Coconuts in the Canary Islands

[Carlo Morici]

Here are some fresh pictures taken in Tenerife in late May.

They are taken on different places of different coasts.

Paseo Marítimo de Punta del Hidalgo

Cooler, cloudier and rainier Northern coast

In this area coconuts produce few or no fruits, they are weak during their first years and suffer if shaded. They only grow close to the coastline.

Hotel Bahía del Duque - Costa Adeje

Hotter, sunnier and drier Southern coast

This area is much better for coconuts, they often fruit freely and grow steadily even as juveniles. They can also be grown a bit inland (= upland).

Carlo

[bubba]

The beauty of the Canary Islands is beyond dispute. I think anyone who has viewed your posts on this site is ready to pack their bags! I do not care if the coconuts bear fruit or not. Thanks again and please keep them coming.

[Carlo Morici]

Thank you Bubba!

There are no coconut trees here but you can't miss the sight behind the corner in Punta del Hidalgo, a walk away from the first two pictures of this thread, the coconut walkway disappears into the protected area:

And this is the old cocotero in Parque García Sanabria, which is the main park in Santa Cruz.  The park is 80 years old and this be roughly the age of the specimen. The palm is not very beautiful, but it is still tall and thriving. Maybe it is just too old for our area or just too tall to be treated for whitefly, mealybug and other well known friends of Cocos nucifera.

The sculpture below is "Monumento al Gato" by Oscar Domínguez, 1973.

Carlo

[JakeK]

It looks like the Northern coast of Tenerife is just a bit warmer than Funchal over on Madeira. I have seen pictures of trunking coconuts growing near the harbor in Funchal. The eternal spring of the Canaries as well as Madeira, the Azores, and many places at elevation in Central America has to be my favorite climate. You can grow almost everything.

[Carlo Morici]

You are right the No.Coast of Tenerife is less than 1 C warmer than So.Madeira in TMA but the climate is similar.

So. Madeira is about  32º30' N

No. Tenerife is about  28º20' N

Latitude also helps but all the Macaronesian archipelagos share an oceanic climate. Azores is much colder, at 38 N - No Cocos and Cape Verde is tropical, around 15º N - Coconuts and breadfruits are grown in the green ravines.

I rescued one more picture, taken a few years ago:

Playa de La Arena in SW Tenerife. Hot, sunny, and windless.

Carlo

[happ]

Carlo, thanks for the great photography  

What's amazing is that No Tenerife is practically in the mid latitudes - farther north than Tampa/Corpus Christi Tx  

For example, I doubt cocos can thrive in central Baja California.  Probably too dry  ???

[Kris]

Dear Carlos  

those stills looks fabulous and the coconut trees looks very

different_the stem or the trunk is very bright white and

very thin in appearence when compared to our varaties...

and in one still in which you have mentioned a protected zone..

i see few CIDP red fruticas,the coco's really don't stand a

chance in front of these big beauties.

i don't know why my country folks till this day have not grown

or cultivated the CIDP.all here say since this work is left to me  

i think i will be successeful in at least growing a few cidp in

our town. ???

and reading some reviews on the cidp's wilt fungus desiease,it's time folks like me start propogating these

beauties in different climatic zones,in distinct lands...

dear carlos thanks a lot for those lovely sceneries of your

place.

Love,

Kris  

[Cristóbal]

happ,

theres cocos in santa rosalia on the mar de cortez and bahía tortugas on pacific ocean in baja california like 28 n. latitude.

im from la paz, baja california sur, we have cocos every where there.

[Tyrone]

Thanks Carlo for the pics and info. It confirms what we know Cocos really like. Heat, heat, and heat. The pics on the beach on the SW side show them growing in black sand. That should help really well, and if there's no wind it would be a "hotbox" even in winter.

I'm going to get one going at my place, even if it never fruits. My Samoan one is now at the 5 leaf stage and still growing well in my shadehouse. I haven't watered it for 2 months and it's seen a few 9C nights and gets up to the low to mid twenties in the day. Come Oct Nov, it's going in the ground into a carefully selected spot.

regards

Tyrone

[harries]

There is a report in the The St. Kitts-Nevis Observer that says Lethal Yellowing Disease is present in the Canary Islands.

Can anyone confirm this - or not?

See <http://www.thestkittsnevisobserver.com/2012/08/17/yellowing-disease.html>

[ariscott]

Oh no.... you need fresh coconut cream for that cake recipe, Carlo

[dalmatiansoap]

Canary Islands suffer from a lot of fires lately. I hope they will recover soon.

[stygiana]

¡Hola Carlo, gracias por las fotos!

Carlo, thanks for the great photography

What's amazing is that No Tenerife is practically in the mid latitudes - farther north than Tampa/Corpus Christi Tx

For example, I doubt cocos can thrive in central Baja California. Probably too dry ???

It seems there are some in central Baja, but what is sure is that there are thousand of thriving Cocos nucifera on Bermuda island at 32º latitude, so even further north compared to Tenerife...

[stygiana]

Here is a photo of the tallest one I know on La Palma. It's even bigger than it seems as one can only see 2/3rd of its trunk on this photo.

Its growing inside a banana field. Unfortunately, it is dying as the sprinklers the owners have installed seem to cause very serious roting at the base of the trunk. The base up to a couple of meters high (6 to 7 ft) is completely dark, black or deep green, with large holes, which are getting bigger and bigger. The humidity stays in these scars and the tons of pestisides and fertilizers they spray seem to be quite corrosive. There is a lot of a dark blue-green kind of jelly falling from these holes. Disgusting and sad...

[Alicante]

Here is a photo of the tallest one I know on La Palma. It's even bigger than it seems as one can only see 2/3rd of its trunk on this photo.

Its growing inside a banana field. Unfortunately, it is dying as the sprinklers the owners have installed seem to cause very serious roting at the base of the trunk. The base up to a couple of meters high (6 to 7 ft) is completely dark, black or deep green, with large holes, which are getting bigger and bigger. The humidity stays in these scars and the tons of pestisides and fertilizers they spray seem to be quite corrosive. There is a lot of a dark blue-green kind of jelly falling from these holes. Disgusting and sad...

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

Stygiana,

That coconut palm may also have lethal yellowing. Notice how the old brown leaves are clinging to the trunk? This is a sign of lethal yellowing, since coconut palms are naturally self shedding. It could also be due to the horrible condition of the lower trunk like you said, causing a symptom similar to a lethal yellowing symptom. It is a shame!

[DoomsDave]

Doink!

[foxtail]

Oink!

[Tyrone]

1 hour ago, Palm Lord said:

Why does it say Photobucket? You didn't get photos off of Google did you?

No. This is a 14 year old thread. Back then big pictures couldn’t be directly uploaded and needed a third party host to load them.