Acrocomia totai

[merrill]

Hi, Zac:

Thanks for mentioning Dr. Del Porto's Acrocomia.  Now I dimly remember seeing it there.  Any ideas as to whether it originated at Dade City or St. Leo?  Do any other Acrocomia in the SE other than Florida come to mind?

Hi, Keith:

Doug Keene probably still grows St. Leo Acrocomia.  Send me a personal message on this board, and I'll send his email address.  Did you get ahold of Jim or Matt? See you at a meeting some day.

[Zac in NC]

Merrill- You are very welcome. Other Acrocomias in the Se. Well, I had 3 seedlings of A mexicana but I killed them in pots. =/ Not sure where DelPorto got his. I would bet Tom McClendon might plant one out in St Marys, Georgia. It will unfortunately never be a common palm in cultivation in the SE.

Zac

[Jeff Searle]

(cfkingfish @ Oct. 25 2006,19:52)

QUOTE

One palm from John and Faith Bishock's garden in Old Miakka I have never taken a picture of is their A. totai. It has survived low 20s multiple times, as well as a 2 week flood which left it submerged in several feet of water. It now looks great with its upright spines and a fuller crown from the first time I saw it.

I remember seeing their palm a couple of years ago. It was big and it gets very cold where they are. Their house is quite inland.  This is certainly a under-used palm for cold temperate areas.

   Jeff

[Eric in Orlando]

There are only a few that I know of around Orlando, just in old neighborhoods. There is one near downtown that was just over 20ft tall. I drove by it the other day and the whole lot was strip cleared; the palm, old Tabebuia trees, evrything cleared. I'm sure it is in a trashpile somewhere. At least I got a photo of it a couple of years ago. This palm was a seedling that was allowed to grow up. There previously was about a 30ft specimen that died in the early '90s from ganoderma. This palm grew from a seedling. It was in the middle of a Ligustrum hedge so it kept getting sheared when the hedge did. I guess someone realized there was a neat palm because they quit shearing it and allowed it to grow up. I just noticed there is another a couple of blocks away. They built soem new townhouses on this lot and actually left the palm. I thought it was law that every bit of vegetation had to be cleared and demolished before it could be built !

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/leu242....16

[edbrown_3]

Zac,

How long has it been there?   I dont remember it from a early 90's visit.  If it was around in 99' , it possibley saw 19F and 2 weeks of freezes as Jacksonville  ( 120 miles south) recieved 21 F low and simular 2 weeks  freezes.   The 3 ihave were out then .

Best regards,

Ed

[merrill]

Hi, Ed:

If you're asking about the one at Savannah

"3. "Re: For SEPS members:  Savannah Bamboo Garden"

In Arborwood,  Tom posted:

"Merrill, there is a nice Acrocomia there that I obtained in 1999.  I tried very hard to get one that I could be sure was from Dade City/St. Leo or from Cocoa Beach, and I am still not sure it was, but the palm is doing quite well.  When I last saw it in July it had about 6 feet of trunk and was growing fast.  It has seen some real bumps -- twice I thought it was dead -- but it is doing great now. "

OTOH, if you're asking about Dr. Del Porto's Acrocomia in Charleston, it's been there a long time, '80 or more, guessing from its height  -  merrill

[Zac in NC]

Yes Merrill- He(Tom- I went back and re-read and that was vague) calls it the Lazarus palm I believe, as it has come back from the dead twice.  I would say DelPortos has been there a long time, so Merrill's guess of at least the 80s is appropriate.

Zac

[edbrown_3]

Howdy Merrill and Zac,

If this Charleston Acrocomia survived the 80's it probably saw single digits farenheit.   I remember seeing  12 F up against the wall of my house in 1985.  It bottomed out at  9F at Jax Air Port

[merrill]

Ed:

If my memory serves, there was an 8+ ft brick wall around the Del Porto Acrocomia garden.  That was probably the same 10F that got our first St. Leo Acrocomia.  merrill

[Zac in NC]

Yep. there is a brick wall around the entire thing and the house is shaped like a big L and its 2 stories. A decent microclimate.

Zac

[merrill]

Hi, Zac:  Happy Thanksgiving!

Just for calibration purposes, is there a queen in Del Porto' yard?  - merrill

[edbrown_3]

Good to hear from you Merrill,

The commentary is rattling some loose stones in my memory.  I recall buying a palm (Acrocomia ) from a German/Eastern European couple ( I can not remember their names) at a CFPS meeting

They were so hard to find then but I lost it in a subsequent freeze of the 80's.

Brick wall was evidently decisive.  this is off the thread but the buildign at UF saved the Sabal causerium and a queen for many years during those harsh winters of hte 80's.

Happy Thanks giving.

Ed

[merrill]

Hi, Ed:

The UF causiarum is even more surrounded by masonry buildings now.

[Patrick- &nbsp Paraguay]

(merrill @ Nov. 21 2006,15:29)

QUOTE

Hi, Paul:

You are to be commended for your determination.  If you try seed, I'd use a deep pot, and extra heat and light.

The method below is the safest for large seed, and gave me an Acrocomia seedling in a couple of months, instead of the typical 4-7 years.

http://www.arborwood.com/awforum....3664968

Best Wishes, merrill

Merrill , do you have any idea of the germination percentage using that method ?  

Here in Paraguay the acrocomia is widespread ( in the Guarani language it is called mbocaya ) . Everybody uses it for cattle fodder in winter , to make cooking oils and soaps , and for the scent of the flowers for the nativity scene ,  but there is no infomation on cultural practices and less on a germination method or time .

The wild stands cover several thousand square km but  maybe because of this nobody really pays much atention to them .

Any information will be appreciated

Regards

Pat

[merrill]

Hi, Pat:

I fear I'm going to ask more questions than I answer, with apologies.  I've only seen a few sq kilometres of Paraguay, so I envy you.  Do you have a variety w/o spines on the fronds?  What plant parts are used for fodder?  Which Acrocomia grows there?  We'd all like to see photos.     

My experience is limited to a very small sample, so isn't good statistically.  We read that germination may take seven years [actually Dent Smith said that].  I've never succeeded in germinating an uncracked one, but they germinated fairly rapidly after being cracked [withn weeks or months], if the endosperm wasn't damaged.  Sorry I can't be of more help.  - merrill

[merrill]

The Del Porto Acrocomia was derived from Dade City.

Best Wishes,

merrill