Jubaea chilensis

Jubaea chilensis, the Chilean wine palm, is the only living member of its genus and the only palm native to mainland Chile, where it grows wild in the Mediterranean-climate hills of the centre of the country. It has the thickest trunk of any American palm, a smooth grey column often more than a metre across, crowned by a dense head of stiff, dull green leaves.

Its small nuts, the coquitos, taste like miniature coconuts. Listed as Endangered in the wild, it is one of the most frost-tolerant large feather palms.

At a glance

• Native range: central Chile
• Mature size: usually 20–25 m
• Growth rate: very slow, building trunk width before height
• Light: full sun for older plants; seedlings prefer protection from strong sun
• Water: very drought tolerant once established; summer watering speeds young plants
• Cold hardiness: about −12 °C for established plants
• Indoors / outdoors: outdoors, ideally in climates with dry summers and wet winters

Care

It is happiest in warm-temperate climates with dry summers and wet winters. Plant in deep, fertile, well-drained soil; clay is tolerated if drainage is good. It copes with winter wet better than many hardy palms but suffers in hot, humid lowland climates. In southern Europe watch for the palm moth Paysandisia archon and the red palm weevil.

Why Palmpedia: Greenhouse-grown by us in Almeirim, Portugal, and supplied in 15 L to 35 L pots.