Someone raised some questions about Parajubaea but as that message is about to disappear off the bottom, Im adding this one at the top.

There are three species of this high-altitude, Andean palm growing in Equador, Bolivia and Colombia - P. cocoides, P. torallyi and P. sunkha.

P. cocoides occurs in Equador and Colombia in a climate which sees little seasonal variation in temperature.  Frosts occur and day temperatures are barely into the low 20s C.  It has been grown in London with to a three foot seedling which succumbed to -5C without any winter protection.  However, it survived -8C in Italy but was completely defoliated so perhaps its lowest endurance is somewhere between these two levels.

P. torallyi is the cold hardiest of the species, experiencing lows of -7 C undamaged in the Bolivian Andes during July and August winter months (figures given to me by a grower abroad who received seeds directly from Bolivia).  The climate here is colder with more distinct seasonal variation in temperature unlike Equador. It grows in Sandstone at the unbelieveable altitude of up to 3400 m, one of the highest elevation palms in the world.  It is possibly faster growing than cocoides but it still rarely available outside of South America.

A third species - P. sunkha - was identified as recenly as 1996, also in Bolivia, growing at lower elevations up to 2200 m in dry valleys.  Sunkha refers to the abundance of fibres it produces.

The potential of this palm in a cold climate - particularly torallyi - lies in two areas.  Firstly, its appearance. The feather fronds are graceful, wispy and arching , a shiny green colour above, greyish white below on a tall, very slim trunk resembling Coco nucifera, the coconut palm to which it is related.  It is also related to Jubaea chilensis from Chile which is reflected in its name - parajubaea . More importantly, it has a degree of frost tolerance, especially the Bolivian species , which have a more leathery texture, perhaps an adaptation to its environment.

The two biggest problems are firstly getting hold of seeds and secondly germinating them. Cocoides seeds have been available before and appears regularly in seed catalogues but torallyi is much more difficult to obtain although the seed service does get them.  The next problem is germinating them - they have a low germination rate. This can take anything from six months to several years.  The seeds of torallyi are extremely large and heavy - bigger in size than an extremely large walnut shell with three distinct ridges. P. torallyi microcarpa, is a variety with much smaller, smoother seeds with faint ridges .

The hard outer shell - the endocarp - contains the endosperm from which the embryonic palm seedling germinates. It is important to leave the whole seed in a warm, dry place for at least two months before even attempting germination. This allows the endosperm to loosen from its tough, outer shell and aids germination. The seeds should be placed just below the surface in a loose, open mixture, kept moist in a warm place.

My torallyi seedlings (germination a year) are growing in a mixture of pure horticultural sand, bark chippings and perlite (no soil) in containers measuring six inches diameter by sixteen inches depth - thats not a typing error, the containers really are that deep. This is because once the seeds germinate they send out a strong, penetrating tap root which goes directly down before top growth commences. It is important that the sedlings have a deep root run and as such specialized containter sizes are almost impossible to obtain, Id visit a hardware store and buy some plastic drain pipes. This is then cut to the length required, with a bottom made up with drainage holes and fill it with an extremely free draining but moisture retentive mixture. I pamper them with boiled (and cooled) tap water or rain water every ten days in winter, more frequently now.

The good news is that once germination occurs, you are in for a pleasant surprise - this palm grows fast ! Even in cold March in low light torallyis first spear produces a few inches of top growth ( indoors). One robust seedlings has grown five inches in eight weeks which has really surprised me as I've been conditioned by palm seedlings to expect snail paced growth and usually only in warm weather, never in such cool conditions as now. Ive been told that they really take off after about three years. Cocoides flowers and fruit after only ten years in Italy.

The single root system does not regenerate if damaged so it should never be transplanted once planted out. It is also not a palm for container culture as it needs an unimpeded root run.  However, this has to be weighted up against its vulnerability as a seedling in a cold climate and therefore a three or four foot plant might be a good size to plant out.

Another limiting factor to successful cultivation outside of its natural habitat is excessive summer heat and especially hot or humid nights - day temperatures of 32C would probably be too high.  Cool night temperatures is critical to strong, vigorous growth. It should be grown in full sun from an early age but must be carefully acclimatised.

This palm is another of those new, experimental palms from high altitude, mountain ranges of the world like Caryota himalaya and Ceroxylon that we often discuss on this board - not yet assessed in colder climates but all requiring similar growing conditions, can endure frost, thrives in cool summers and are highly ornamental.

I would be interested in anyones views or comments on this palm. Is it grown in California ? Would it be suitable for the Pacific NW ?

Imtiaz, London, z8b

I am growing P. cocoides and P. Toryalli a few blocks from the ocean on the CALIF central coast, and they are quite happy here. They seem to require daytime highs 13-22C and nighttime lows 7-14C all year round, something our coastal climate readily provides. They lose vigor when nightime temps are not cool enough. P. cocoides is not all that uncommon around the CA Bay area, but because of the difficulty in germination and because it doesn't grow very well in containers, it is not popular with nurseries, but it is certainly the palm that is most adapted to the coastal areas of cnetral California.

There is no doubt that this palm is in its ideal environment along the central and northern coastline of California, but as a previous posting mentions, palms are rather rare along the coast north of Santa Barbara.

There is a landscaper in the San Jose area that has at least 50 large 5 foot specimens that he has propagated for his landscaping projects. (Please don't ask me his name because he is not in the business of selling them.) And I have seem more beautiful mature specimens around the San Francisco peninsula. (Pictures will soon be on my website.)

Palms are not popular in Northern California because Northern Cal. tries to develop its own identity separately from Southern Calif - What a shame, as so many of the Andean highland palms do so well here.

If anyone is interested, there are rather large P. cocoides specimens (20 foot tall) in the Oakland Lakeside park. They fruit abundantly, and the seeds are quite tasty. (Provided you're willing to remove the nasty green shell, and break the coconut like seed shell - a lot of work for a delicious, coconuty chunk of white flesh the size of a pebble.)

The most beautiful specimens with the most number of fronds are found in San Francisco, where the temperature rarely exceeds 20C, but frosts are also rare to non-existent. But they must be quite frost hardy as all the P. cocoides I am aware of casually survived the nasty frost of 1990, which dropped temps up to -7 C in some areas. (Note that these were radiative frosts.)

Here is an interesting piece of Trivia: hidden among redwoods in Northern California are several Ceroxylons that the Northern Cal. palm Society members have planted.  In the past, such plants were stolen, so they no longer will reveal the locations. So if you happen to stumble upon giant Ceroxylons while hiking in the redwoods, you will know where they came from. (Unlike P. cocoides, Ceroxylons prefer shade when starting out.)

If you are interested in highland tropicals, please drop me some E-mail. I would be glad to share growing tips and cuttings (not of palms of course, but other stuff like Passiflora.) I would also be very intererested in anyone else's experience with growing highland palms.

Axel