Acai Palm Trees Home Cultivation: A New Trend

Acai palm is a species of palm tree called Euterpe oleracea in the genus Euterpe. It is growing mainly in floodplain and swamp areas in Central and South America, near the Amazon River. It needs a humid and warm environment to grow well, under full sun or part shade. The acai palm is tall and its height is ranging from 15-30m or 50-100ft with its fronds up to 3m or 10ft long. Its fruits, the acai berries are the staple food of the native Amazonian for centuries. In recent years, the demand for this fruit has increased rapidly worldwide as it is believed that acai berry contains a lot of good nutrients such as antioxidants etc. Products made from acai have mushroomed and filled the market and the prices for these products are shooting high.

When talking about nutrients, fresh fruits are always better that processed products as commercial processing methods might spoil some of its nutrient. However, it is nearly impossible to get any fresh nutritious acai berry outside Amazon as it will start losing its nutritional value once harvested. In order to get fresh acai berries, now there are peoples who try to grow acai palms in their gardens. However, there are several precautions that have to be considered before growing acai palm trees. Acai palm might grow well in climates like Queensland & Hawaii but people in freeze zone might need a greenhouse to provide an optimum condition for their acai cultivation. However, whether the qualities of the fruits produced are same as the Amazon grown acai berries is still a question.

Here is a summary of how to grow acai palm trees at the backyard of your home. Since acai palm trees are propagated by seeds, the first thing to do is to germinate the seeds. Acai seeds require weeks or even months to germinate in soil mixture which is well-drained and watering frequently. The germination rate is about 90% to 95% in the optimum conditions. Post-infancy palms are then moved into pots and frequent watering should be continued as acai palms need a wet and swamp-like condition. The best fertilizer for acai palms is decomposed organic material as it contains nutrients indigenous to the rainforest. The acai palms should be wrapped in frost cloth if grown in freeze zone to avoid frosting during winter.

Acai palms usually flourish in tropical areas and less care is needed as compared to greenhouse-grown trees. Acai berries can be harvested all year-round after about 4 years in these areas. For sub-tropical regions, acai berries harvesting is mainly done in Fall.

References:

• Wikipedia-Acai Palm
• "Growing Instructions for Acai (Euterpe Oleracea)", http://www.acaipalmseeds.com
• "Açai Palm (Euterpe oleracea) a.k.a. Assai Palm", http://www.tradewindsfruit.com
• "Growing Acai Trees at Home", http://www.acaifarms.com
• Blue Gaia, "How to Grow Acai Berries", http://www.ehow.com

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This page was last modified on: December 09, 2011