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My Brahea's


Jubaea_James760

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Brahea's are great palms, especially in temperate climates! Brahea Edulis is one, despite where it comes from it's extremely cold hardy! I would rate it as hardy as Washingtonia Robusta if not a little more hardy in my area. These two been in the ground for almost 3 years now...

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Hesperia,Southern CA (High Desert area). Zone 8b

Elevation; about 3600 ft.

Lowest temp. I can expect each year 19/20*f lowest since I've been growing palms *13(2007) Hottest temp. Each year *106

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Brahea Armata is another great one for my area, I planted 1 this year & I have no doubt it's gonna do fine!

IMG_4702_zps50b85c4f.jpg

Brahea Brandegeei, plant this year. I no this ones more sensitive to cold but I had to try.

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Hesperia,Southern CA (High Desert area). Zone 8b

Elevation; about 3600 ft.

Lowest temp. I can expect each year 19/20*f lowest since I've been growing palms *13(2007) Hottest temp. Each year *106

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Brahea Decumbens planted out this year.

IMG_4675_zps43337993.jpg

Brahea Dulcis (blue) also planted out this year.

IMG_4655_zpse5d23561.jpg

Hesperia,Southern CA (High Desert area). Zone 8b

Elevation; about 3600 ft.

Lowest temp. I can expect each year 19/20*f lowest since I've been growing palms *13(2007) Hottest temp. Each year *106

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I messed up on Brahea Decumbens, here it is,

IMG_4671_zps14e60e18.jpg

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Hesperia,Southern CA (High Desert area). Zone 8b

Elevation; about 3600 ft.

Lowest temp. I can expect each year 19/20*f lowest since I've been growing palms *13(2007) Hottest temp. Each year *106

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Nice! You might want to try the edulis x brandegei from the Huntington. Similar look as brandegei but faster and hardier.

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good stuff! i love braheas. you should try a super silver too

"it's not dead it's sleeping"

Santee ca, zone10a/9b

18 miles from the ocean

avg. winter 68/40.avg summer 88/64.records 113/25

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I didn't see that palm at the Huntington but than again I didn't get to see a lot of stuff. I went for the first time this spring and it was great! Definitely need to spend some more time there to see everything. That sounds like a good x, I'll add that to my list!

Steve, I have a Super Silver but it's still to small to plant out yet. I was planing on waiting till it was a good 5 gal but I might get impatient & plant it out next year!? Will see...I also have a Brahea nitida but that's even smaller than my SS.

There's a few more I still need to get my hands on like; Brahea Pimo, Aculeata, & Clara.

Hesperia,Southern CA (High Desert area). Zone 8b

Elevation; about 3600 ft.

Lowest temp. I can expect each year 19/20*f lowest since I've been growing palms *13(2007) Hottest temp. Each year *106

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One of the 2006 Palm Journals was dedicated to brahea, it's a must read if you love brahea. I devoured the issue and read every article, cover to cover.

I am going to say what I say to everyone about brahea: it's a big mistake to just get "one of each" and stop there. Brahea don't actually fit very nicely into the buckets we've created for them. The theory is that the ice ages are what insulated various populations of brahea from one another and got them to slowly diverge, but it's really more of a continuum. So for example brahea dulcis in its Northern range is quite distinct in form, inflorescence and hardiness when compared to the southern range form. The same is true for brahea armata. Even brahea edulis comes in a super stiff form and a form that is deeply costa-palmate like a sabal. I have the two edulis forms, very distinct.

Then there are a plethora of hybrids as a result of this genus being so prone to natural hybridization.

Here is a whole list of additional brahea to be on the lookout for:

brahea aculeata "blue"

brahea nuri

brahea san carlos

brahea bella

brahea berlianderli

brahea super silver "suckering" (For sale now at Cistus Nursery)

brahea dulcis blue (the one that's blue starting as a seedling, probably dulcis x decumbens)

brahea dulcis blue, the one that starts out green and turns blue

brahea elegans "blue" (a brahea elegans from the Sonora that is most likely aculeata x armata)

brahea elegans "franceschi" (a dwarf aculeata form)

brahea edulis x brandegeei, (see http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/325881/ for a photo.)

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Good stuff Axel! That is your name?

Thanks for list, I'll definetly be on the look out for them

Hesperia,Southern CA (High Desert area). Zone 8b

Elevation; about 3600 ft.

Lowest temp. I can expect each year 19/20*f lowest since I've been growing palms *13(2007) Hottest temp. Each year *106

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How hardy are those Brahea edulis in a dry climate? If I could get a Washingtonia looking palm that wont 'zap' every winter this may be an option. Hmmm..

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Not as hardy as washingtonia filifera, about as hardy as washingtonia robusta. Good to a dry USDA 9a.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Aren't there plenty of other Brahea you can grow in New Mexico?

Brahea clara has done well so far through our hot and humid summer. Guess I might try some others. What is an unusual looking species that might work?

David Simms zone 9a on Highway 30a

200 steps from the Gulf in NW Florida

30 ft. elevation and sandy soil

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Aren't there plenty of other Brahea you can grow in New Mexico?

Brahea clara has done well so far through our hot and humid summer. Guess I might try some others. What is an unusual looking species that might work?

If you find a source for some decent sized one, let me know.

In my post I sometimes express "my" opinion. Warning, it may differ from "your" opinion. If so, please do not feel insulted, just state your own if you wish. Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or any other damages

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David, both Michael and I are very novice so take that into consideration ….but so far all these have survived the summer humidity here in Florida, with sources for Keith:

Brahea super silver (ebay---can't remember name, but Phil, Jungle Music, has them, too), two summers so far; not yet planted.

Brahea icy blue clara (Tejas--whom I wish were still available for us! Phil has clara tho IDK if it's icy blue), two summers; one summer in ground.

Brahea decumbens (Phil, Jungle Music), one summer here; newly planted.

Brahea dulcis blue form (Phil, Jungle Music), one summer here; newly planted.

Every post at PT (and elsewhere) on these Brahea selections, especially Hawaii posts, I think Kona Al (?) and Florida, I think PalmiteerMeg, and Tank ------and other high humidity PT'ers deserve mention but cannot recall at this moment, I've read till my head imploded ---which is normal for a newbie, I hope! lol. And also thru CFPACS, we went to Orlando Leu Gardens with a side trip to Eric's xeriscape and glean knowledge. Eric is atruly truly marvelous person!

We purchased the biggest available shippable we could afford. Phil has been wonderful helping us figure out the ones that can most likely take our humidity, and weird garden zone (high 9b low 10a <---which is probably not so weird to others). So far sooooo good with the Brahea! lol. But my head is still imploded.

Shirleypt.png

There are several mature Wodyetia bifurcata in my neighborhood--that helps determine my zone, right? :blink:

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Alicehunter- I honestly don't know...I haven't seen any.. nor have I seen any offered here anywhere. Armata is supposed to be good to go here.. but again never seen any offered even at appreciable size. I have a seedling armata here 8 years that survives all of our cold and has never been protected. Nothing to shake a stick at... its surviving while growing slow without irrigation and neglect. The more I think it- I should try to move it and put it in a better location. Any other Brahea is unheard of.

I like the idea of clara because of the faster growth rate... and I might try a few others. We will see.

Sabal Steve- I like the idea of Sabal.. just choosing one is a problem. I plan on adding minors for fill in.. but want to try something a little bigger. Palmetto is listed as hardy here.. again.. I don't think I have ever seen one and I sort of don't like the way they look.. Planting area is another issue.. as I only have one spot for a large Sabal.. which makes my choosing all the more difficult. The area is great.. and will have enough heat and water to fulfill its needs.

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Got these clara's from Yucca Do Nursery .... they still have some as of yesterday.post-97-0-83125500-1410268342_thumb.jpgpost-97-0-78738700-1410268387_thumb.jpgpost-97-0-64511100-1410268430_thumb.jpg

The last one is in a race with the A. wrightii that got cut to the ground by the vortex. If it ever gets cut down by cold again....at least the Brahea will fill in the spot.

Thanks Shirley ....gonna check those out....sounds like you did more research than me.

SB .... I'm pretty sure most Brahea species would work for you. Axel has done a lot of research on this genera and he might have some sources to purchase from.

Oh and I don't think Brahea transplant well....you might want to leave the armata in place.

David Simms zone 9a on Highway 30a

200 steps from the Gulf in NW Florida

30 ft. elevation and sandy soil

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I've spent a lot of time researching brahea, and I have a collection of about 50 different kinds. Our botanical district has several native brahea, so the genus is quite at home in our climate. I don't have any direct experience with hot humid climates, but so far, I've only heard about issues with brahea armata and brahea edulis. Brahea edulis tends to rot in hot humid climates, and brahea armata seems to decline in vigor the closer you get to the equator. In Hawaii it seems to barely grow. Not sure why.

I have gotten most of my brahea locally, it's easy to find rare and unusual brahea all over California. The best mail order source was Tejas, but they're out of the nursery business and only do livestock now. Yucca Do Nursery may be able to fill in the void left by Tejas but so far they only carry brahea clara. If you are going to order a brahea clara from them, make sure to buy one of the blue sabal tamalpais as well. Those are wonderful and a must-have anywhere in the South. Phil of Jungle music can get you brahea elegans, brahea dulcis, brahea decumbens and brahea super silver. Cistus nursery has a very rare brahea in their catalogue right now, it's some sort of blue suckering dulcis/decumbens cross that they are calling "super silver" but it's not at all related to super silver. They write this description in their catalogue:

A clumping creature, to 10 ft tall, looking much like Brahea decumbens but with larger leaves and a more extended trunk. These are from a mid-elevation collection from central Mexico at the edges of thorn scrub where it meets oak country. Dappled shade to full sun and generous summer fertilizing with water to speed its slow growth. We know it makes a beautiful container specimen but don't yet know its potential frost hardiness. So we can only guess at 20F, the bottom of USDA zone 9.

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BraheaAxel-Alicehunter- Wow I didn't think there were that many different species or ecotypes. Impressive. I left the hobby for quite some time and I am recently getting back into it. I will have to do further reading.

Indeed... I agree to choose Sabal tamalpais over minor... do you think YuccaDo is the best source for those? I will most likely plan for spring on those. I saw the 'clara' they offered but think I would like to try a larger size(larger than 3g). Others I will look into and heed guidance.

I cant add as to why some Brahea decline in hot-humid climates.. My experience with my newly planted armata is limited and my palm is in its establishment period. I was especially careful about root disturbance and the palm is actually growing pretty fast. The center spear has grown out.. and its next leaf is opening right now (which I don't remember seeing ahead of the previous one... and there is an additional new spear emerging. I watered sparingly throughout summer.. I noticed if I watered it more frequently the leaves would close up just a little.. and then relax again over a period of days. So my only guess is it doesn't like frequent water. Perhaps monsoonal moisture is what it prefers.???

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Edited by SailorBold

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Jimmy, brahea delay opening their spears when the roots are dry, not when they are wet. I almost killed a brahea armata because I let it dry out before it had a chance to send roots down to harvest water from the depths.

Your brahea looks rather green to be a pure armata, especially for growing in your New Mexico inferno.

Here are some more photos:

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Do you think it is a cross of some kind? I was looking at the leaf petiole and it looks to be nearly void of armor.. would this be a defining characteristic?

Also... The leaflets are splitting on the first leaf to open since it was planted similar to your 2nd and 4th pics; is that common in armata?

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You will just have to grow it out to see what it really is. There is a lot of variation in armata, some are not as blue, but my guess is that often there's something else influencing the genetics to make them veer towards olive green. Maybe it's just the lighting of the photo.

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  • 6 years later...
On 8/10/2014 at 10:42 PM, James760 said:

Brahea Armata is another great one for my area, I planted 1 this year & I have no doubt it's gonna do fine!

 

IMG_4702_zps50b85c4f.jpg

 

Brahea Brandegeei, plant this year. I no this ones more sensitive to cold but I had to try.

 

IMG_4675_zps43337993.jpg

Hey James, how has your Brandegeei done out there in an 8B climate? Thanks

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It died its first winter I believe. I didn't protect it very well like I should have. I have some seedlings I grew from seeds that I want to try in a few years.

Hesperia,Southern CA (High Desert area). Zone 8b

Elevation; about 3600 ft.

Lowest temp. I can expect each year 19/20*f lowest since I've been growing palms *13(2007) Hottest temp. Each year *106

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