Anyone growing Acai Berry?

16 years ago

I decided to purchase 10 dwarf Acai Berry seeds. After doing a lot of reading on Acai, it sounds like I have a shot growing it in Southern California. I wanted to know if anyone is growing Acai palm and can share some tips?

I was thinking of trying to sprout the seeds around the end of September into October. Then growing in 3 gallon pots outside against the side of the house on the southwest side. My only concern was the low humidity that SoCal encounters in the summer and fall. I was thinking of making a makeshift enclosure with clear plastic and putting saucers filled with water inside to raise humidity.

Does anyone know the cold tolerance of the Acai Palm? All I hear is it can't tolerant temps below 32 degrees. This should not be a problem because my area rarely gets temps below 35 degrees.

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Comments (6)

boson
16 years ago
Hi nullzero,

All I can contribute with is to say that I have a few small plants of Acai (the dwarf variety). I noticed that they don't like sun at all when they are just small plants (about 1 ft tall).

Tomas
nullzero
Original Author
16 years ago
Tomas,

Thank you for the important info. I will make sure to use filtered sun and partial shade when growing young seedlings.
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nullzero
Original Author
15 years ago
Well, my seeds I ordered from acaipalmseeds.com never came in. I tried to email them regarding the order but received no response. Just wanted to give a heads up regarding this website, for those looking for acai seed sources.

I put a order in today for 2 acai super dwarf seedlings from a reputable ebay seller. I will update with some pictures once I receive the plants. My game plan for the acai, is to get them potted up into 3 gallon containers. I then want to put them up against the walls of the southwest side of the house (for added heat).
tropicdude
15 years ago
I don't have much advice on min temps for Acai, I did order a large pack of 100 seeds from rarepalmseeds.com about two years ago.

had a high sprouting rate on them, I direct planted them in a long planter that was shaded.

Like previous poster mentioned they do not like sun when very young, when some got to 2ft I started giving them partial sunlight.

I also noticed they don't like fertilizer much. maybe my test dosage was too strong. anyway they are slow growing for me. they are about 20 months old now and tallest is not 3 feet ( from base to leaf tip )

They are not too sensitive to transplant, I had some root breakage on some to no ill effect. as for water, I have had long rains and dry periods, no problem.

I gave / sold many locally and hope I have started Acai in the Dominican Republic, I gave a couple to the local Botanical Gardens, and a big Palm fanatic here.

I selected 1 tree for my front yard, and its ok but hasn't taken off like i would like it to.

from what I have read on them they are slow growing at first but then start a moderate to fast growth.

not sure what "sparks this", hopefully someone can give advise on fertilizer, minerals etc. that maybe boost growth.

one more thing, they seem to sense they are in pots, and grow slower there. they seem to have a long tap root, so maybe a direct planting is best.
mango_kush
15 years ago
that sounds pretty typical with palms, the rootball may take some time to establish and grow in diameter
sunny87
13 years ago
you know those acai dwarf trees are gmo, genetically modified right? i rather have less of the real organic stuff, than more of gmo acai.