The pindo palm (Butia capitata) gets its name from the delectable jams and jellies created from the tree’s fruit. A handsome evergreen palm, easy to grow, jelly palm is salt, heat and drought tolerant and among the hardest feather palms.
Withstanding temperatures of 14 degree fahrenheit (-10 degree centigrade), it is a very attractive palm tree as a freestanding palm or grouped with other palms.
Butia capitata – Jelly Palm Trees
Let’s look at how you can care for the beautiful Butia Capitata.
- Plant the jelly palm in a sunny or partially shady location.
- In between watering, let the soil dry out. When grown in consistently damp soil, jelly palms are subject to root rot.
- Jelly palms should be spaced 10 feet apart. The trees eventually reach a width of 10 to 15 feet, yet they grow so slowly that you may plant them right next to electricity lines.
- As soon as the fruit falls from the jelly palm, remove it.
- Dead fronds should be pruned off the tree. The jelly palm, unlike other palms, does not drop its fronds as it dies, thus they must be removed. You may wish to employ a professional to remove the leaves due to the size of the tree and the difficulties of doing so.
- Each season look for symptoms of problems on the tree. Although the jelly palm is resistant to the most common palm illnesses, if the fertiliser you use does not contain boron, it may suffer from a boron deficit. This deficit manifests itself most visibly on young leaves. As the leaf emerges, the tips bend at a steep angle. Use 2 to 4 ounces of sodium borate or boric acid twice a year to rectify the deficiency. It could take a season or two for the therapies to work.
IN THIS ARTICLE
How Do You Prune A Jelly Palm Tree?
Butia Capitata (Jelly palm trees) Should only be done if the leaves are completely brown. Even so, avoid cutting them flush with the trunk. The rough appearance of a palm’s trunk is actually made up of stubs of dead leaves.
You risk infecting the tree if you leave more than a few inches (5–7.5 cm) of stem. When a palm tree blooms, cutting it back is perfectly acceptable. If the flowers are left alone, they will produce fruit, which, while edible, is often a nuisance when it falls. To avoid the trouble of fruit litter, cut the faded flower stalks off.
How To Grow And Care For Butia Capitata
Jelly palm plants are slow-growing, low-maintenance plants, easy to grow and care for. Like any other plant, they are tolerant to several conditions but might have their specific requirements. Butia capitata is an evergreen plant that originates from Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay, and has its habitat in dry savannahs and grasslands. Jelly palm plants are low-maintenance plan that is salt, heat, and drought-tolerant and requires just enough light, temperature, and space care to grow.
How To Plant Jelly Palms
Jelly palms are generally not invasive and can be planted alone or mixed with other palms. When being planted, they require ample space to showcase themselves with an ideal 10 feet space between them.
They also tend to litter the ground around the tree with sticky and gooey blobs; hence it is recommended that they be planted away from decks, walkways, streets, patios, and paved surfaces where falling fruits can cause problems or make a mess.
How Tall Does Butia Capitata Grow?
They are capable of growing to a height of 10 to 20 feet and sometimes 30 feet with a width of 10 to 15 feet.
What Growing Conditions Are Ideal For Jelly Palms
Soil: Jelly palms are best planted from late spring to early summer when the soil temperature is on the increase; for strong establishment before frost. They are tolerant to all types of soil as long as they are well-draining, slightly moist, and moderately salt tolerant. They are aversive to soils with high pH levels and have an ideal preference for neutral soils.
Light: Jelly palms are capable of thriving in full sun or partial shade where they receive about 6 to 8 hours of bright, indirect sunlight daily. A sheltered porch, an indoor location near a large window, or an outdoor garden, are all good locations for adequate lighting.
Water: Jelly plants have low water requirements and become drought-tolerant especially after their roots have been established. Watering frequency should be reduced as they do not like to stand in water because it can cause root rot.
Temperature: Jelly plants are heat-tolerant and cold-hardy. They are capable of thriving in a climate of 37 degrees Celsius and cold temperatures as low as -15 degrees Celsius.
Pruning: Jelly palms do not shed their dead leaves and hence will require regular grooming to maintain a neat appearance. Removing any damaged or brown outer fronds, especially in the spring after winter is the best way to prune a jelly palm tree.
Further Reading:
- Grow Guide: Trachycarpus Wagnerianus
- Can you eat Jelly Fruit Palm?
- Grow Guide: Butia Capitata
- How fast do Jelly Palms grow?
- How quickly does Trachycarpus Palm grow?
Other popular palm trees you might be interested in are the hardy backbone Trachycarpus Fortunei Chusan Palm, Butia Capitata, Chamaerops Humilis, Chamaerops Humilis Cerifera, Chamaerops Humilis Vulcano, Howea Forsteriana (Kentia Palm), Livistona Rotundifolia, Phoenix canariensis, Washingtonia Robusta, Areca Dypsis and Yucca Palms.
