PlantFiles: Chilean Wine Palm, Coquito de Chile
Jubaea chilensis

The seedlings get sun burn easily. I got 3 strong seedlings, there is only one survived. I should have tried the Buitia X Jubaea.

After I moved to Orange County in California, I bought a 15 Gallon
size Jubaea. It is so easy to take care of and good looking palm.

There're some facts to add to this marvelous specimen:
- Total height: 30m
- Diameter: 2m
- Oldest specimen: 1600 years
- It can live in zone 8a too.
- Soil Ph: Neutral and Acidic

A Jubaea seedling with two strap leaves survived -2 F in Bellevue WA, with its only protection being that it was sbmerged in one foot of snow. The palm is still alive today, but hasn't grown in 2 years.

Though slow growing, this is one of the prize palms for most collectors in the South Western States. It is the world's most massive palm and is native to Chile. It is also one of the most cold hardy palms easily handly frost, and some degree of freezing. Locally here in Los Angeles this tree, once a trunk has formed (up to 20 years for that to occur) is one of the most expensive palms you can buy. A large one will easily fetch thousands. They transplant fairly well, though a large crane and many workers are needed. It is also one of the few palms that does better in a Temperate environment than a tropical one. Though many in Florida and Hawaii may try to grow Jubaeas, most do not succeed. It prefers a dry (low humidity) climate.

This palm is one of the most susceptible to crown rot from overhead watering, so be careful how you water young plants... do not recommend watering with lawn sprinklers as rotting the bud is very easy to do this way, particularly in spring... but all year long even. Water with a hose or drip or some other method. It doesn't need much water as an adult, but seedlings can dessicate and die from lack of water.

Young palms do OK in full sun, but many find they do better in part day sun, at least while very young.

Adult palms can sometimes be confused with large Phoenix canariensis, and will sometimes be planted side by side to them in parks. But it is a much slower growing palm and tends to have slightly fatter trunk and fuller, more bluish crown of leaves. THis palm develops a smooth trunk with no leaf-base scars other than subtle flattened triangular shapes visible on the trunk, while the other more common plant has large, ornamental leaf scars. Also this palm has reduplicate leaflets (up side down 'V', while Phoenix have induplicate (upright 'V') leaflets. This characteristic can help tell apart seedlings as they do tend to look a lot alike. This palm does NOT have the horrible, deadly spines at the leaf bases, though, that Phoenix have.