We have/had several coonties in our yard. Most have done horribly. One died, then came back after I cut it all the way down. It looked great, now is in bad shape. We yanked a few out from an old planting bed and planted grass. The second bed where they are planted among 2 crepe myrtles, they are looking sad....dropping many leaves. They are still mostly green from a distance. Over the last year and a half...I have noticed they usually have black sotty mold on them...which means something is eating them. I spray and treat them, only for it to come back when I stop spraying. Also they end up with some type of scale. There are brown hard shell type growths on them, looks like barnicles. Our plan is to do away with those too. Just too much trouble. I have enough palms with problems then to worry about these things. Its a shame, I too thought they were easy to grow. I am not sure of my variety as they were planted before we moved in. I will note that my plants were in the constant path of the sprinklers...which could add to their demise. Mine have not collasped. They just look unheathly when you get up close.

When you discover the secret tell me. I have attempted them as an outdoor/indoor plant and they just seem to eventually go downhill. I have no problem with cycas revoluta (and other cycas species),encephalartos, dioon, or zamia furfuracea. When I was in Miami's Fairchild Gardens, I noticed they didn't look too hot there either. All in all, they don't seem like a very robust species, but maybe we're missing something.