Copernicia Prunifera

[xoRudy]

Im loving the color on my Cop. Prunifera right now, thought I should share! If your growing these bad boys, I’d love to see some photos! 

[Jubaea_James760]

I'm super impressed with this specie. I'm here in zone 8b in the High Desert & mine pulled through this winter a champ! Lowest temperature was 19f for me. Granted it's planted south facing up against my house, I'd atleast think it would of had some leaf damage but no, zero. It's put out 5 leaves so far this year & the blue is really coming in now.

[WaianaeCrider]

I had one 20 years ago and managed to kill it after about 4 years in the ground.  Grrrr

[Dunedin Steve]

Nice job, Rudy.. I've got about six of 'em around the yard -- Very cool blue-green color.   Fast growers, but the thorns..!  You only make that mistake once -- Painful.    Pic of nearby C. Bailey, about 4 feet, nearby..  

 

 

[D. Morrowii]

I bought a triple in a small pot last year at the CFPAC outing to the St Johns Botanical gardens. I not so carefully separated them into their own pots loosing a lot of the smaller roots in the process. Its been a couple of months now and they didn't mind my clumsy re potting job at all, in fact they perked up quite a bit. 

[zero]

Got this from @Joe palma last year as a green 5-gal and it's been in the ground about a year.  It struggled awhile getting adjusted to the soil but it has developed more blue recently.    My blue alba that I transplanted from San Antonio in April has not moved but spear is still green so I think it'll make it.  Looks pretty bad now however.  These are great looking palms.

 

[D. Morrowii]

Here’s a nice one I saw at Kopsick a couple months ago

[ruskinPalms]

Any Copernicia that are unarmed? Beautiful palms but no thanks on the thorns. I wish more Pritchardia species were tried here in Florida… I think they could be commercially viable and there are species that would do well in central and south Florida.

[Dr. George]

We have 4.

Purchased as 5 gal, potted up to 15 gal, planted out Spring of 2010.

Pics taken today. - gmp

 

 

 

[xoRudy]

On 6/17/2022 at 12:39 PM, D. Morrowii said:

Here’s a nice one I saw at Kopsick a couple months ago

Seeing one this fall is unusual in my area! They look amazing. Love the skinny truck and view under the head of the palm!

[zero]

On 6/17/2022 at 2:28 PM, Fusca said:

Got this from @Joe palma last year as a green 5-gal and it's been in the ground about a year. 

Here's my prunifera today.  I think it tapped into ground water because it's growing pretty fast for 3 years growth!

[zero]

@xoRudy do you have an updated pic?

[JohnAndSancho]

On 7/22/2025 at 12:56 PM, Fusca said:

Here's my prunifera today.  I think it tapped into ground water because it's growing pretty fast for 3 years growth!

So with these you basically wait 10 years and then they explode? That's the vibe I'm getting lol 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

I think these are a really underutilized palm. I started seeing them being planted a bit in south florida and even here in st augustine I’ve seen a couple of people planting them at their houses. I love that these palms hold a lot of fronds and the blue color is just beautiful. Also I personally like the way the boots make a detailed pattern on the trunk. 
How fast do these develop from seed though? I know copernicias are notoriously slow from seed but maybe this one is more reasonable?? I would love to grow one in the future.

[JohnAndSancho]

36 minutes ago, TropicsEnjoyer said:

I think these are a really underutilized palm. I started seeing them being planted a bit in south florida and even here in st augustine I’ve seen a couple of people planting them at their houses. I love that these palms hold a lot of fronds and the blue color is just beautiful. Also I personally like the way the boots make a detailed pattern on the trunk. 
How fast do these develop from seed though? I know copernicias are notoriously slow from seed but maybe this one is more reasonable?? I would love to grow one in the future.

I came here to ask basically the same questions, except it actually gets cold up here. I've come to grips with the fact that they'll live in pots as long as I live here - 

 

Any special germination needs? 

I've been in a deep rabbit hole dive on these for the last hour or so. Ok, it wasn't a deep dive because there's not tons of info and I'm going back to posts on here from 2006. 

I know zones/minimum temps for pots don't follow the same rules as in ground - so should I expect to bring these in around 40°? 

I've read that they're incredibly root sensitive, and even some of the pro growers have killed them during pot ups - soooo I've got some really tall really ugly pots - but at the same time I've read these like lots of water, and small palms in big pots with lots of water causes root rot. 

I've read they like heavy soil, someone on here had one in a pot in almost straight clay - I can drive up the hill and dig up all the clay I want. And they seem to really enjoy fertilizer and that's not something I've really had to worry about either, since I've only got a couple of palms that are more than 1 gallons..

So, in short, what plan of attack will give me the best chance to keep these alive long enough to see them turn into something in the middle of Mississippi?.

[zero]

Copernicia prunifera are native to Brasil and not as root sensitive as their Cuban cousins and they're surprisingly cold hardy.  I grew a green one from seed I collected in Natal, Brasil to a 5-gal sized palm in 4-5 years.  Seeds are very easy to germinate - I've had them germinate in water.  As far as number of fronds per year this one is my fastest.

[JohnAndSancho]

I found a small Alba on eBay that I could probably talk them down to $20+shipping. I think for my sanity and mental health I need some instant gratification right now, but on the flip side I can get a bundle of a variety of seeds for around the same money, but to flip on that eventually someone is gonna have to start buying plants from me.