Acai palm trees for sale – Easy plant to grow with edible fruits, also grown for the ornamental shape, planting can be all year, better to buy tree.
Acai palm trees – information before buying:
Growing information: perennial plant, growing hardiness zone: 12+, water needed – big amount, light conditions – full sun to partial shade, height: 10-20 m (30-60 inches), 4-6m (12-20 inches) to dwarf cultivars.
Blooming all year flowers that appear in yellow color.
Alternative names: Açaí palm, Euterpe oleracea, Açaí berries, Assai palm, Milk of the amazon
Acai palm trees for sale – Seeds or plants
Acai palm trees for sale – Is it recommended to grow Acai berry from seeds? What need to know before buying Acai palm trees?
Acai palm trees for sale
Acai berry possible to start from seeds, before buying seeds need to know that Acai berry grow in tropic climate, need humidity, moist and acid soil, big amount of water and full to half sun, that there is dwarf variety.
The fruit – Acai berry fruit is a small round drupe of around 0.3cm (0.11 inch) diameter. Each acai berry contains a large seed. Unripen the berry has a bright red color. The most it ripens the darker it will be until dark purple to black. The fruit is sweet and its taste is a cross between beetroot, blackberry and dark chocolate.
Uses –Acai palm has many potential health benefits. The berries are rich in antioxidants (even richer than all the commonly eaten berries), phytochemicals and polyphenols. Acai berry reduces high cholesterol (with increasing good HDL cholesterol and decreasing bad LDL cholesterol), boosts the immune system, and has anti cancerous benefits with preventing cancer cell propagation and anti-inflammatory effects. Acai berry is loaded in calcium and fibers. The fruit is used as dietary supplement.
Acai palm is cultivated for it edible berry fruits (”superfood”). The berries are popular in health drinks and juice bars. This superfruit can be eaten raw, juiced or concentrated in powder for pills. It is used in drinks (smoothies, frozen pulp, liquor), sorbets, and acai bowl (combination of acai puree or acai powder with some sweetener and mixed with other ingredients like nuts, oatmeal, fruit…). From acai palm can be obtained acai oil. Acai oil is used in salads or for cosmetics. Acai is also cultivated for his heart of palm.
Leaves of the acai palm can be used for building construction. Acai seed dried and boiled is used in gardening as a fertilizer for orchids and other garden plants.
Here are some growing tips:
Location – Tropical temperature around 25°C (77°F) with a rich acidic well-drained soil.
Growing from seeds – Soak the acai palm seed in water 24 hours if the seed is fresh, few days if the seed still retain fruit pulp. Transfer the seed in a pot. Add perlite and peat to the soil. Cover the sprout to maintain warm and high humidity. The germination should take 6 to 8 weeks. The germination rate in the correct condition is 90%. Transplant outdoor the seedling in a partially shade location or in a greenhouse when the plant is 30cm (1 foot) tall. As in the tropical amazon rainforest, acai palm requires low light and like swamp conditions. Acai palm tree can grow upwards of 30meters (98 feet).
Fertilizer – Use compost or a balanced plant food each month.
Watering – Water new trees thoroughly. Keep always the soil wet without overwatering.
Pollination – Acai palm plant is self-pollinating as a single acai palm plant produces both male and female flowers.
Harvesting – The tree starts to produce fruits after generally 3 years. When there are purple flowers it means there will start to be fruits. The acai palms produce many trunks. On the top of the palm the berry grows in groups or clusters. Harvesting is usually done between July and December.
Processing – Needs to take place directly after harvest. Otherwise within a few hours the berries lose their nutrients all fall apart. Mostly acai berries are frozen or mashed into puree, blended into powder or dried fruit.
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