Pindo palm (Butia capitata) is a cold hardy little palm tree. It has a single stout trunk and a rounded canopy of blue-gray fronds which curve gracefully in toward the trunk. Pindo palms are generally very healthy trees if planted appropriately. However, there are a few insect pests of pindo palm trees, including the palm leaf skeletonizer and scale insect. For more information on pindo palm pest problems, read on.
Pindo Palm Pests
Pindo palms are small palm trees, no more than 25 feet (8 m.) tall and half that wide. They are ornamental and planted for their graceful fronds and showy yellow, date-like fruit clusters. The fruits are edible and very eye-catching.
Pindo palms thrive in USDA plant hardiness zones 8b through 11. They are slow growing, attractive plants. Give it a warm, sheltered location, plenty of sun, and rich, well-draining soil to keep it healthy. While several serious diseases can attack landscape palms, if you select an appropriate site, plant it, and care for it properly, you can protect your plant. The same generally holds true for insect pests.
Pindo palms grown outdoors suffer from very few insect pests. However, if the pindo palms are grown indoors, pests of pindo palms can include red spider mites or scale insects. Do not confuse scale insects with diamond scale, a disease.
You may also find the palm leaf skeletonizer to be an occasional pest. As to additional bugs that affect pindo palm, the tree is said to be a minor host of palm-infesting whitefly, black rot of pineapple, South American palm borer, and the red palm weevil.
