I hope someone will have some insight into this problem. I have planted many Cuban Copernicias here in rainy, cloudy east Hawaii, and most have done very well. But I have killed four out of five of the Hispaniolan species Copernicia ekamnii that I have tried to plant out.The remaining one was saved by digging it up and transplanting back to a pot.

In addition, the Copernicia bereteroanas, another Hispaniolan, that I have planted have struggled.

I know that many Copernicia ekmaniis planted in southern Florida have been killed by cold snaps (except in the Keys), but that is not a problem here. Otherwise, I have noted that my potted specimens have never shown very vigorous root development, unlike Cuban Copernicias.

Who has been successful with this one?

Eckmanii does not like wet feet. Even in Florida it does better in the Keys than on the mainland. I've seen pictures of them growing in habitat in Haiti, it's pretty xeric, what you would almost expect with the heavy wax on the leaves. If you get a lot of rain just make sure you have real good drainage. It seems to be a limestone grower, so ph may factor into it also. I've got a bunch in big containers, and they aren't happy with daily Irrigation in the winter. I don't think cold is the issue, I think it's drainage when it gets cold

I've tried C. ekmanii in 1 to 3g pots three times (my maximum tries before I concede defeat). None of them survived more than 6-12 months. I'm done. But I have done better with two C. bereteroana after they struggled to survive for a number of months. Both are slow growing but doing well now.

I've had pretty good luck here in Loxahatchee with them. The ones in the photo have been planted about 15 years and are in a sandy, fast draining spot in my yard and receive only rain water now. The fist year I planted them I did hand water them but it's been up to mother nature since. They do lose some bottom leaves during the winter due to the cooler and drier weather.  Of all the Copernicias I have, ekmanii and berteroana seem to be the most cold sensitive....

Caribbean Palms Mike, I’m surprised yours survived the 2010 Winter. I had the most beautiful specimen that I had originally gotten from you yrs earlier. It was in full sun in back yard, positively a stunning white color. (Wish I had a photo). Probably about 4-5 ft tall. Died in 2010 winter. Shocked the heck out of me.

In Arizona,C.berteroana is a survivor,while ekmanii dies over our typical winter.Must be right on the edge...

There are 2 berteroana in the pic, grown from seed I collected in the Dominican Republic in 2006.

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

Thanks, Kurt, Meg, and Mike. It seems they like fast draining, alkaline soils. Here in rainy, cloudy east Hawaii Island, my soil is clayey volcanic and quite acidic, exactly wrong. Wet soils promote root fungi. Perhaps I can find a hillside crest somewhere that will drain faster than other places, or amend the soil somehow.

22 hours ago, Caribbean Palms said:

Beautiful...

Mine is growing fast and seeded last year for the first time. Was gonna collect them, but I wasn't vigilant enough. 

Blue Bert is doing well also. Could prolly fertilize all my palms but I usually only treat prominent deficiencies. 

Some better pics of the ekmanii, just now.