
I did a little online research, and I read they will root outdoors in mulch, Lavina. I have a pine tree on the outskirts of my yard that has about 6" of decomposing pine straw underneath, where I'm going to plant a dozen or so seeds. Since we still have at least 2 more months of warm weather, I'm hoping they sprout.
I dug up a bunch of young ones years ago from under an existing tree. They were also germinating in the boots on the trunk.
I noticed a beautiful pindo (probably at least 50 years old) in town that had several pups growing beneath it's huge canopy. I also noticed another yard with lots of old, skinny trunked palmettos that also had many pups, some rather large. Nice to know these cold hardy palms can self seed around here.
In the 70s in Jacksonville Fla. I had a Palmetto it seems to draw rats and snakes so we cut it Down. No more Palmittos for me.
Lavina
Yikes!
Living on the marsh we do see cotton rats and I am told some places around here have the larger marsh rats but I have never seen either around a palmetto and they are like weeds around here. Raccoons do like to climb up and eat the fruit when they have seeds and in Charleston the Palmetto bugs like to hide in the boots. We saw a snake go up an oak tree once but generally they stay on the ground around here. My son has many snakes around his house in JAX, far more than we ever see, but he does not have any Palmettos, just queens, a beautiful Canary Island Date Palm and Windmills. I think the warmer areas where palms grow are just more attractive to critters of all kinds.
I did remove all the pampas grass when we moved here because the rats were nesting in the centers and you could hear the babies in there. We learned that mature pampas is not easy to remove.
This message was edited Aug 4, 2011 6:04 PM
My husband planted a pampass grass here about 20 years ago, before I knew him. The house we live in was just the family's beach house, so they didn't do much work in the yard, including not cutting back that grass.
By the time we moved in, it was huge and the center area had died back leaving a hole about 4' across. Our lab Lucy used to hang out in there and bark at people walking down the street. It was funny to watch people look for the barking dog that they could never seem to find..... Then when she was pregnant, she gave birth in there.
My husband wouldn't let me get rid of it for years. I kept hacking away at it until last year, he actually thought it was his idea to get rid of it completely. ;)
