Chrysalidocarpus Onihalensis in Florida

[RiverCityRichard]

Recently purchased this 7g “weepy form” of C. Onihalensis from Chip Jones Nursery. I’ve read a few posts from people having a hard time growing these in Florida, albeit, in areas a bit warmer than north Orlando. The specimen at Leu Gardens looks great. I also have a smaller “upright form” I’d like to plant out as well.

 

Anyone have any successes with these in ground in Florida? And if so what soil/sun exposure has been the trick?

[happypalms]

There a beautiful palm, look after your one and the rewards of growing is a gorgeous palm! 

[flplantguy]

I ordered seedlings and lost one a few days after arrival to spear pull, even though I potted it up in dry mix and only watered once. I'm thinking lots of sun and dryer once they adjust so I moved them to higher light and no top water (they will get runoff from other pots is all). Three left to see how they do now.

[RiverCityRichard]

8 hours ago, happypalms said:

There a beautiful palm, look after your one and the rewards of growing is a gorgeous palm! 

Truly beautiful palms man! I am envious of your climate 

[RiverCityRichard]

7 hours ago, flplantguy said:

I ordered seedlings and lost one a few days after arrival to spear pull, even though I potted it up in dry mix and only watered once. I'm thinking lots of sun and dryer once they adjust so I moved them to higher light and no top water (they will get runoff from other pots is all). Three left to see how they do now.

I had seen another post about them hating tap water in the crown. Makes sense! I’ll put it in a mostly sun and sandy spot with a dripper at the base. Palm has been in full sun more or less in the backyard and hasn’t seen burn. Thanks brother

[Merlyn]

@RiverCityRichard I tried Onilahensis here twice, once from Floribunda and the other from another source I don't recall at the moment.  They grew great in pots and in the ground here.  The frost killed all of them with temps in the upper 20s, generally 27-30ish.  I think Orlando and South would be an easy grow, just not on the NW side of Orlando with frequent heavy frosts.  Mine were all very small in the ground, no more than 2 feet tall.  Bigger ones might have a better chance. 

[JD in the OC]

keep it in that 3 gallon pot. They absolutely hate being over potted. I bought a 3 gallon in Miami a year ago and immediately potted it up into a 7 gallon and it has just sat and done Nothing in its new container.  The nursery in Miami also had a 15 gallon with trunk and inflorescences, (wasn't for sale,) but the trunks were really skinny and it is not very pretty in tropical climates. having grown them myself in Southern California as well I could tell you the do way better in Mediterranean climates... look better too.

JD

[PalmatierMeg]

7 hours ago, JD in the OC said:

keep it in that 3 gallon pot. They absolutely hate being over potted. I bought a 3 gallon in Miami a year ago and immediately potted it up into a 7 gallon and it has just sat and done Nothing in its new container.  The nursery in Miami also had a 15 gallon with trunk and inflorescences, (wasn't for sale,) but the trunks were really skinny and it is not very pretty in tropical climates. having grown them myself in Southern California as well I could tell you the do way better in Mediterranean climates... look better too.

JD

Agree. I tried the "weepy" form and it completely bombed out. This is a palm for SOCAL not FL. They don't take kindly to months of swelter and humidity. I believe they require a significant night time cooldown to survive long term. I've come to the conclusion that the genus Chrysalodocarpus prefers the Cali mediterranean climate over the FL tropical climate. I've tried a number of species, i.e., robusta, piulifera, yadda, yadda and succeeded with none of them. 

[happypalms]

On 4/2/2026 at 5:57 AM, RiverCityRichard said:

Truly beautiful palms man! I am envious of your climate 

Oh theres a lot I can’t grow successfully, water and cold with cold being the biggest drawback challenge! 

[RiverCityRichard]

On 4/4/2026 at 10:40 PM, Merlyn said:

@RiverCityRichard I tried Onilahensis here twice, once from Floribunda and the other from another source I don't recall at the moment.  They grew great in pots and in the ground here.  The frost killed all of them with temps in the upper 20s, generally 27-30ish.  I think Orlando and South would be an easy grow, just not on the NW side of Orlando with frequent heavy frosts.  Mine were all very small in the ground, no more than 2 feet tall.  Bigger ones might have a better chance. 

That’s unfortunate. I think I’m right on the north side of Lake Monroe from you. I have a nice microclimate, but that did not help much this winter. Have typical Florida sugar sand, and am on a hill, so at least drainage is never an issue. What did you find their speed to be opposed to Pembana?

[RiverCityRichard]

On 4/5/2026 at 7:35 AM, JD in the OC said:

keep it in that 3 gallon pot. They absolutely hate being over potted. I bought a 3 gallon in Miami a year ago and immediately potted it up into a 7 gallon and it has just sat and done Nothing in its new container.  The nursery in Miami also had a 15 gallon with trunk and inflorescences, (wasn't for sale,) but the trunks were really skinny and it is not very pretty in tropical climates. having grown them myself in Southern California as well I could tell you the do way better in Mediterranean climates... look better too.

JD

This one is a 7g, and the rootball is already maxed out. I have noticed the trunk diameter in photos of specimens in Cali are much more robust than the local ones here at Leu Gardens. These are pretty thin to for already working on a trunk ring. Maybe I should play it safe and have another nice potted patio palm

[RiverCityRichard]

On 4/5/2026 at 3:15 PM, PalmatierMeg said:

Agree. I tried the "weepy" form and it completely bombed out. This is a palm for SOCAL not FL. They don't take kindly to months of swelter and humidity. I believe they require a significant night time cooldown to survive long term. I've come to the conclusion that the genus Chrysalodocarpus prefers the Cali mediterranean climate over the FL tropical climate. I've tried a number of species, i.e., robusta, piulifera, yadda, yadda and succeeded with none of them. 

Damn. Did you also try the upright? It’s not necessarily a speed demon in my greenhouse, but has a nice deep green color, and is steady. I’ve had success with Pembana and Lanceolata (with the exception of this past freeze) but both in part shade and under canopy. Being 30 miles inland I get a little temp relief in the summer nights, but probably not enough. My thought now is a canopy area that gets full winter sun, and half day shade in the hottest months. Sounds like that would be my only chance for success

[Merlyn]

21 minutes ago, RiverCityRichard said:

That’s unfortunate. I think I’m right on the north side of Lake Monroe from you. I have a nice microclimate, but that did not help much this winter. Have typical Florida sugar sand, and am on a hill, so at least drainage is never an issue. What did you find their speed to be opposed to Pembana?

I never got one big enough to really take off, so I'm not really sure.  I can't say if they would have grown fast or withered away like Meg's experience. 

I lost basically all my Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus in February, at least down to the roots.  Solo ones like Lastelliana, Basilonga, Leptocheilos all died...except for the Decaryi that looks like it may make it.  Pembana, Lutescens, Lanceolata and Albofarinosa burnt to the ground but some are resprouting.  I'll probably keep a couple of the clustering ones.  I for sure would try Onilahensis as a patio palm, because I could move it inside for the 2 or 3 frosts per year.  I'm just tired of buying palms, figuring out a great spot for them, and then having them croak from bud rot in a year or so.  The same goes for Archontophoenix and Bottle/Spindles, just too high a risk of spear pull and bud rot.  Maybe I'm just grumpy from spending a whole week pruning and digging things out, and I'll change my mind in a few weeks...  

[DoomsDave]

Hmmm interesting!

FWIW droopy onilahensis do well for me and seem to take drier conditions than “upright” onilahensis. I’m in northern Orange County California, near Los Angeles county.

[JD in the OC]

The ones that are native to northern Madagascar, which is a more tropical climate,  seem to do better here in Florida. Many of the ones from the south do not do as well here due to our wet, muggy summer conditions.  I also killed C. pililifera and C. robustus last year in my yard.  All Rotted.  C. prestonianus does really well however.  As does C. lastellianus and C. nauseousus.  All come from wet, tropical rainforestes i believe.  I'm in zone 10b with 55in of rain annually. 

JD

[PalmatierMeg]

18 hours ago, RiverCityRichard said:

Damn. Did you also try the upright? It’s not necessarily a speed demon in my greenhouse, but has a nice deep green color, and is steady. I’ve had success with Pembana and Lanceolata (with the exception of this past freeze) but both in part shade and under canopy. Being 30 miles inland I get a little temp relief in the summer nights, but probably not enough. My thought now is a canopy area that gets full winter sun, and half day shade in the hottest months. Sounds like that would be my only chance for success

My experience is that the whole genus languishes in FL - and the bigger the species, such as robusta, the sooner they croak after periods of wimpy growth. I lost all but 1-2 stems of my pembanas to Hurricanes Irma & Ian. Cat 3+ winds sheared them off at ground level all over the yard. Pembana is unbelievably weedy and invasive and I will never plant another again. Same goes for the wimps cabadae and lanceolata. Got to know when to cut your losses. Also for Bismarckias with the added bonus that this palm not only keels over in cat 3+ winds but also crushes anything growing beneath them, i.e. good-bye Livistonas, Sabals, Buddha Belly bamboo, snakewood trees, Elaeis guineensis, Caryota sp, Crysalidocarpus just for starters. I've lost far more palms to tropical hurricanes than to winter cold.

My Rule: 3 STRIKES AND IT'S OUT! So, if you've tried Areca vestiaria a few dozen times yet it always bombs out, it may be time to kick that species out of the dugout before you bankrupt yourself. If you are new to palms, be aware that palmate palms, as a general rule, are tougher, hardier and comprise a high % of palm species, esp. in colder climates. Keep clinging to pinnate palms only and you deprive yourself of many species you could be growing to near perfection. The genus Copernicia is awesome. There are enough Sabal minor cultivars to landscape a whole yard without duplicates. A little time thinking outside the box never hurt anybody and you can learn a lot - to share or not depending on whether you are generous or covetous.

[Merlyn]

@PalmatierMeg I was pretty shocked at how well Copernicia did after 22.5F this February.  My Fallaensis had near complete burn, but just opened a nearly pristine new frond.  Baileyana and Gigas took around 50% burn and also seem ok.  I've lost a few Macroglossa to bud rot over the years, but all were small.  I have twoo more large seedling sized Baileys and a Fallaensisin the ground now too, and zero damage from the cold.