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What to do with this Butia?


GMann

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Just bought this 15 gallon Butia on a whim. It looked really pretty and seemed so cheap for what it was that I decided I had to buy it. Problem is that I don't have much space in my yard anymore. It looked really small sitting in the nursery, but when I brought it to my garden it simply did not fit in the little areas I was imagining I could put it. In the attached photo it is sitting in the largest spot I could potentially put it (unless I plant on the swale out front). But even in that spot, if it grows much bigger it will start to block the gate (pictured in the top right of the photo).

Could I just keep it in it's pot indefinitely in an attempt to keep it from growing so big?

It seems to already have some trunk so perhaps it could stay in the pot and continue to grow trunk but with out putting on so much girth? This might work for me because say in 5 years I might move to a new house where there might be more room to plant it in the ground. Anyone have much experience keeping these things in pots?

What kind of Butia is it?

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Edited by GMann

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Plant it right there.  It wont do well in that pot for long.

As for the species since you are in florida it is probably catarinensis, which means the trunk wont get that big either.

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And if you move you can still take it with you. Butia transplant easily.

Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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13 hours ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

As for the species since you are in florida it is probably catarinensis, which means the trunk wont get that big either.

On PlantAnt.com, the only Butias being sold in South Florida are listed as Butia Capitata and 1 place has Butia Paraguayensis (D'Asign Source Botanicals). But maybe some of the places are selling the Catarinensis just listed as Capitata?

Now I am quite curious to know specifically what type it is. Do you think if I posted close up pics of the trunk and leaves people would be able to give an exact ID?

One thing I noticed is that the spines on the petioles are not sharp at all, they are whispy and when you touch them lightly the ends fall off. Does that indicate a specific type?

 

 

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Most everyone calls a pindo a butia capitata but that species is actually a semi dwarf that is quite rare. Nonetheless this is what their tags say at nurseries and big box stores but they are really catarinensis or odorata. Florida usually have catarinensis and Louisiana and Texas usually carry odorata.  I would venture to guess that it has to do with origional plants imported from two different areas in south america directly into florida and into south texas nurseries. From there they fruited and they started growing plants from that readily available seed. 

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It is also makes sense because Catarinensis is from Santa Catarina in Brazil, which is at roughly the same latitude as South Florida, whereas the other Butias tend to grow further south, down in Argentina and Uruguay, which probably has a climate more similar to Louisiana and Texas. 

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I agree with Ben - they transplant very well.  Based on your photo GMann, it looks like the rootball would still be easy to dig if you decide to plant it and they don't grow that fast.  I've seen very large Butias growing in what seems to be a relatively tiny container and they seem to be quite happy.  This one that I bought as a 7-gallon (totally root-bound) plant was transplanted 4 times in 5 years and is doing fine.  If you decide to keep in a container you wouldn't need to go much larger if you move it in 5 years.

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Jon Sunder

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