baby Falla gets a wet introduction to new home

[sonoranfans]

I planted my 15 gallon Copernicia Fallaensis out a couple weeks ago.  I had had a spear tip section 5" long rot a year ago.  I treated repeatedly with peroxide and daconil fungicide, put it in a full sun all day spot and now it has grown out of it.   So 11(?) days ago I planted it.  I find cuban copernicias in containers to be touchy, a little too much shade and you have some trouble.  The shade spots change in my yard a lot as the sun comes north in summer.  If I dont watch that sun exposure I have had issues with macgroglossa, hospita and now fallaensis in containers.  Might be that they just dont dry out in my shade and high humidity though my macroglossa in the ground is fine, though slow growing in part shade.   Any way this one went into the ground.  It sits 12' from my big 25' fallaensis.  Its a big sunny spot at lkeast 9-10 hrs full sun a day and the soil was rich due to years of drainoff from decomposed top hulch.  The soil was black so I added 3 gallons of perlite to keep it from getting compressed and heavy.  It rained the first day it was planted and has rained 9 of the 11 days since planted with over 15" total rain.

[FlaPalmLover]

Just planted mine out today.  You inspired me to stop being lazy and go ahead and dig the hole. I will add some landscaping bricks and mulch tomorrow. Yours looks nice and green compared to mine. I think the older fronds on mine lost some color due to transplant shock.

[sonoranfans]

The color of these can vary seasonally or after injury.  They tend to turn green after a stress event like a rotted bud tip.  I have seen this behavior with some other bluish palms.  Green palms can phosynthesize (grow) faster all else equal.  Some go more green in shade too, I had seen that with brahea armata and chamaerops cerifera.   My large fallaensis went more greenish after Ian and is now starting to get back to its former blueish waxy color.   Looks like sand there, you really need to top much sand ASAP, nothing dries out faster.

 

[FlaPalmLover]

That's the plan. And yes there are two ratty-looking, formerly infected spears growing back out for those wondering what those are. I am just planning to let them grow as much as possible before trimming them away. But there are now two healthy spears growing out. I took a lot of advice from @sonoranfans on what to do when it was infected previously and it has seemingly been nursed back to good health. These are resilient, cold hardy palms. 

[sonoranfans]

On 8/6/2024 at 1:06 PM, sonoranfans said:

I planted my 15 gallon Copernicia Fallaensis out a couple weeks ago.  I had had a spear tip section 5" long rot a year ago.  I treated repeatedly with peroxide and daconil fungicide, put it in a full sun all day spot and now it has grown out of it.   So 11(?) days ago I planted it.  I find cuban copernicias in containers to be touchy, a little too much shade and you have some trouble.  The shade spots change in my yard a lot as the sun comes north in summer.  If I dont watch that sun exposure I have had issues with macgroglossa, hospita and now fallaensis in containers.  Might be that they just dont dry out in my shade and high humidity though my macroglossa in the ground is fine, though slow growing in part shade.   Any way this one went into the ground.  It sits 12' from my big 25' fallaensis.  Its a big sunny spot at lkeast 9-10 hrs full sun a day and the soil was rich due to years of drainoff from decomposed top hulch.  The soil was black so I added 3 gallons of perlite to keep it from getting compressed and heavy.  It rained the first day it was planted and has rained 9 of the 11 days since planted with over 15" total rain.

And 5 days short of a year later, the growth is encouraging.  One year in a 15 gallon pot it pretty much stagnated but in the ground.  Once in the ground its moving forward with rooting and leafing out.  For those holding your C. fallaensis hostage in a container, you might want to put it in the ground and get on with growing it.  I will come back annually to show the growth of this "baby falla".  FYI I did open up paver border by 4(?) pavers and that is going to happen as needed as it grows, just to keep grass from robbing nutrients in close.  The measurement tape says 38 1/2" tall and 36" max width today.   The paver bricks are 9'x11' so slightly less than 11" on the long side, a bit less than 9" on the sh0ort side.  I estimate one year ago it was  20-22" tall when it went in. 

 

[sonoranfans]

sixteen months after planting the palm measures 52" tall with a new leaf opening(low).  It seems to me that these like full sun, heat, and water and  this one gets all of these in abundance.  Bismarckia is faster, but then its faster than most palms I have, 35' in 15 years fast.  Here is the 52" tall fallaensis which was planted august 2024 with pic in the initial post of this thread.  If limit water they will be slower.  Mine gets a real boost from our summer rains, no rain its not as fast.  I irrigate it 3x a week on automatic timer and adding a non timed "rainbird sprinkler rain" in summer before the rains come.

 

[Tropical Toni]

On 12/13/2025 at 12:26 PM, sonoranfans said:

sixteen months after planting the palm measures 52" tall with a new leaf opening(low).  It seems to me that these like full sun, heat, and water and  this one gets all of these in abundance.  Bismarckia is faster, but then its faster than most palms I have, 35' in 15 years fast.  Here is the 52" tall fallaensis which was planted august 2024 with pic in the initial post of this thread.  If limit water they will be slower.  Mine gets a real boost from our summer rains, no rain its not as fast.  I irrigate it 3x a week on automatic timer and adding a non timed "rainbird sprinkler rain" in summer before the rains come.

 

Such a stunning palm !!! Yes my bismarckia moves so fast in comparison to my copernicia. How long is the timer for irrigating ? 

[Tropical Toni]

On 8/11/2024 at 11:57 AM, FlaPalmLover said:

That's the plan. And yes there are two ratty-looking, formerly infected spears growing back out for those wondering what those are. I am just planning to let them grow as much as possible before trimming them away. But there are now two healthy spears growing out. I took a lot of advice from @sonoranfans on what to do when it was infected previously and it has seemingly been nursed back to good health. These are resilient, cold hardy palms. 

Yes @sonoranfans is the copernicia expert !! He has helped me a lot as well !

[sonoranfans]

9 hours ago, Tropical Toni said:

Such a stunning palm !!! Yes my bismarckia moves so fast in comparison to my copernicia. How long is the timer for irrigating ? 

30 mins of pop up sprinkler from a 1" line, 3x a week in soil that drains well.  When this palm was planted in august '24 it rained day after day for about two weeks before tapering off.  My hypothesis is that it jump started roots that had been root bound.  I initially treated the site with humic acid anda light dusting of florikan palm fertilizer 8-2-12 which is formulated for floridas high phos soils.  Florikan is really idiot proof, it releases by concentration differential over an osmotic membrane, so it wont burn.  I use it almost exclusively as an NPK source, though I like to spread 5-1-1 fish emulsion once a year.  Also dont forget dolomite gravel for slight alkalinity shift these palms prefer.  Bismarckia is the fastest fan palm I have grown, its a rocket.  Problem is I have to be 150 feet aqway these days to see the white crown, looking up to the underside is not nearly as colorful due to lack of sunlight.  I wish the bizzy was slower growing as my in yard views are not as good as they used to be.