Borassus aethiopium

[ahosey01]

To those of you that have these, any tips you can share on cultivation?

Want to plant one.

[tarnado]

I have only *seen* them being cultivated. In that particular location, they were in a floodplain of black clay soil ("black cotton soil" in the US) that was waterlogged more or less for 2+ months in the hot season.  The trees themselves were absolute monsters. Chonksters. Amazing. Good luck!

[D. Morrowii]

I picked a small one up at the CFPACS meeting a couple of weeks ago. The guy who germinated it has a large one in his yard. Not the seed source but the trunk is 4’ across at the base. Its massive! His advise was that their roots are hypersensitive probably more so then Bismarckia. So much so he said that if I try to remove it from the 2 gal pot that I’d probably kill it. If I do plant it out I’ll just carefully slice the walls of the pot and plant it directly in the ground in the pot. Otherwise moderate water and nothing specific about soil. 
 

PS I’ll be watching this thread for advise too now 😃

[kinzyjr]

2 hours ago, ahosey01 said:

To those of you that have these, any tips you can share on cultivation?

Want to plant one.

Treat them like a mix between a coconut and a Bismarckia.  The coconut part: keep it away from walkways and away from anything you don't want damaged with high winds or fruit drop.  The fruit looks and hits like a cannon ball.  If you get high winds, look out

The Bismarckia in that they are somewhat root sensitive and have big fans.  They are also dioecious, so you'll need a male and female to produce viable seeds.

https://www.palmpedia.net/wiki/Borassus_aethiopum

[bubba]

Borrasus aethiopum is a palm indigenous to tropical Africa. This has to be one of the most gigantic of all palms. It is beyond huge. I cannot see this palm growing in any real fashion unless you have a tropical climate. Brownsville probably has a chance. 
 

A few shots of these in South Florida:

 

[Frond-friend42]

4 hours ago, bubba said:

Borrasus aethiopum is a palm indigenous to tropical Africa. This has to be one of the most gigantic of all palms. It is beyond huge. I cannot see this palm growing in any real fashion unless you have a tropical climate. Brownsville probably has a chance. 
 

A few shots of these in South Florida:

 

I think the last two are copernicias. The boots are not splitting in the criss-cross pattern.

[bubba]

You are likely correct. These Borrasus are located in an area where the Copernicias are taller than the Royals! 

[sonoranfans]

I had a juvenile about 15-18' overall and it was badly frost burned with temps just above freezing.  I removed 7 mostly burned leaves.  The armed petioles make it harder to handle those leaves without getting cut and since they weigh 30+ pounds(guess) if they fall its going to slice you good.  I decided I dont want to deal with those massive, armed leaves falling.   Bismarckia is just 2/3rd the crown with of that monster.  15 feet from my largest Alfredii and it was causing some damage already. and at just 10' from the house it just wouldnt fit.  The ultimate size of these is not for a small yard.  The leaves are rigid and will damage other palms that the leaf tips come into contact with.  I saw one on Ken Johnsons farm with a rootball 7' wide and it was 50' tall.  Trunk thickness was greater than 4'.  If its going to drop even leaves, they will be very hazardous and trimming dead leaves and dragging them away use proper hand, arm protection.  I know this palm would survive in my yard, but after the frost burn event at 34 degrees did that much damage, I had to ask:  Do I want a 35-40 foot wide palm that may drop 15 leaves all at once after a frost event.  I do miss it but I am glad I wont be looking up at armed leaves like that ready to fall off with a leaf like a huge sail so it can fall well away from the trunk even in moderate winds.  These leaves, like a  royal would cause a good sized dent in any car when falling from even 20'  If I had a big yard, a couple acres, I would plant one away from the prized undergrowth and walking areas.

[ahosey01]

38 minutes ago, sonoranfans said:

I had a juvenile about 15-18' overall and it was badly frost burned with temps just above freezing.  I removed 7 mostly burned leaves.  The armed petioles make it harder to handle those leaves without getting cut and since they weigh 30+ pounds(guess) if they fall its going to slice you good.  I decided I dont want to deal with those massive, armed leaves falling.   Bismarckia is just 2/3rd the crown with of that monster.  15 feet from my largest Alfredii and it was causing some damage already. and at just 10' from the house it just wouldnt fit.  The ultimate size of these is not for a small yard.  The leaves are rigid and will damage other palms that the leaf tips come into contact with.  I saw one on Ken Johnsons farm with a rootball 7' wide and it was 50' tall.  Trunk thickness was greater than 4'.  If its going to drop even leaves, they will be very hazardous and trimming dead leaves and dragging them away use proper hand, arm protection.  I know this palm would survive in my yard, but after the frost burn event at 34 degrees did that much damage, I had to ask:  Do I want a 35-40 foot wide palm that may drop 15 leaves all at once after a frost event.  I do miss it but I am glad I wont be looking up at armed leaves like that ready to fall off with a leaf like a huge sail so it can fall well away from the trunk even in moderate winds.  These leaves, like a  royal would cause a good sized dent in any car when falling from even 20'  If I had a big yard, a couple acres, I would plant one away from the prized undergrowth and walking areas.

I definitely don't have an acre.  But I do have a space that is more than 10 ft from the house, or really anyone elses house.

Might have to give it a shot.  Soil is wet and thick and I've heard they grow best like that.

[bubba]

Tom’s observations are spot on. It caused me to recall an incident sometime ago. A homeowner had innocently planted a Borassus close to their house. The palm had finally reached the point in its growth trajectory where it became clear that it would likely move the house off its foundation. The poor gentleman was forced to remove this palm at some expense!

[sonoranfans]

1 hour ago, ahosey01 said:

I definitely don't have an acre.  But I do have a space that is more than 10 ft from the house, or really anyone elses house.

Might have to give it a shot.  Soil is wet and thick and I've heard they grow best like that.

18-20' from the house if you dont want root shingle damage in  wind.  Ultimately it will grow up over the house, sooner for a 1 story fo course, but I would separate it at least 30' from the trunk of another non dwarf palm.  Its going to take a long time, not nearly as fast as Beccariophoenix alfredii which grew an extra 7-8 feet in height in the time I had it 7 years.  Theyt start out real slow 2-3 leaves a year for me till the trunk establishes itself, then they are a 10 leaf a year palm after 5 years or so, like alfredii.   ANother thought is Aethiopum is more a steppe or desert type palm, most easily drought tolerant of all my palms.  They shoot a massive sinker root down and if you damage that root when taking it out of a pot, its a goner.  It also means you want high drainage soil, not mucky wet soil.  Borassus Flabellifer, a related palm is a jingle palm and is dark vs the pale green of flabellifer.  Here is my BA and Borassus Aethiopum fighting for space. 

[Merlyn]

@sonoranfans did your Borassus drop heavy leaves like a Royal?  Or is it more like a Bismarck where they tend to droop down and dessicate before falling off (or being pruned off)?

[sonoranfans]

12 hours ago, Merlyn said:

@sonoranfans did your Borassus drop heavy leaves like a Royal?  Or is it more like a Bismarck where they tend to droop down and dessicate before falling off (or being pruned off)?

I never had more than a few feet of trunk on the borassus, the leaves were heavy and it was reported to be self shedding as an adult.  Much thicker(2x) petioles than a bismarckia and bigger more rigid leaves too

[Garcia3]

@Rod has one growing in his collection in Phoenix, not sure if ever you ever had the chance to see it but he might have some insight.   

[Sabal Steve]

I germinated these in place, a year ago, under a black trash can, in some tubes.  I’ve germinated maybe 20 of these seeds, over time - every single one I’ve tried.  These are the only surviving ones (I also have 2 in pots, that didn’t have a root make it down to the dirt, and I set the tubes on top of 3 gal pots - time will tell, with those).  
 

It sounds like the one at the SD Zoo is still there, which would be within the one of those Africa exhibits (on the edge of that tar pit (“Africa Rocks”?).   It was like 12’, last time I checked as there, at least 5 years ago.  

I’ve had the best luck germinating them in straight perlite.  I also got five to root into the ground, two winters ago, and they appeared to ultimately succumb to the wet weather we had.

The three pictured, here, are in a 30” wide planter box, and the edge closer to the house, is like 15’-18’ or so, from the wall.

Unfortunately, I want to build a retaining wall to brace that hillside, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep any….

But, I’ll probably order some more, and try a few feet over, further from the house.  Planted them a few inches higher than last year, too, and there was still a good bit of settling.  I’m slowly trying to acclimate them to the sun, hence the landscape bag.

 

 

[Sabal Steve]

[D. Morrowii]

12 minutes ago, Sabal Steve said:

Thats pretty creative! I like seeing all the different ideas people come up with. 

[sonoranfans]

14 hours ago, Garcia3 said:

@Rod has one growing in his collection in Phoenix, not sure if ever you ever had the chance to see it but he might have some insight.   

Yes Rod inspired me to grow one, I used to live in AZ.  He is in a frost free zone unlike me.  We get a frost every few years here.