Former Post Observations/Horrors

[GregVirginia7]

So, I posted a while back “Summer Recovery” and got a couple responses that made me think I’ve been living a lie…😂

First the Brazoria. There was a question about its authenticity based on the height of the seed stalks. Oddly enough, I had no idea that seed stalk height that exceeds frond height is an indication that the palm is not a Brazoria. My face sagged and my heart fell and I’ve been watching those seed stalks like a prison guard ever since. So far, seeds are forming and stalk height is almost exactly frond height. I’ll send pics later.

Then I got a post regarding my accidental Butia and I’ll bore you with the details because it’s quite a story that I’ve told before but in my zone, we’re very limited so palms and stories tend to repeat themselves…and age plays a part, too. Anyway, it was early summer and I thought I would try sprouting some seeds so I ordered some Brazoria seeds. My germination method of choice was to use moist sphagnum moss as the medium in a plastic bag. Things seemed normal for a few days then suddenly I had a bag full of hairy mold. So I took all the seeds out to dry on my garden bench outside. I no sooner turned my back and all 12 seeds were gone. The thief was a squirrel no doubt as I have at least a dozen of the chronically obese critters in my microclimate, backyard zone. I feed them, along with the birds. It’s my own fault. Anyway, I thought that was it for the experiment and I moved on.

Well, spring rolled around and about mid spring I noticed a 6” thin strap leaf growing right off my ground level deck. I was shocked. That seed wintered, unprotected in ground in an area that gets no sun in the winter. Anyway, I dug it up and transplanted it to a sunnier spot in my microclimate backyard. And here’s where my heart not only sank…it imploded. There was an observation from my post that it probably is a Sabal of some sort. Don’t get me wrong, I love Sabals but in terms of what I have to talk about, they dominate and they’re palmate. This Butia was going to be my only pinnate, protected, of course, until it was too big to protect. Thus becoming another sad Palm Talk casualty but at least something new to talk about!

So, it’s a wait and see. I still have hope as there were zero Sabal seeds here unless someone sold me a bag of Sabal seeds but I was real “Palm Talk” studious to make sure the seeds I ordered looked like Butia Odorata seeds, and they did., I’ll give it to fall to see if my beloved accidental Butia is a Sabal…

Have a great rest of your summer growing season. I’ll be posting pics by fall to vindicate my palms! 😂

 

[JohnAndSancho]

I really wish something would poop a Butia in my yard. 

[Allen]

That 'brazoria' pic in your other post doesn't look like a minor with that trunk forming that way.

[GregVirginia7]

23 hours ago, Allen said:

That 'brazoria' pic in your other post doesn't look like a minor with that trunk forming that way.

 

23 hours ago, Allen said:

That 'brazoria' pic in your other post doesn't look like a minor with that trunk forming that way.

It’s the Butia that looks like a minor…I see the broad width of the secondary straps, but the initial strap was real pencil thin, not like a minor strap. I’ll be really interested to see what transpires…😊

[ryjohn]

I have a Brazoria with 6’ of trunk.  It looks exactly like my minors (which get massive too here) but has about 10x the trunk.  The seed stalks are a bit shorter than the minors but still are straight up and can be well above the fronds