Florida Friendly Plant Spotlight: Pindo Palms

Article By:
Audrey Durr
Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program Coordinator

There's nothing like palms to give your yard that "Florida look". Palms suited to Citrus County include the pindo palm, European fan palm, needle palm, lady palm, cabbage/Sabal palm, windmill palm, Canary Island date palm, Washington palm and saw palmettos.

The pindo palm (Butia capitata) is an excellent choice for this area because it is low maintenance, cold hardy, drought-tolerant, and relatively pest-free. It is adaptable to a wide variety of soils, however, micronutrient deficiencies may occur on high pH soils. The pindo palm grows best in full sun to partial shade spots with an acidic to slightly alkaline soil pH. At a mature height of 20 to 25 feet, the pindo palm looks great as a single specimen tree or in a group.

One of the most common landscaping blunders is excessive palm pruning. The pindo palm does not shed dead fronds automatically, so it may require limited pruning to keep it looking tidy. When pruning a palm, it is best to remove only brown fronds. Removing green fronds can be detrimental to the palm's overall health and the stress can make it more susceptible to pest problems. If it is absolutely necessary to remove yellow or green fronds, only remove fronds that are not growing horizontally or pointed upward. Visit http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/palms.html for more information on proper palm pruning and palm care.

During the summer, pindo palms can produce a very generous crop of yellow/orange fruits that can be eaten raw or made into a jam or jelly. If you're interested in making your own jam, the Citrus County Canning Center is one of the County's best-kept secrets. The canning center is a self-help facility equipped for the preparation, preservation, and heat processing of fruits, vegetables, pickles, relishes, sauces, syrups, jams and jellies.

The canning center is supervised during all hours of operation by a knowledgeable, experienced kitchen manager who will help and educate you each step of the way with the latest, safest processing techniques. Use of the canning center and its equipment is free; you just bring your own canning jars, produce, and recipe ingredients. Hours of operation vary depending on seasonal factors; call 352-746-4324 or 352-527-5700 to receive current operational times or further information.

The Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program of the Citrus County Extension Service is a public education and outreach program of the University of Florida, funded jointly by the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners and the Coastal Rivers and Withlacoochee River Basin Boards of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

All programs and related activities sponsored for, or assisted by, the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are open to all persons with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions, or affiliations.

For persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations, please contact our office at least five working days prior to the program so that proper consideration may be given to the request. For hearing impaired, please contact the Florida Relay Center at 1-800-955-8770 (voice) or 1-800 –955-8771 (TDD).

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