Fallaensis from sept 2011 to july 2024

[sonoranfans]

I thought this palm history was worth a story.  I bought a copernicia fallaensis from Ken Johnson and sons in late sept 2011 and dug a huge hole for it, 5'+ across.  I dyug the hole an extra foot deep and amended that last foot of depth with half sand with the native clay the builders put near the streets to support it. put extra sand beneath the palm.  Here is the holle I dug with the ammended mix refilled under the palm

Ken arrived and he and his son unl;oaded the palm and planted it with a 2500 lb bobcat.  The rootball was limestone rock and it was too much weight for a 1500 lb bobcat.

In the ground as of sept 19 2011.

[sonoranfans]

in summer 2014 3 years later the leaves were getting larger and more numerous but height was about the same

then another shot in 2017 a couple months after hurricane IRMA hit.  It lost ~ 8 leaves on the lower crown.

 

late 2017 after IRMA hit

y 2019 it was starting to put on trunk.  Not sure that was delayed or accelerated due to the hurricane hit.  

Leaf bases were falling off no assisting them.

 

here in 2021 a year before IAN

Then IAN hit and it lost a dozen leaves mostly to windward and quite a way up the trunk, (asymmetrical losses to windward)

I didnt take a lot of pics of the damage, I want4ed to forget about it.  The damage it has sustained was from cat one max 97 mph gusts with 80 mph sustained for 3-4 hrs.

This morning the palm shows 10' clear smooth trunk @28-29" diameter (all the way up so far) and about 13-14 foot trunk including dead leaf bases. 

the crown is not fully recovered but it is doing well.  The thorns on the petioles of the newer leaves just shred the older leaves in this kind of wind.   

 

 

 

 

[sonoranfans]

Oops cant fix that title! the time was 2011 to 2024 almost 13 years since it was planted.

[kinzyjr]

9 minutes ago, sonoranfans said:

Oops cant fix that title! the time was 2011 to 2024 almost 13 years since it was planted.

Took care of the title.  The palm is growing great!

[sonoranfans]

thanks! I also corrected the photo order which somehow I managed to mix up.  Its all correct now.

[Looking Glass]

Great progress and accounting over the years!  It’s awesome when you see a nice Copernicia in a residential neighborhood.  They look very regal and unique.  Tough trees, well suited to the southern parts of Florida.   

[palmfriend]

Great documentation - thank you for sharing with us!

Lars

[FlaPalmLover]

I'm not sure if pictures can do giant yarey palms justice. Seeing them in person is really a sight to behold.

[Fishinsteeg234]

Gorgeous! Well done. 

[Merlyn]

Guesstimating from the photos, it seems like it hit maximum trunk diameter between 2014 and 2017.  With 13-14' of total trunk today, that would be about 1.4-2.0 feet of trunk per year...probably towards the lower end of that ballpark range.  That's not super-slow, and seems like a totally reasonable speed.  I'd rather that over the Queens on my West side that went from nothing to 20' of trunk in about 4 years...

Any idea how old it was when you got it in 2011?

[bubba]

What an incredible palm! You had the foresight to pick the most regal of all the Copernicia’s imho! Something about the almost surreal leaves in the crown. Not many fallaensis that big in Florida but for Fairchild that I know about.

 

[sonoranfans]

3 hours ago, Merlyn said:

Guesstimating from the photos, it seems like it hit maximum trunk diameter between 2014 and 2017.  With 13-14' of total trunk today, that would be about 1.4-2.0 feet of trunk per year...probably towards the lower end of that ballpark range.  That's not super-slow, and seems like a totally reasonable speed.  I'd rather that over the Queens on my West side that went from nothing to 20' of trunk in about 4 years...

Any idea how old it was when you got it in 2011?

ken estimated it was 12=15 years old grown in shade at 9+ feet overall..  he then root pruned it over 6 months and brought it to my place,  i waited for the root pruning.  Might have been faster growth without the transplant.

[bubba]

KJ is a great guy and incredible palm’s man. I wish he would come around here sometime! Once again, incredible palm.

[donpachino1983]

Gorgeous I can't wait for my 3 little straps  (my fallaensis seedling) to some day be that size hopefully my grandchildren will enjoy it 😂😂😂

[sonoranfans]

14 hours ago, Merlyn said:

Guesstimating from the photos, it seems like it hit maximum trunk diameter between 2014 and 2017.  With 13-14' of total trunk today, that would be about 1.4-2.0 feet of trunk per year...probably towards the lower end of that ballpark range.  That's not super-slow, and seems like a totally reasonable speed.  I'd rather that over the Queens on my West side that went from nothing to 20' of trunk in about 4 years...

Any idea how old it was when you got it in 2011?

Merlyn, max trunk diameter was later I think about 2021.  THis palm was grown in shade by the previous owner and had smaller leaves and longer petioles so I think its early life stunted growth a bit.  When I planted it the growth from 2011 to 2014 didnt include much vertical growth.  The leaves got bigger and petioles a bit shorter.  I think I actually measured it in 2019 at 25-26" diameter if I recall.  I do think the faster growth in the latter 6-7 years had a lot to do with full sun, and I mean 12 hrs a day direct sun.  My cuban Copernicia species in containers have always seemed to languish in even half day shade.  

[sonoranfans]

coming up on the 2 year anniversary of the hurricane Ian hit and the crown of my Copernicia fallaensis is nearly recovered.  Of the 35 species I have on my 1200m2 property, this is one of the easiest to care for.  It is a fertilizer pig, 15-20 lbs florikan total per year spread over a large root zone.   But that is it, feed, water, and forget.  It is drought resistant here in Florida, and we do get good rain in the summer heat.  Generally carribean palms do well here, it's not a surprise.   All my carribean palms are easy care once in the ground and rooted.  Many thanks again to Ken Johnson for the palm and for delivering it and operating the 2500lb bobcat to put it in the planting hole so gently.  I followed his advice, on care I did not deviate.  IMHO he is a copernicai whisperer one of the few tht can root prune and care for these root sensitive palms.  There are few people I would trust putting such a heavy palm in the ground( rootball contained a lot of limestone rock).  With such a heavy palm it is very easy to damage the roots and have a big setback or lose the palm,   Thanks again Ken!

     

[FlaPalmLover]

This is random and probably a dumb question but is there any way to clean or whiten the trunk of a palm ? The ones I see in the Cuba pictures appear to have nice, white/silvery trunks like a royal palm. Yours is a bit mossy looking. 

[Cindy Adair]

I love the photo history of one of my favorite palms! 

Brings back memories of seeing this species on IPS travel in Falla, Cuba.

I also enjoyed a visit to Ken’s place riding shotgun in an adventure getting another palm to its new home near Sarasota.
 

Ken put the palm (maybe a Satakentia) in a trailer pulled by a white Cadillac driven by a dearly departed friend for whom age was just a number to be ignored. 

Congratulations on an excellent purchase!

[sonoranfans]

6 minutes ago, FlaPalmLover said:

This is random and probably a dumb question but is there any way to clean or whiten the trunk of a palm ? The ones I see in the Cuba pictures appear to have nice, white/silvery trunks like a royal palm. Yours is a bit mossy looking. 

moss is near the ground, probably due to sprinklers and shade on the lower trunk.   Right now this palm shades its own lower trunk half of the day.  Shade decreases with height so I would expect more sun bleaching as it gets taller.  Because the trunk has a protective membrane that wards off pathogens, I would not try to bleach it, the sun will eventually.   The ones you see in cuba are 20 feet taller I expect, and their same sized crowns shade much less during the day.  The sun bleaches the mold if there is enough exposure.  I also have moss on the lower 3' of my royals.  We get condensing dew every night for months but that is about t6o change too.  My biggest mold growers near ground are sabal causiarum and chambeyronia oliviformis.

[sonoranfans]

4 minutes ago, Cindy Adair said:

I love the photo history of one of my favorite palms! 

Brings back memories of seeing this species on IPS travel in Falla, Cuba.

I also enjoyed a visit to Ken’s place riding shotgun in an adventure getting another palm to its new home near Sarasota.
 

Ken put the palm (maybe a Satakentia) in a trailer pulled by a white Cadillac driven by a dearly departed friend for whom age was just a number to be ignored. 

Congratulations on an excellent purchase!

Thanks CIndy!  It was an somewhat expensive for a palm, but so much more impactful and cheaper than hardscape.  Zero regrets on price including having to rent a bobcat.  I have paid 2x that for a concrete pad for my spa.   I am puzzled by this, why is a palm thought to be expensive but a concrete pad OK at 2x the price?  My wife still calls it "big palm" because of the cost vs other palms, but today she agrees it was well worth it and then some.   I get a chuckle out of it, I have a notably bigger palm, sabal causiarum 25' away but the C. Fallaensis got the "big palm" name.  Ken Johnson is first rate, I have mature satakentias and C Oliviformis from him as well.  

[Cindy Adair]

Here on Palmtalk we tend to have our priorities straight.

 We understand the worth of something that makes us and others around us happy potentially everyday for the rest of our life plus maybe future generations. 

Whether paying in dollars upfront or in time (if we start with seeds or seedlings), palms are special.
 

 

[FlaPalmLover]

1 hour ago, sonoranfans said:

moss is near the ground, probably due to sprinklers and shade on the lower trunk.   Right now this palm shades its own lower trunk half of the day.  Shade decreases with height so I would expect more sun bleaching as it gets taller.  Because the trunk has a protective membrane that wards off pathogens, I would not try to bleach it, the sun will eventually.   The ones you see in cuba are 20 feet taller I expect, and their same sized crowns shade much less during the day.  The sun bleaches the mold if there is enough exposure.  I also have moss on the lower 3' of my royals.  We get condensing dew every night for months but that is about t6o change too.  My biggest mold growers near ground are sabal causiarum and chambeyronia oliviformis.

That definitely makes sense, and I appreciate the response. Your fallaensis is still looking great. 😍  I didn't mean to imply otherwise. I just am a little OCD about little details.

[3DThrills]

Hey Sonoranfans, is this your tree or do I just have an overactive imagination?
I found it on a Walmart listing.

[sonoranfans]

Yeah that is my sabal causiarum as of a 3-4(?) years ago, it has 10 more feet of trunk now.  Cant imagine walmart sells S. Causiarum.

[3DThrills]

Walmart Causiarum

I didn't think you were the seller with that feedback rating.

[yachtingone]

WOW!!!

I think that says everything for me!

Exceptional job!

Randy

[howfam]

On 7/11/2024 at 11:50 AM, sonoranfans said:

in summer 2014 3 years later the leaves were getting larger and more numerous but height was about the same

then another shot in 2017 a couple months after hurricane IRMA hit.  It lost ~ 8 leaves on the lower crown.

 

late 2017 after IRMA hit

y 2019 it was starting to put on trunk.  Not sure that was delayed or accelerated due to the hurricane hit.  

Leaf bases were falling off no assisting them.

 

here in 2021 a year before IAN

Then IAN hit and it lost a dozen leaves mostly to windward and quite a way up the trunk, (asymmetrical losses to windward)

I didnt take a lot of pics of the damage, I want4ed to forget about it.  The damage it has sustained was from cat one max 97 mph gusts with 80 mph sustained for 3-4 hrs.

This morning the palm shows 10' clear smooth trunk @28-29" diameter (all the way up so far) and about 13-14 foot trunk including dead leaf bases. 

the crown is not fully recovered but it is doing well.  The thorns on the petioles of the newer leaves just shred the older leaves in this kind of wind.   

 

 

 

 

 

Sonoranfans:

Nice post. Love the time chronicle of this palm's growth. Can you tell us what street in Palmetto it's on. I'd like to follow this palm on street view for some time to come.

[howfam]

On 9/18/2024 at 2:51 PM, sonoranfans said:

Yeah that is my sabal causiarum as of a 3-4(?) years ago, it has 10 more feet of trunk now.  Cant imagine walmart sells S. Causiarum.

Nice S. causiarum. How 'bout posting a current picture showing the new growth?