Copernicia fallaensis

[Josue Diaz]

Its been a while since I've posted anything, and figured I'd step it up and document the life of a copernicia fallaensis in my front yard. 

Here's when I first got it. It was all alone and looking for a forever home. Grown by Josh Allen at his Vista nursery, it was ready to move out and make a life of its own. Hitchhiked it's way to my house in Fresno back in May.

Life's been good to it so far. A good, deep, sandy loam (some 80% sand), a warm climate (many days above 100F) and plenty of water. Some cool, though spiky, neighbors as well. 

No tantrums yet, though we've been enveloped in a thick fog for the better part of 2 weeks. Seems to not mind the chill. 

[tinman10101]

nice ... thinking of planting mine out but wondering what are your lowest lows that it went through and for how long. 

cheers

tin

[mnorell]

I just planted two of these here in Rancho Mirage (Palm Springs area)...they had been sitting at a posh local nursery for about a year, presumably grown in Florida, only one of the original three had been purchased, all in 35gal containers and carrying a very high price-tag (and that doesn't usually seem to put off the Palm Springs designers, but I think many customers might have thought they were just some overpriced Bismarckia). I documented these palms in another thread last December...in any event, we needed a couple of specimen palms street-side in front of our house and we made the decision to plunk down the money as this is such a spectacular species and the likelihood of encountering it again here at this size is very slim indeed. The justification also being that I'm 63 at present, so need that 15 or so years of extra growth so I can feel like I planted them when I was 48...even though I'm quite the poorer for enjoying that illusion.

They are doing just fine, and I am old enough and palm-experienced enough now to have gobs of patience during the establishment phase, so I don't expect to see much noticeable movement for a couple of years on these. I'm assuming they will endure the occasional temps around the freezing point here without issue since we don't experience frost here in general due to the low dewpoints. Of course Fresno is not going to be so kind in the latter regard, so you may find that to be a problem, although the leaves are largely vertically held, which would minimize any frost accumulation, I would think. In any event, keep all of us posted as this one I think has a future (if a slow-growing one) in California. You won't know until you try it...and keep in mind that there was a day when most of us assumed the exotic Bismarckia nobilis was a tender tropical that belonged only in Florida or Hawai'i.

[Josue Diaz]

14 hours ago, tinman10101 said:

nice ... thinking of planting mine out but wondering what are your lowest lows that it went through and for how long. 

cheers

tin

We haven't been below 40 yet, so no real cold to speak of, but we haven't had much heat either. days in the 50s and 60s with nights in the 40s much of Nov. 

14 hours ago, mnorell said:

I just planted two of these here in Rancho Mirage (Palm Springs area)...they had been sitting at a posh local nursery for about a year, presumably grown in Florida, only one of the original three had been purchased, all in 35gal containers and carrying a very high price-tag (and that doesn't usually seem to put off the Palm Springs designers, but I think many customers might have thought they were just some overpriced Bismarckia). I documented these palms in another thread last December...in any event, we needed a couple of specimen palms street-side in front of our house and we made the decision to plunk down the money as this is such a spectacular species and the likelihood of encountering it again here at this size is very slim indeed. The justification also being that I'm 63 at present, so need that 15 or so years of extra growth so I can feel like I planted them when I was 48...even though I'm quite the poorer for enjoying that illusion.

They are doing just fine, and I am old enough and palm-experienced enough now to have gobs of patience during the establishment phase, so I don't expect to see much noticeable movement for a couple of years on these. I'm assuming they will endure the occasional temps around the freezing point here without issue since we don't experience frost here in general due to the low dewpoints. Of course Fresno is not going to be so kind in the latter regard, so you may find that to be a problem, although the leaves are largely vertically held, which would minimize any frost accumulation, I would think. In any event, keep all of us posted as this one I think has a future (if a slow-growing one) in California. You won't know until you try it...and keep in mind that there was a day when most of us assumed the exotic Bismarckia nobilis was a tender tropical that belonged only in Florida or Hawai'i.

I feel like I should have planted one of these 20 years ago... totally get the feeling. Would love to see the two you planted! Rancho Mirage seems like it would be a great place for these, given I think RM is home to one of the few (if the only?) fruiting and trunking coconuts in California. 

[Harry’s Palms]

Nice looking palm. I would certainly give that one a try if I ever run across one. Looks like it would take sun at an early stage. Harry

[Fusca]

For what it's worth @ahosey01 has a small one in Brownsville that didn't flinch at 27°F this past January.  I believe all of the Cuban Copernicia can handle full sun from the get go. 

[tinman10101]

19 hours ago, Fusca said:

For what it's worth @ahosey01 has a small one in Brownsville that didn't flinch at 27°F this past January.  I believe all of the Cuban Copernicia can handle full sun from the get go. 

Thanks for your input. This gives me hope. I will wait for my two I have in the greenhouse to get a little bigger and pot them up. They were purchased as small seedlings from floribunda. 

[Cindy Adair]

One of my favorite palms after seeing it at Fairchild Gardens and then on an IPS trip in 2015.

Not easy to find in Puerto Rico but due to the generosity of Mike Harris (Caribbean Palms) he parted with two seedlings a few years back. 
 

My experience with my own seed started C. baileyanas led me to get the C. fallaensis in the ground right away, full sun. 

Sorry about the weeds! Too much on my plate to clean up this one today. 
 

[sonoranfans]

I have a 25 footer and one a little over 4'.  They not only can take full sun, they demand it to be their best.  80% sand sound like too much watering will be needed in the heat.  Mine are in part clay part sand with mostly clay at 3' deep.  I mulch on top every 2 years.  Word is they take 26F here in florida which means probably a little lower in dry areas with shorter cold events.   My small one was put into the ground as a 15 gallon in august 2024 in th emidst of our wet season, lots of rain.   So its in ground 15-16 months.  It grew fairly quickly so I had to redo the size of the pavers bounding the mulch.   So its seen almost 2 wet seasons in the ground.   Florikan special feeding has been 2-3 lbs per year applied 2x a year.   

here is august 2024 paver blocks are 9" x 11" so its just over 2 blocks tall, ~ 24"

then 13 months later in september 2025 44" height.  Note how each leaf has grown notably larger.  It has continued to grow in our extended growing season

since september it has produced 2 more leaves(one low and half open) and 6" more height.  They naturally seem to produce more wax in summer then go from bluish green to light green in winter like some other waxy palms.  The green color reflects less light and increases photosynthesis for the cool season.  Right now its 52" overall, 28" growth in height in 16 months

[mnorell]

On 12/2/2025 at 9:26 AM, Josue Diaz said:

We haven't been below 40 yet, so no real cold to speak of, but we haven't had much heat either. days in the 50s and 60s with nights in the 40s much of Nov. 

I feel like I should have planted one of these 20 years ago... totally get the feeling. Would love to see the two you planted! Rancho Mirage seems like it would be a great place for these, given I think RM is home to one of the few (if the only?) fruiting and trunking coconuts in California. 

No other coconuts that I know of in Rancho Mirage (of course that doesn't mean there aren't any)...but the one that was quite tall and that was documented with small fruits was a real beauty, in Palm Desert (which is right next to us), and on more elevated land where winter nights are definitely a few degrees warmer than what we get here. Sickening that the new owners chopped it down so inexplicably. And of course the coconut in La Quinta Cove about 10 miles to the southeast, and with similar temps to what we experience, is tall but really seems to take a beating by the end of summer in the full sun, hence why I try to keep mine in dappled shade and/or in the lee of taller trees...still juvies, so time will tell.

But you are so right that the climate in this whole area from Palm Springs to La Quinta allows for the cultivation of many heat-loving palms from the Caribbean and beyond...Attalea, Thrinax and Coccothrinax, Cocos, Adonidia, Carpentaria, et al. so I assume the Copernicia fallaensis will do very well here, as others in that genus have done for the fellow with the nice palm garden in Palm Desert documented elsewhere on this forum (and he's not far from that poor felled Cocos).

Here are our Copernicia fallaensis. They stand about 5-6 feet tall at present. Hopefully it won't be too many years until the leaves start to elongate into their characteristic adult oval paddle-like shape.

 

 

[Josue Diaz]

21 hours ago, Cindy Adair said:

One of my favorite palms after seeing it at Fairchild Gardens and then on an IPS trip in 2015.

Not easy to find in Puerto Rico but due to the generosity of Mike Harris (Caribbean Palms) he parted with two seedlings a few years back. 
 

My experience with my own seed started C. baileyanas led me to get the C. fallaensis in the ground right away, full sun. 

Sorry about the weeds! Too much on my plate to clean up this one today. 
 

I've seen the ones at Fairchild and they are simply amazing! I imagine yours feel right at home there in RP, being so close to Cuba!

2 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

I have a 25 footer and one a little over 4'.  They not only can take full sun, they demand it to be their best.  80% sand sound like too much watering will be needed in the heat.  Mine are in part clay part sand with mostly clay at 3' deep.  I mulch on top every 2 years.  Word is they take 26F here in florida which means probably a little lower in dry areas with shorter cold events.   My small one was put into the ground as a 15 gallon in august 2024 in th emidst of our wet season, lots of rain.   So its in ground 15-16 months.  It grew fairly quickly so I had to redo the size of the pavers bounding the mulch.   So its seen almost 2 wet seasons in the ground.   Florikan special feeding has been 2-3 lbs per year applied 2x a year.   

here is august 2024 paver blocks are 9" x 11" so its just over 2 blocks tall, ~ 24"

 

then 13 months later in september 2025 44" height.  Note how each leaf has grown notably larger.  It has continued to grow in our extended growing season

since september it has produced 2 more leaves(one low and half open) and 6" more height.  They naturally seem to produce more wax in summer then go from bluish green to light green in winter like some other waxy palms.  The green color reflects less light and increases photosynthesis for the cool season.  Right now its 52" overall, 28" growth in height in 16 months

 

Look at how gorgeous that little palm is, wow! Even at that size they are beautiful. 

I'm afraid of burning this one with fertilizer. I've used this fertilizer on all of my palms, but for whatever reason, both Copernicias experienced severe burn from it. Prunifera survived, but my young baileyana did not. 

This is my prunifera after a single dose of this. All of it died, and the spear even pulled. It showed signs of new growth after almost a year.

20 minutes ago, mnorell said:

No other coconuts that I know of in Rancho Mirage (of course that doesn't mean there aren't any)...but the one that was quite tall and that was documented with small fruits was a real beauty, in Palm Desert (which is right next to us), and on more elevated land where winter nights are definitely a few degrees warmer than what we get here. Sickening that the new owners chopped it down so inexplicably. And of course the coconut in La Quinta Cove about 10 miles to the southeast, and with similar temps to what we experience, is tall but really seems to take a beating by the end of summer in the full sun, hence why I try to keep mine in dappled shade and/or in the lee of taller trees...still juvies, so time will tell.

But you are so right that the climate in this whole area from Palm Springs to La Quinta allows for the cultivation of many heat-loving palms from the Caribbean and beyond...Attalea, Thrinax and Coccothrinax, Cocos, Adonidia, Carpentaria, et al. so I assume the Copernicia fallaensis will do very well here, as others in that genus have done for the fellow with the nice palm garden in Palm Desert documented elsewhere on this forum (and he's not far from that poor felled Cocos).

Here are our Copernicia fallaensis. They stand about 5-6 feet tall at present. Hopefully it won't be too many years until the leaves start to elongate into their characteristic adult oval paddle-like shape.

 

 

Those will look spectacular as they mature. Hopefully safe from any future landscaper with a chainsaw... Congrats on the purchase! 

[sonoranfans]

Joshue,  WHen I first started growing cuban copernicias I could not stop swings in deficiencies of K, Mn.  Liquid fertilizer is a definite NO and even slow release granules were not effective keeping deficiency at bay.  Too much fertilizer creates a pH burn due to N and excess N also suppresses K uptake.  I have found controlled release florikan to work well, cant burn with it.  If I couldnt get florikan I would use the fertilizer more sparingly in amount and spread it out in time more but then add granular sulpohmag every two months to ensure K, Mn are consistently available.  I use sulpomag plus 180 day release florikan.  Watering to keep soil a bit moist makes nutrients available, nutrient absorption is suppressed in dry soil volumes so co0nsistency of the dry cycle also really helps.  Cuban palms work well here naturally except for the mildly acidic(pH~6 to 6.5 sandy soils.  They prefer neutral to slightly alkaline soils(7 to 7.5 pH) so dolomite addition helps when the soil pH is somewhat acidic.   These palms are too expensive/beautiful to not know your soil pH.  My large one I bought from Ken Johnson came with a limestone rock rootball.  I have added 10 lb dolomite 3-4 times in 15 years for the big one.