Pindo palm

Sun

Full sun; tolerates light shade but develops a denser crown in sun.

Water

Water regularly while establishing, allowing the surface soil to dry between waterings. Established palms tolerate dry spells but grow better with occasional deep watering.

Soil

Well-drained sandy or loamy soil; tolerates acidic to mildly alkaline conditions. Avoid waterlogged ground, especially in winter.

Height

10-20 ft (3-6 m)

Spread

10-15 ft (3-4.6 m)

Flowers

Cream to yellow flowers on branched stalks among the lower leaves, usually in late spring or summer; flowering varies with climate.

Foliage

Evergreen. Long, arching, feather-shaped fronds with stiff, blue-green to grey-green leaflets and spiny leaf stalks.

Growth

Slow

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Drought tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Hard

Toughness

Needs looking after

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2.1 m)

3. After 2 years

   7 ft (2.2 m)

4. After 3 years

   7 ft (2.2 m)

5. After 5 years

   8 ft (2.4 m)

About 32 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Growth rate

Slow

• Plant in a sunny, sheltered position with the root ball at its original depth; do not bury the trunk.
• Water deeply through the first two growing seasons, without keeping the root zone constantly wet.
• On poor or sandy soils, apply a slow-release palm fertiliser with magnesium and micronutrients during active growth, following the label.
• Mulch the root zone, keeping mulch clear of the trunk.
• Protect young palms from frost and cold wind; move container-grown plants into a bright, frost-free space where winters are cold.
• Collect fallen fruit near paths before it becomes slippery.

Pruning. In late spring or summer, remove fully brown fronds and unwanted flower or fruit stalks using clean tools and heavy gloves. Keep green fronds and never cut the central growing spear or top the trunk.

Spring

Plant once the soil has warmed and the risk of damaging frost has passed.

Late spring

Remove dead fronds and apply palm fertiliser if soil fertility is poor.

Summer

Water young palms deeply during dry weather and check leaf undersides for scale insects.

Late summer

Harvest fully coloured, fragrant fruit as it ripens; timing varies with local conditions.

Autumn

Clear fallen fruit and check that water drains freely around the roots.

Winter

Protect young palms during cold spells and keep container compost only slightly moist under cover.

• Use as a specimen in a sunny lawn or gravel bed, leaving room for the broad, arching crown.
• Combine with agaves, yuccas and low grasses for contrasting leaf shapes in a dry-climate garden.
• Place beside a terrace for an overhead canopy, but keep spiny leaf stalks and falling fruit away from seating and paths.
• Grow a young plant in a large container where it can be sheltered for winter.

Garden styles it suits: Architectural minimal, Modern Mediterranean, Modern tropical, Coastal, Dry gravel garden and Edible landscape.

Plant it with: Spineless yucca, Foxtail agave, Lomandra, Society garlic, Rosemary and African lily.

Wildlife: Flowers attract bees and other insects. Ripe fruit is eaten by birds and mammals and may also attract rodents if left on the ground.

• Cold injury: fronds scorch and the central spear may rot after severe frost. Choose a sheltered site, protect young plants and avoid cutting damaged leaves until the extent of injury is clear.
• Root or crown rot: poorly drained soil and prolonged wet conditions can cause decline. Improve drainage before planting and keep irrigation out of the crown.
• Potassium or magnesium deficiency: older fronds develop spotting, yellow margins or premature browning. Use a balanced palm fertiliser containing these nutrients rather than removing affected green leaves.
• Scale insects: inspect leaf undersides and stalks; treat small infestations with a horticultural oil labelled for palms, avoiding hot sun and following label directions.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses, although animal-specific safety information is limited. Ripe fruit flesh is edible; the hard stones can cause choking or intestinal blockage if swallowed, and the spiny leaf stalks can puncture skin.

• Pindo palm (Butia odorata)

  The usual cultivated pindo palm, often incorrectly labelled B. capitata. It generally has rounder fruit and rounder seed stones, while true B. capitata tends to have more elongated ones;

• Guadalupe palm (Brahea edulis)

  Has fan-shaped leaves rather than the feather-shaped fronds of Butia.

• Queen palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana)

  Usually grows much taller, with a slimmer, smoother trunk and greener, more feathery-looking fronds.

Butia comes from an Indigenous Brazilian name for these palms, while jelly palm refers to the use of the fruit in preserves.

Propagation. Grow from fresh seed after removing the fruit pulp. Sow in a deep pot of free-draining compost and keep warm; germination is erratic and may take many months or longer than a year. This solitary palm cannot be divided.

Accepted botanical name

Butia capitata

In the US and Canada

Introduced in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast and Brazil West-Central.

Measured

Average height 250 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.