Parajubaea cocoides

[Alberto]

Sometimes you hear from people saying that Parajubaea cocoides is an uggly palm,with that thick hairy trunk....

When you see pics of this palm in Quito it is one of the most gracefull palms of the world. Why this difference?

Are the California,NZ, etc grown P.cocoides to young to show all its beauty , or is it the different climate or another factor?

[Alberto]

More (photos of Efraín Oroz)

[Alberto]

More

[PalmatierMeg]

Ugly? Compared to what? I can't grow those but think they look great. On the other hand, I have a soft spot for "homely" palms like Syagrus glaucascens that other people overlook, so who am I to say?

[quaman58]

I suspect that those who refer to them as ugly have not seen any older ones. They look awesome. They are a bit hairy & stocky when young; both characteristics that they tend to lose as they age. Great pictures Alberto.

[PalmGuyWC]

Sometimes you hear from people saying that Parajubaea cocoides is an uggly palm,with that thick hairy trunk....

When you see pics of this palm in Quito it is one of the most gracefull palms of the world. Why this difference?

Are the California,NZ, etc grown P.cocoides to young to show all its beauty , or is it the different climate or another factor?

Alberto,

I agree Parajubaeas are very beautiful palms and Quito seems to have the perfect climate for them, or other high alititude citys that get little or no frost. There are very few older ones growing in California, but it seems large quanities of seeds became available about 10 or 12 years ago. For me they are marginal and get minor damage almost every winter. My P. TVT was the only palm I have that got minor damage this winter, but just from two cold nights, around 24 F. They seem to love cool nights, but not below 25 F, however they will survive much colder temps. I'm hoping that as mine grow older and taller they will become more resistant to frost.

In the future I would not try to grow Parajubaea, but only Parajubaea hybrids with Butia. Butia X Parajubaea have proved to be very cold hardy, and they are actually much more beautiful than pure Parajubaea, and they grow much faster.

Dick

[richnorm]

Cocoides are best when young here in NZ. They don't seem to be able to make it past 20 years and for the last few look really terrible. A neighbour of mine is digging up a whole paddock of them. I will rescue one for a pollen source and as a temporary feature. Hopefully by cutting off most of the inflorescences and using fungicide in winter I can extend its life a little. TVT are great here so far.

cheers

Richard

[PalmGuyWC]

Cocoides are best when young here in NZ. They don't seem to be able to make it past 20 years and for the last few look really terrible. A neighbour of mine is digging up a whole paddock of them. I will rescue one for a pollen source and as a temporary feature. Hopefully by cutting off most of the inflorescences and using fungicide in winter I can extend its life a little. TVT are great here so far.

cheers

Richard

Richard,

I'm surprised that P. cocoides doesn't do better in NZ. I would think it would be the perfect climate. Do you think it's to wet or what? Are any of you guys are trying hybridzing with Butia? I bet they would grow in NZ. Nice to hear that TVT are doing ok.

Dick

[freakypalmguy]

Cocoides are best when young here in NZ. They don't seem to be able to make it past 20 years and for the last few look really terrible. A neighbour of mine is digging up a whole paddock of them. I will rescue one for a pollen source and as a temporary feature. Hopefully by cutting off most of the inflorescences and using fungicide in winter I can extend its life a little. TVT are great here so far.

cheers

Richard

What is th reason they don't live long Rich? And how does cutting off the inflor. help?

[LJG]

I grew to like them. I was not a fan but now have Cocoides and Sunka in my garden.

[Kostas]

I love Parajubaea cocoides! Its the species of choice for me and the Parajubaea i decided to grow.I would like to grow Parajubaea TVT or TVM too in another garden of mine if i get the chance though but not in the same as P. cocoides. I currently have 2 Parajubaea cocoides and these are of the only surviving palms from the first batch of palm seeds i ever bought.I sowed these 2 latter though,after i had killed the rest P. cocoides but 1 and had learned how to grow Parajubaea and handle their problems. These 2 live well but the original 1 died from cold the coldest winter we ever had in Melissia while these 2 just defoliated completely. I plan to grow more of this species and plant a forest at my new main house(when i buy land...)

[richnorm]

Cocoides are best when young here in NZ. They don't seem to be able to make it past 20 years and for the last few look really terrible. A neighbour of mine is digging up a whole paddock of them. I will rescue one for a pollen source and as a temporary feature. Hopefully by cutting off most of the inflorescences and using fungicide in winter I can extend its life a little. TVT are great here so far.

cheers

Richard

Richard,

I'm surprised that P. cocoides doesn't do better in NZ. I would think it would be the perfect climate. Do you think it's to wet or what? Are any of you guys are trying hybridzing with Butia? I bet they would grow in NZ. Nice to hear that TVT are doing ok.

Dick

There is no real consensus on what the cause is but they reach trunking size quickly and look fine but then start to throw "munted" leaves in winter and fruit profusely. They tend to grow out of this somewhat in the summer but after a few turns of the cycle they give up. I expect a few will be OK but it seems the vast majority are doomed, in my area at least. It's such a shame as for many years they showed real promise.

I don't know of others in my area but I am certainly keen to try hybridizing. There's a nice blue/white form of Butia yatay locally which may provide pollen for my first attempt!

cheers Richard

[richnorm]

Cocoides are best when young here in NZ. They don't seem to be able to make it past 20 years and for the last few look really terrible. A neighbour of mine is digging up a whole paddock of them. I will rescue one for a pollen source and as a temporary feature. Hopefully by cutting off most of the inflorescences and using fungicide in winter I can extend its life a little. TVT are great here so far.

cheers

Richard

What is th reason they don't live long Rich? And how does cutting off the inflor. help?

The cause(s) of decline is/are not clear but I thought removing the inflors. would conserve resources and allow the plant to better handle whatever is stressing it. Just something to try - it may make no difference!

cheers

Richard

[Perito]

My Parajubaea cocoides is starting to jump, and IMO it beats the heck out of my similar sized Parajubaea tvt. The cocoides is holding its leaves horizontally, while the torallyi holds them almost vertically causing the leaflets to bend in a disorganized manner. I wonder how this will play out as they mature?

.....Perry

[malcthomas]

Sometimes you hear from people saying that Parajubaea cocoides is an uggly palm,with that thick hairy trunk....

When you see pics of this palm in Quito it is one of the most gracefull palms of the world. Why this difference?

Are the California,NZ, etc grown P.cocoides to young to show all its beauty , or is it the different climate or another factor?

Alberto, kia ora

They are a relatively new species here and there are no old ones with tall clean trunks.

They are prone to Phytopthora and I don't think Auckland's (where the majority are being grown) high humidity is to their liking.

Dick...I tried a couple of weeks ago to cross with Butia. I was disappointed with the lack of pollen on the Parajubaea and will try the other way round next time...

cheers...

[nomolos]

They are a beautiful palm

[Tyrone]

I would never call this palm ugly. I'm growing P TVT and P sunkha but haven't grown this one. Maybe I should give it a go. Parajubaea's should be grown much more here in West Oz, but at the moment they are quite expensive due to lack of seed. Only one nursery stocks P torallyi var microcarpa seedlings. My friend and I are the only ones I know of in Perth with P TVT, and I'm the only one I know of with P sunkha. That doesn't mean there aren't others though, but for a palm really suited to here they are not grown much at all.

Some large P cocoides in front of a riverside mansion would look incredible.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Tassie_Troy1971]

I have a parajubaea torallyi macrocarpa that is around 40cm and its growing really well especially during the cooler months.

[Tyrone]

I have a parajubaea torallyi macrocarpa that is around 40cm and its growing really well especially during the cooler months.

I think the Parajuabea's are a great palm for southern Oz south of a line from Brisbane in the east to Kalbarri in the west. Also their ability to take some frost means they can handle many inland locations too. Also the Tassie guys can have a go and get great success.

Best regards

Tyrone

[PalmGuyWC]

I would never call this palm ugly. I'm growing P TVT and P sunkha but haven't grown this one. Maybe I should give it a go. Parajubaea's should be grown much more here in West Oz, but at the moment they are quite expensive due to lack of seed. Only one nursery stocks P torallyi var microcarpa seedlings. My friend and I are the only ones I know of in Perth with P TVT, and I'm the only one I know of with P sunkha. That doesn't mean there aren't others though, but for a palm really suited to here they are not grown much at all.

Some large P cocoides in front of a riverside mansion would look incredible.

Best regards

Tyrone

I would think Perth would be the perfect place to grow any of the Parajubaeas. There are areas around the San Francisco bay area where they would be happy, but they are not all that available and people don't know about them. Eventually I think they will make a presence in the bay area.

Dick

[Tyrone]

I would never call this palm ugly. I'm growing P TVT and P sunkha but haven't grown this one. Maybe I should give it a go. Parajubaea's should be grown much more here in West Oz, but at the moment they are quite expensive due to lack of seed. Only one nursery stocks P torallyi var microcarpa seedlings. My friend and I are the only ones I know of in Perth with P TVT, and I'm the only one I know of with P sunkha. That doesn't mean there aren't others though, but for a palm really suited to here they are not grown much at all.

Some large P cocoides in front of a riverside mansion would look incredible.

Best regards

Tyrone

I would think Perth would be the perfect place to grow any of the Parajubaeas. There are areas around the San Francisco bay area where they would be happy, but they are not all that available and people don't know about them. Eventually I think they will make a presence in the bay area.

Dick

My friend with the P TVT's just plants them as small plants in fullsun in sand, and they just get fatter and fatter and stronger and stronger like they're a native plant and they look great. Sometimes us collectors get bogged down growing species not suited to our climates and require so much labour to look even remotely good, and then forget the ones which grow really easily and look spectacular. For my area Parajubaea is that genus. Easy to grow, something even a non palm person could easily grow to maturity.

I've gotta get some P cocoides now.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Bennz]

they reach trunking size quickly and look fine but then start to throw "munted" leaves in winter and fruit profusely.

cheers Richard

Hi Richard,

If you've got access to prolific fruit, I have 600 acres of cool free-draining basically frost-free soil... seems we should be able to work out some kind of deal here!

Seriously, I think my climate should be ideal for these palms, if there are any spare seeds I would really appreciate them!! Imagine a plantation of 10,000 P. cocoides... (trying not to think of a plantation of 10,000 dead 20 yr old P. cocoides)....

Cheers,

Ben

[iamjv]

Perry, your para c. looks great!!! Jv

[Perito]

Perry, your para c. looks great!!! Jv

Thanks Jv! And I didn't mean it to sound like I don't like the P.torallyi; I just think at this stage the P.cocoides is prettier.

[sarasota alex]

No species of palm is ugly to me. A particular specimen could be ugly, but if properly cared for they're all beautiful. Obviously including the Parajubes

[Xenon]

NICE STILLS! more beautiful then C.nucifera...

Edited March 5, 2010 by Xenon

[pogobob]

I had a Cocoides for 20yrs and it was constsantly affected with "pink rot" disfiguring the leaves. It became too UGLY to warrant a spot in the garden so I put it out of its misery. It was a fast grower attaining an overall hight of 20ft and produced copious amounts of seeds, which are still sprouting in the planters some 10 yrs later! My best guess is they don't tolerate our coastal humidity well, but they grow well inland.

I planted a Toralyi next door 4yrs ago and it has so far grown unafected and vigorously.

[Sandy Loam]

Why does Parajubaea Cocoides show so much variation in trunk fibre?  Some seem to have bald trunks whereas others have fibrous (hairy) trunks all the way down to the ground.  Others yet seem to have a fibrous area just beneath the crown, but have a smooth trunk everywhere else. Is this because someone manually removed the fibre or because it fell off?  --- or simply because this tree will only grow fibre on its first two or three metres of trunk?

Here is what I mean?:

http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Parajubaea_cocoides

This is the Palmpedia entry for Parajubaea Cocoides.  If you scroll down, you will see dozens of photos of this tree.  They serve as a testament to its trunk variation.

[Nakheel1412]

2 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

Why does Parajubaea Cocoides show so much variation in trunk fibre?  Some seem to have bald trunks whereas others have fibrous (hairy) trunks all the way down to the ground.  Others yet seem to have a fibrous area just beneath the crown, but have a smooth trunk everywhere else. Is this because someone manually removed the fibre or because it fell off?  --- or simply because this tree will only grow fibre on its first two or three metres of trunk?

Here is what I mean?:

http://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Parajubaea_cocoides

This is the Palmpedia entry for Parajubaea Cocoides.  If you scroll down, you will see dozens of photos of this tree.  They serve as a testament to its trunk variation.

The trunks are probably cleaned by man (and strong winds+gravity when the palms get tall), just like what we usually see with Syagrus romanzoffiana and Washingtonia robusta ;
I would even argue 100% clean trunks in places where there aren't strong winds are mostly cleaned by man ;

Many people like their palms with petiole bases still attached to the trunk, that's maybe why their "small" P. cocoides still have fibers ?
(I personally don't like fibers, therefore I would clean up the trunk)

One example for which I assume the fibers and petiole bases have been manually removed :

[SEPalm]

Thanks for brining this palm up. I’m going to look for some now ...I like them. 

[Sandy Loam]

Interesting.  There was a PalmTalk thread a while back in which an article had been posted about removal of the trunk fibres from Trachycarpus Fortunei.  The article argued that the tree had reduced cold-hardiness after the fibres were removed.  I could be mistaken, but I think it was posted by SamirBourg from Aix-en-Provence.

In any case, I wonder if a Parajubaea Cocoides would become less cold hardy if its trunk fibres/leaf bases were removed, under the same rationale.

Well, at least it is proof that the tree won't be harmed by its leaf bases being removed (like Washingtonia Robusta, Sabal Palmetto, etc)

[Nakheel1412]

You're probably right, that layer of fibers and petiole bases probably helps protecting the trunk ;

The thing is, I wonder whether this protection might not also turn against the palm during our summers, that are way hotter than Quito's (max temp ~22ºC/72ºF) ;
If that also prevents palms from cooling down during heatwaves, that might kill them :S
If I ever get this palm (so hard to find seeds !), I'll probably clean the trunk (I really hate those fibers lol)

[Sandy Loam]

I actually can't grow this tree in my humid, hot climate, but I have a hybrid which is fifty percent Parajubaea Cocoides and will eventually have a similar trunk.  This was the reason for my inquiry about the trunk. My hybrid apparently will not mind humidity and heat because it is half Butia.