Copernicia Fallaensis transplant

[Tropical Toni]

So rookie mistake, i was too excited when i planted this 5gal copernicia fallaensis in my backyard a couple months ago. I’m regretting where i planted it. 
 

I feel like it doesn’t receive enough sun (2 new fronds opened + 1 spear on the way since planting). I didn’t take into consideration the shade from the fence. Ugh. 
 

also I know this palm gets massive so I wish I could transplant it in an area where it would have more room. I’m worried on doing so, I feel like these are root sensitive. Right now there’s a large vigorous cananga odorata tree to the left of it.  
 

Should I leave this alone or move it somewhere else in the yard ? Input would be appreciated. 

[Harry’s Palms]

I don’t know about transplanting that particular palm but I found this . Hopefully it will help . Harry.     

 

[aztropic]

I wouldn't move it. The risk of killing it is too great! Besides, it will never be the massive tree you are thinking of, at least in your lifetime. I have a bailey I grew from seed I planted in 2005, and it's base is currently only about the size of a basketball. No real trunk yet. Very slow growing palm here, even with the heat of the Arizona desert.

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

[Tropical Toni]

Yeah the palm is 8 years old according to the grower. It’s annoying how slow growing they are 😪. Makes a bismarckia look fast. 

[Tropical Toni]

 

36 minutes ago, aztropic said:

I wouldn't move it. The risk of killing it is too great! Besides, it will never be the massive tree you are thinking of, at least in your lifetime. I have a bailey I grew from seed I planted in 2005, and it's base is currently only about the size of a basketball. No real trunk yet. Very slow growing palm here, even with the heat of the Arizona desert.

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

Even if a large enough hole was dug & the rootball was kept in tact ? 

[Sabal Steve]

Hi, Toni

I see you live in Long Beach?

I’m down in Central San Diego.  I planted one of these, from a 3”x9” pot, a few years ago.  It grew for maybe a season or so,  and I had to dig it up due to a remodel.  
 

I think I took a big scoop with a standard shovel, and gently placed it in a five gallon; Didn’t skip a beat, and just continued growing.  

I also had a similarly sized Copernicia Macroglossa (maybe a little bigger), that was shipped bare-root from Florida, and just man-handled when planting, and I don’t remember if it even started growing in that few months that it was in the ground.

Both have been growing in their new spots, and were replanted last spring.  Macro took a little more time to wake up.

Maybe I just got lucky, cause they weren’t too rooted in, and I’d heed the caution of others, as I too have heard that they can have difficulty with transplanting.  Personally, I’d probably take the risk with it so close to the fence.  Maybe prep the new hole in the spring, and try to scoop it out, and reset it all in one motion?

I also have a nice recently potted up 15 gallon Falla that I would be willing to part with.  I should be able to shoot some pics of everything, tomorrow.  

Steve

[Jdash]

you planted it a couple months ago? i think you'd be just fine moving it, just don't cut through the rootball and try to move it to it's permanent location. if you really don't mind it growing larger than the fence,  that spot doesn't seem horrible? how much direct sun does it get during the summer months and the winter months? could always just remove those few fence panels 

[Tropical Toni]

14 hours ago, Sabal Steve said:

Hi, Toni

I see you live in Long Beach?

I’m down in Central San Diego.  I planted one of these, from a 3”x9” pot, a few years ago.  It grew for maybe a season or so,  and I had to dig it up due to a remodel.  
 

I think I took a big scoop with a standard shovel, and gently placed it in a five gallon; Didn’t skip a beat, and just continued growing.  

I also had a similarly sized Copernicia Macroglossa (maybe a little bigger), that was shipped bare-root from Florida, and just man-handled when planting, and I don’t remember if it even started growing in that few months that it was in the ground.

Both have been growing in their new spots, and were replanted last spring.  Macro took a little more time to wake up.

Maybe I just got lucky, cause they weren’t too rooted in, and I’d heed the caution of others, as I too have heard that they can have difficulty with transplanting.  Personally, I’d probably take the risk with it so close to the fence.  Maybe prep the new hole in the spring, and try to scoop it out, and reset it all in one motion?

I also have a nice recently potted up 15 gallon Falla that I would be willing to part with.  I should be able to shoot some pics of everything, tomorrow.  

Steve

Hi Steve, 

I also have a copernicia macroglossa I got from florida. It looks sad maybe because it's little still. I have the macroglossa in a bright shady location - I was worried of it not making it out here in CA with the dry weather so planted it in a bright shady location. It's really not growing much but I heard it is faster than the fallaensis. I would love to see a photo of your macroglossa !! I just love c. macroglossa. so stunning

Shoot me a message with your 15g Fallaensis you would be willing to part with. I have been looking for another for months, but I don't want to order from Florida, or get another one from the same grower I got mine, as I feel it was too expensive for the size.

[Sabal Steve]

It may take me another day or two to get some photos of the ones I dug and that potted Fallaensis.

Heres a Macroglossa and a Baileyana I planted, in 2016 and 2018, respectively (from memory) 3 gallon sizes, when they went in.  Those haven’t been watered or fertilized, for a few years now.   It’s a rental now, so the palms aren’t livin’ it up like they used to.

These are growing on the south side of the street, on the North side of the house.  

I feel like they can take Full sun here as young plants.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tropical Toni]

2 hours ago, Sabal Steve said:

It may take me another day or two to get some photos of the ones I dug and that potted Fallaensis.

Heres a Macroglossa and a Baileyana I planted, in 2016 and 2018, respectively (from memory) 3 gallon sizes, when they went in.  Those haven’t been watered or fertilized, for a few years now.   It’s a rental now, so the palms aren’t livin’ it up like they used to.

These are growing on the south side of the street, on the North side of the house.  

I feel like they can take Full sun here as young plants.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

is the macroglossa pruned by the renters or is it just living free ? Doesn't look bad at all for being neglected. 

 

[sonoranfans]

You might get away with transplanting it if it has not grown many new roots.  Worst case it dies but it could survive and be stunted for a few years or more before growing.   Best case is it has minimal damage establishes its roots and moves on.  I don't think these are so slow, but they can be without heat water and fertilizer.  Mine has grown 28" in vertical height in 16 months under near ideal conditions.

 

[Sabal Steve]

I couldn’t find a photo of my Fallaensis from when I planted it, but here’s the Macroglossa.  

Looks pretty bad now, but the new leaf had slowly pushed over the last few months. It definitely stalled, and think it will pull through.  A lot of the shock happened when I initially planted it.
 

Also, I added a few pics of what it looked like when it was shipped.  It arrived in a plastic bag wrapped around the pinky sized roots, with some loose dirt tossed in.  
 

[Sabal Steve]

Here’s how things look, today:

 

Fallaensis

Macroglossa

I also planted two Copernicia Rigida, in the spring, that were shipped to me last spring (shipper no longer ships to CA), which have done well.  They’re slow.

Lastly, here’s that 15 gallon Fallaensis and a 7 gallon Berteroana.

 

[Sabal Steve]

On 12/12/2025 at 9:47 PM, Tropical Toni said:

is the macroglossa pruned by the renters or is it just living free ? Doesn't look bad at all for being neglected. 

 

Thank you.

It’s just living free, and has been doing so for 3-4 years, now.

Unfortunately, the rental agency trims them, I believe (hard to get a straight answer from them, on a lot of things).  I spoke with them the other day, and gave them a contact of a friend, to trim my palms.   

[Tropical Toni]

12 hours ago, Sabal Steve said:

Here’s how things look, today:

 

Fallaensis

Macroglossa

I also planted two Copernicia Rigida, in the spring, that were shipped to me last spring (shipper no longer ships to CA), which have done well.  They’re slow.

Lastly, here’s that 15 gallon Fallaensis and a 7 gallon Berteroana.

 

Oh my that macroglossa is darling !!! I can't decide if the macroglossa or the fallaensis is my favorite. I just love them both.

 

Your Fallaensis had a nice recovery ! Do you use a lot of sulpomag ? the soil mine is in is very sandy well draining, so I feel like I need to stay on top of that to avoid the leaf discolorations.  Is your fallaensis & macroglossa both in full sun ? 

 

It's a shame how rare copernicia are in CA. Not sure why because they don't seem like delicate palms. Maybe because they take forever to grow. 

 

Thanks for sending the photos Steve ! I will think about the 15g Fallaensis - looks healthy. I have been definitely wanting another one for my yard !

[Tropical Toni]

12 hours ago, Sabal Steve said:

I couldn’t find a photo of my Fallaensis from when I planted it, but here’s the Macroglossa.  

Looks pretty bad now, but the new leaf had slowly pushed over the last few months. It definitely stalled, and think it will pull through.  A lot of the shock happened when I initially planted it.
 

Also, I added a few pics of what it looked like when it was shipped.  It arrived in a plastic bag wrapped around the pinky sized roots, with some loose dirt tossed in.  
 

That poor little guy !!! He looks great now ! I can't believe how some growers are just so rough with their plants, especially in the mail 😪

[Sabal Steve]

On 12/14/2025 at 9:27 PM, Tropical Toni said:

Oh my that macroglossa is darling !!! I can't decide if the macroglossa or the fallaensis is my favorite. I just love them both.

 

Your Fallaensis had a nice recovery ! Do you use a lot of sulpomag ? the soil mine is in is very sandy well draining, so I feel like I need to stay on top of that to avoid the leaf discolorations.  Is your fallaensis & macroglossa both in full sun ? 

 

It's a shame how rare copernicia are in CA. Not sure why because they don't seem like delicate palms. Maybe because they take forever to grow. 

 

Thanks for sending the photos Steve ! I will think about the 15g Fallaensis - looks healthy. I have been definitely wanting another one for my yard !

I like both, and don’t have enough experience to really judge the Falla. I would say that while they seem to do great in straight pumice in a pot (I did have a potted C. Alba in nothing but thick clay, that absolutely loved it).  All of my planted Copernicia just go straight into clay.  You can see the soil in my initial pic of the C. Rigidas.  They love it.  Really tough species, in my experience.  I think it’s the slowness that turns a lot of growers off.  They’re like 5x the speed, in the ground.

Macro and Falla at the new house probably don’t get full sun (and I put a little shade cloth to acclimate them), but rather a decent amount of direct sun.  They face S/SW, and should get more sun as they grow taller.   I don’t use SULPOMAG (I probably should).  Really, I think if they’re in clay they get a lot of the nutrients that they need.  Tom (Sonoranfans) is a wealth of knowledge of the timing and interplay of nutrients in the soil, and is a great resource for questions regarding nutrition, in particular.  He’s also grown a number of different Copernicia over the years.

I know a number of other growers on the board are growing these, as well in So Cal, under different conditions, as well.

Here’s a progression of some of my Caribbean (mostly) stuff, which provides a little more background.  I’ll shoot you a DM about the Falla.

Good luck!

 

[Tropical Toni]

Update! 

I spent about 3 hours the other day excavating & being as careful as I could with the palm. The roots went so deep, & I ended up ditching the large shovel for a small hand trowel to minimize any root damage.  YES some roots were damaged but overall, was very minimal. It was very anxiety provoking but in the back of my head I already was this far in & the palm had to be moved. No stopping now. The photo doesn't do the justice how large the hole was. 

 

In she went ! Full sun & won't be blocked out by any other trees near by. I marked the palm with sharpie to track growth. 

The hole was filled with compost, sulpomag & topped with mulch. 

Any prayers/well wishes/magic dust would be appreciated as I really want this palm to thrive. It's probably my favorite in my collection. I am not expecting much growth since the transplant.

I am confident to say this will be my first & last transplant of the c. fallaensis. Do not recommend this to anyone unless you absolutely have to... bigger palms I couldn't imagine the task as an excavator would be required as the root system of these palms are so gnarly !

Will update on progress here periodically. 

[Tropical Toni]

Update 01.23.26

Palm shows signs of growth, as indicated from sharpie line. Yay !

I was not expecting any growth this fast. I think the palm is loving the sunnier spot in the yard.