Transplanting C. Hospita Soil Recommendations

[Titan Uranus]

I am preparing to transplant a small Copernicia Hospita (CH) into a wonderfully sunny spot front and center of my house. I have concerns it may eventually become too large for the area, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to display this palm against our blue house.

I have read the other CH threads here on PT where an alkaline soil is recommended to enhance the blue shade.  Dolomite was recommended, and I have found a lime-dolomite powder mix at my local store.  My local palm doctor kindly gave me some of his potting soil to mix in with my existing native soil.  The potting soil has some percentage of pine bark.  I would assume this would lower the pH a few points before or after the decimal.

Do I need to concern myself with the pH of my native soil or the potting soil with pine bark?  I don't have a pH tester, although as I type this, the $10 order on Amazon might be prudent.  My thoughts are to either use my native soil and mix in powered lime-dolomite, or to just use the potting soil mix with my native soil and call it a day.

 

Am I overthinking this?

 

Edited September 21, 2018 by Titan Uranus

[PalmatierMeg]

Welcome to PalmTalk. Where is Apollo Beach? I ask because if you are on coastal FL your soil may be plenty alkaline and not need amendment. In general, trying to acidify alkaline soil or vice versa with a bag of something-or-other is pretty much a waste of time and money unless you plan to change the overall pH of your whole yard, which would be an even bigger waste. Your soil is what it is pH-wise. I have very alkaline soil and have learned the hard way I can't grow palm species that detest alkaline soil as many do.

Copernicias evolved in alkaline soils and do well in coastal FL. I also believe most of them are not that particular about soils, except for C. cowellii which comes from serpentine soil.

[Titan Uranus]

Thanks for the additional info. 

Apollo Beach is 20 minutes south of Tampa and north of Sarasota.   I am about a mile off Tampa Bay which barely puts us in zone 10b.  

I did Google “Cuba soil pH” and it didn’t return a number, but referenced its limestone base which can yield a clue. 

I asked my palm doc what the pH of the potting soil is, and he replied to me with “Close to 6. If you get too alkaline then micronutrients become less available, so be careful. Mixing native soil with that mix will help transition the palm from a pH standpoint”.

I’ll do my best to get it into the ground this weekend.

[Zeeth]

9 hours ago, Titan Uranus said:

Thanks for the additional info. 

Apollo Beach is 20 minutes south of Tampa and north of Sarasota.   I am about a mile off Tampa Bay which barely puts us in zone 10b.  

I did Google “Cuba soil pH” and it didn’t return a number, but referenced its limestone base which can yield a clue. 

I asked my palm doc what the pH of the potting soil is, and he replied to me with “Close to 6. If you get too alkaline then micronutrients become less available, so be careful. Mixing native soil with that mix will help transition the palm from a pH standpoint”.

I’ll do my best to get it into the ground this weekend.

You're probably closer to 9b. 

[sonoranfans]

I am about 20 mi south of apollo beach 7 miles from the bay.  Our soil is not alkaline, its acid with lots of sand and some clay mix at about 3' depth.  I use dolomite around my cuban copernicias for better health as they want a moderately alkaline soil.  Colors in general blue and green seem more vibrant with the dolomite.  If your site is high drainage and mostly sand, the ammendment would be different than good drainage with lots of organic material or clay with moderate drainage.  I have started using biochar as its a cation exchange medium that doesn't dissipate in time like compost or mulch does.  I still mulch on top but the biochar will permanently enrich soil.   I planted a small Hospita seedling with this ammendment, time will tell.  If you don't have sand and have clay(sometimes in our area), I'd use perlite and sand to permanently keep soil aerated around the roots.  

[PalmatierMeg]

3 hours ago, Zeeth said:

You're probably closer to 9b. 

Agree. I'm 10a/10b in Cape Coral 100 miles south of you. But Copernicias in general are tough palms.

[Titan Uranus]

I need to walk back on my statement on my zone.  When you type in my zip code into the USDA website, I get 10a. However that quickly diminishes to 9b as you move inland a few miles. 

I planted my CH over the weekend.  I mixed in the potting soil in with my native soil.  I'll keep an eye on the color and add in the Lime/dolomite mix as needed to the surface.

I’ll update this thread every few years with a new photo to record its progress. I’m also including a pic of my Old Man Cuban, coccothrinax crinita. Believe it or not, the local Lowe’s sold a handful of these in the spring.

 

[Missi]

Your house and landscape shown are beautiful! Looking forward to future updates!

[Merlyn]

On 9/21/2018, 2:33:58, Titan Uranus said:

That looks great!  Just make sure the foxtail ferns don't grow over the Copernicia too much!  I saw a couple of Old Man Palms at Lowes this spring too, about 1-2ft of trunk for I think under $100.  That was a ridiculous bargain, wholesale prices are $100-150 per foot.  It wasn't on my short list of palms to buy, though.  Out of curiosity, what did you pay for the Hospita?

Is the bigger palm on the left a Phoenix Dactylifera?

[Titan Uranus]

Thank you.  I paid $325 for the CH.  Yes, you are correct on the ID of the palm on the left. I wanted a nice mix of pinate and palmate palms, and the slight blue/silver color the Dactylifera offers helps everything blend well.