Coccothrinax montana Joins C. borhidiana and miraguama

[Jim in Los Altos]

Finally planed out my Coccothrinax montana and hope it continues to flourish. It joins Coccothrinax borhidiana (super slow!) and C. miraguama in the garden a few years. Who else is growing C. montana and how well has it done for you in your location? 

C. montana

C. miraguama

C. borhidiana

 

[Fusca]

They look great Jim!  I'm growing scoparia, barbadensis, macroglossia and miriguama - all from seed.  For me the miriguama is fastest by far.  Love me some Coccothrinax!

[aztropic]

I have 2 examples of Coccothrinax montana doing great in the Arizona desert. They both have flowered at this size,but have yet to produce any viable seeds. Grows a little faster than the average Coccothrinax.

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

[Jim in Los Altos]

5 hours ago, aztropic said:

I have 2 examples of Coccothrinax montana doing great in the Arizona desert. They both have flowered at this size,but have yet to produce any viable seeds. Grows a little faster than the average Coccothrinax.

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

They obviously handle your heat well! How old are they? 

[Phoenikakias]

I have never heard before of this sp! I find the specific name nevertheless cool. It reminds of Scarface...

[aztropic]

6 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

They obviously handle your heat well! How old are they? 

Both are about 18 years in the ground,planted from 1 gallon pots. It really is surprising that they grow so well under desert conditions. I visited their habitat area in the Dominican Republic, (2020) and it is a high in the mountains cloud forest,where farmers also grow crops of coffee. 

Tree is very similar to Coccothrinax scoparia,which also grows high in the mountains,just in a different location. Frond shape is almost identical,except scoparia has some white underneath,while montana is totally green. (pics comparing both species fronds)

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

 

 

[Jim in Los Altos]

5 hours ago, aztropic said:

Both are about 18 years in the ground,planted from 1 gallon pots. It really is surprising that they grow so well under desert conditions. I visited their habitat area in the Dominican Republic, (2020) and it is a high in the mountains cloud forest,where farmers also grow crops of coffee. 

Tree is very similar to Coccothrinax scoparia,which also grows high in the mountains,just in a different location. Frond shape is almost identical,except scoparia has some white underneath,while montana is totally green. (pics comparing both species fronds)

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

 

 

Scott, Do you know if C. scoparia is available anywhere? I’d love to add one to the collection. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Jim, here is my Coccothrinax montana. Also I have a tall C scoparia but I'll have to check if it is seeding (Hurricane Ian really messed up my palms' reproductive cycles).

Coccothrinax montana

C. montana trunk fiber weave

 

Coccothrinax scoparia

 

 

[aztropic]

1 hour ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Scott, Do you know if C. scoparia is available anywhere? I’d love to add one to the collection. 

I only collected a dozen or so promising looking seeds while visiting the species in habitat. Most ripe purple seeds appeared to be compromised by some type of boring insect for whatever reason. That said,I did manage to get only 4 plants grown up to 1 gallon size,and have already sold 3 of them locally. Here is a picture of my last 'habitat' scoparia in a 1 gallon,which I was actually hoping to plant out in my own garden. This plant is only 4 years old,and the species has grown twice as fast as the other Dominican Coccothrinax I am currently producing from seed I collected myself, also from habitat. (boschiana) 

Since it's a rather fast grower compared to most other Coccothrinax species,starting from seed is not out of the question. Unfortunately, I have not noticed any other scoparia plants up for sale recently,but seed does become available from time to time. 

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona