Chapman Field Fiji Dwarf coconuts

[Zeeth]

Went down to the USDA today to get some coconuts to donate to some local botanical gardens. Here are some pics:

Starting off with some non-Fiji coconuts. These are Panama talls.

[Zeeth]

In no particular order, here are their Fiji dwarf trees.

 

 

[Zeeth]

[Zeeth]

This one was actually really orange (which I've never seen in a Fiji Dwarf before). 

 

This one was super old:

[Zeeth]

Some other stuff from Fairchild:

Chowghat green dwarf:

 I read online that the Chowghat green dwarf is said to be one of the sweetest tasting varieties, so I decided to try some myself. 

This one was labelled "Dwarf Brown", and had coconuts shaped similar to a Jamaican tall:

[Zeeth]

More Panama talls:

[Zeeth]

Also saw a crocodile:

And some Iguanas:

 

That's all for now! 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

Great Post, Keith.  Thanks for sharing it with us.  I am really beginning to appreciate the look of the Fiji Dwarf more and more.  I have one that was sent to me by one of the members of my group on Facebook, who lives a couple of hours south of you, at Pine Island I believe.  I have heard conflicting things about the Fiji Dwarf.  Most of what I have heard is that it is the LEAST cold hardy variety, but is 100% resistant to Lethal Yellowing, but he said the ones where he lives fared pretty well during the 2010 freezes, whereas some other more typical varieties there suffered a lot more.  What do you think?  Should I even try it in my yard here in Corpus Christi when it gets a little bigger, or try to find some place down in Brownsville or South Padre Island to plant it when it gets bigger?

John

[Zeeth]

7 hours ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Great Post, Keith.  Thanks for sharing it with us.  I am really beginning to appreciate the look of the Fiji Dwarf more and more.  I have one that was sent to me by one of the members of my group on Facebook, who lives a couple of hours south of you, at Pine Island I believe.  I have heard conflicting things about the Fiji Dwarf.  Most of what I have heard is that it is the LEAST cold hardy variety, but is 100% resistant to Lethal Yellowing, but he said the ones where he lives fared pretty well during the 2010 freezes, whereas some other more typical varieties there suffered a lot more.  What do you think?  Should I even try it in my yard here in Corpus Christi when it gets a little bigger, or try to find some place down in Brownsville or South Padre Island to plant it when it gets bigger?

John

Hey John, I grow my coconuts in a climate similar to yours. My garden is too far inland at my latitude for coconuts to survive long-term, so I get freezes sometimes. As you saw with my recent thread about our freeze this year where my yard got down to 28˚, my Fiji dwarf fared about as well as most of my other varieties in the freeze. I wouldn't say that it's particularly hardy, but it's not particularly sensitive. The good thing is that they stay small for a very long time, so they're easier to protect. 

[Cluster]

Hey Keith,

Thanks for the awesome pictures a few questions if I may:

The fruits seem to vary from bronze to light orange and green is that correct? I have checked ebay and some nursery in homestead, FL and both places seem to have two varieties of Fiji, orange and the "normal". However in your pictures it seems the green fronds ones also have orange or bronze fruit, not necessarily green, but the orange frond one had orange fruits as expected.

Did you like the Chowghat green coconut taste? The palm looks very beautiful, it looks like a delicate coconut but the fronds look impressively lush with a nice tint and it seems like it is a small palm so for the people with less space it seems awesome along with the Fiji. By the way it is a shame they do not have the Chowghat orange Dwarf, that is the prime one used in India for tender coconut water. It is the sweetest variety I think, more than the green.

Just another observation, the oldest Fiji Dwarf did not look as great as the others, it seems to have some sort of deficiency if you look at the fronds, maybe it is too old and is retiring? 

I loved the pictures!

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

12 hours ago, Zeeth said:

Hey John, I grow my coconuts in a climate similar to yours. My garden is too far inland at my latitude for coconuts to survive long-term, so I get freezes sometimes. As you saw with my recent thread about our freeze this year where my yard got down to 28˚, my Fiji dwarf fared about as well as most of my other varieties in the freeze. I wouldn't say that it's particularly hardy, but it's not particularly sensitive. The good thing is that they stay small for a very long time, so they're easier to protect. 

Hey Keith,

Yes, we have about the same climate as far as normal overnight lows in Jan., (around 50F or 51F for the normal low in my yard in Jan.), but my daytime highs are significantly cooler than yours then (around 64F or 65F for a normal high here in Jan., but 66F further inland at the airport)/  I think yours probably average around 71F if I am not mistaken.  Also, I have a greater chance of having a frost or freeze here each winter than you do.  Overall, I think your climate is more like Harlingen or Brownsville in the Rio Grande Valley, a little more mild in the winter than mine.  Mine, is actually probably a lot like Tarpon Springs of Clearwater to your north, or like Daytona Beach to your east, which makes it a little harder to grow Coconut Palms here than where you live.  Where exactly is the place you went to with all those Fiji Dwarfs?

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

13 hours ago, Zeeth said:

Hey John, I grow my coconuts in a climate similar to yours. My garden is too far inland at my latitude for coconuts to survive long-term, so I get freezes sometimes. As you saw with my recent thread about our freeze this year where my yard got down to 28˚, my Fiji dwarf fared about as well as most of my other varieties in the freeze. I wouldn't say that it's particularly hardy, but it's not particularly sensitive. The good thing is that they stay small for a very long time, so they're easier to protect. 

Keith,

Is the Fiji Dwarf self pollinating like the Malayan Dwarfs?  The one that was sent to me by a man in the Pine Island area has a smaller nut compared to the size you say their nuts are (but it is an average sized husk compared to other varieties), but the palm, which is about 2ft. tall in overall height, has more robust looking leaves than my other Coconut Palms, and the base of it where it comes out of the husk looks a little wider than my others of about the same height.  Also, it has very green petioles, a little greener even than the petioles on my Green Malayan Dwarf.

John

[Zeeth]

14 hours ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Keith,

Is the Fiji Dwarf self pollinating like the Malayan Dwarfs?  The one that was sent to me by a man in the Pine Island area has a smaller nut compared to the size you say their nuts are (but it is an average sized husk compared to other varieties), but the palm, which is about 2ft. tall in overall height, has more robust looking leaves than my other Coconut Palms, and the base of it where it comes out of the husk looks a little wider than my others of about the same height.  Also, it has very green petioles, a little greener even than the petioles on my Green Malayan Dwarf.

John

John, the Fiji dwarf is a cross-pollinating type like tall types. It's also quite variable, and the ones in the Chapman field had fruit that varied in size from small to large, pointed or round, green or bronze (and the one orange individual). The ones popular in Hawaii tend to have a larger coconut than the ones in Florida, but I collected some nuts from the Chapnam field Fijis that have big coconuts too. With this variety, I don't think that coconut size, shape or color is an accurate way to determine if it's truly a Fiji dwarf. One has to let it grow a bit to see if the leaf structure is correct. Chapman field is the USDA germplasm repository in Miami. It's very close to Fairchild and Montgomery. 

On 3/7/2018, 9:12:19, Cluster said:

Hey Keith,

Thanks for the awesome pictures a few questions if I may:

The fruits seem to vary from bronze to light orange and green is that correct? I have checked ebay and some nursery in homestead, FL and both places seem to have two varieties of Fiji, orange and the "normal". However in your pictures it seems the green fronds ones also have orange or bronze fruit, not necessarily green, but the orange frond one had orange fruits as expected.

Did you like the Chowghat green coconut taste? The palm looks very beautiful, it looks like a delicate coconut but the fronds look impressively lush with a nice tint and it seems like it is a small palm so for the people with less space it seems awesome along with the Fiji. By the way it is a shame they do not have the Chowghat orange Dwarf, that is the prime one used in India for tender coconut water. It is the sweetest variety I think, more than the green.

Just another observation, the oldest Fiji Dwarf did not look as great as the others, it seems to have some sort of deficiency if you look at the fronds, maybe it is too old and is retiring? 

I loved the pictures!

So the coconuts were mainly bronze or green, but all had green petioles. The exception was, of course, the orange one I photographed.

The Chowghat green tasted similar to other coconuts that I've had. I honestly didn't notice much of a difference in sweetness, but the coconut itself was quite small, so you'd have to collect a bunch of coconuts to have a good amount of water. 

I'm not sure why the oldest Fiji dwarf looks that way. The leaf structure looks about right for the variety. There was a big hurricane that came through the area in summer though, so it could be a bit tattered from that. 

[kinzyjr]

After seeing this thread, I definitely have to get a Fiji Dwarf.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

15 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

After seeing this thread, I definitely have to get a Fiji Dwarf.

Yeah, Jeremy, the only thing that kept me from getting one in the past was concern that it wouldn't make it through even a normal winter here where I live, but since the man who sent mine to me said the ones in his are of Pine Island, Florida fared better than other varieties in the 2010 freezes, and since Keith here, said that his was no worse off than his other varieties after the freezes this winter, then I am certainly glad I got one.  They really are a very beautiful and interesting variety!

John

[GottmitAlex]

I have no space for one,,,Had I known.....

[Cluster]

On 3/8/2018, 3:33:59, Zeeth said:

 

So the coconuts were mainly bronze or green, but all had green petioles. The exception was, of course, the orange one I photographed.

The Chowghat green tasted similar to other coconuts that I've had. I honestly didn't notice much of a difference in sweetness, but the coconut itself was quite small, so you'd have to collect a bunch of coconuts to have a good amount of water. 

I'm not sure why the oldest Fiji dwarf looks that way. The leaf structure looks about right for the variety. There was a big hurricane that came through the area in summer though, so it could be a bit tattered from that. 

Hey Keith,

Thank you for your answers. Maybe the coconut was not harvest in the perfect months for optimal water. Anyway they say the special one is the orange Chowghatand. I have read studies and it is indeed a lot sweeter than the green and the others in which it was compared to. If you want a different (and premium taste in my opinion) you should try he Nam Hom variety ones (aromatic green dwarf), from Thailand. Those have different flavor to it, nutty like some sort of woody taste. I do not believe people plant those in Florida, but the ones I can buy here dehusked are delicious.

Anyway back to Fiji...I really like the looks of them, one of my favorite coconuts!

[PalmTreeDude]

It looks like some Island in the Caribbean! 

[Zeeth]

On 3/12/2018, 7:49:33, Cluster said:

Hey Keith,

Thank you for your answers. Maybe the coconut was not harvest in the perfect months for optimal water. Anyway they say the special one is the orange Chowghatand. I have read studies and it is indeed a lot sweeter than the green and the others in which it was compared to. If you want a different (and premium taste in my opinion) you should try he Nam Hom variety ones (aromatic green dwarf), from Thailand. Those have different flavor to it, nutty like some sort of woody taste. I do not believe people plant those in Florida, but the ones I can buy here dehusked are delicious.

Anyway back to Fiji...I really like the looks of them, one of my favorite coconuts!

I found some Aromatic green dwarf coconuts on Ebay so I'll be getting one to donate to one of the gardens here if it arrives intact. 

[chad2468emr]

Awesome seeing so many dwarf fijis. They look like lil munchkin palms. haha

That crocodile though! American crocs are so rare in Florida, what an awesome animal to come across! I'm jealous. haha

[kinzyjr]

On 3/11/2018, 11:15:06, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Yeah, Jeremy, the only thing that kept me from getting one in the past was concern that it wouldn't make it through even a normal winter here where I live, but since the man who sent mine to me said the ones in his are of Pine Island, Florida fared better than other varieties in the 2010 freezes, and since Keith here, said that his was no worse off than his other varieties after the freezes this winter, then I am certainly glad I got one.  They really are a very beautiful and interesting variety!

John

I had assumed the same, but now that I know I'm wrong I can be happy instead

On 3/12/2018, 2:53:26, GottmitAlex said:

I have no space for one,,,Had I known.....

<sarcasm>REAL gardeners don't have space, they make space</sarcasm>

[GottmitAlex]

1 hour ago, kinzyjr said:

I had assumed the same, but now that I know I'm wrong I can be happy instead

<sarcasm>REAL gardeners don't have space, they make space</sarcasm>

--picks up jackhammer--

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

23 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

I had assumed the same, but now that I know I'm wrong I can be happy instead

<sarcasm>REAL gardeners don't have space, they make space</sarcasm>

That's hilarious!  I ran out of space about a year and a half ago, and yet I am still planting!

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On ‎3‎/‎15‎/‎2018‎ ‎2‎:‎48‎:‎02‎, Zeeth said:

I found some Aromatic green dwarf coconuts on Ebay so I'll be getting one to donate to one of the gardens here if it arrives intact. 

Keith,

Are they live sprouts, or just the viable nuts to plant and hope they sprout?

John

[Zeeth]

9 hours ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Keith,

Are they live sprouts, or just the viable nuts to plant and hope they sprout?

John

The listing showed a sprouted coconut but I guess I'll find out when it arrives.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

11 hours ago, Zeeth said:

The listing showed a sprouted coconut but I guess I'll find out when it arrives.

I hope it's a healthy live sprout for you and that it does well in the ground at your place in Palmetto.

John

[MisterB7917]

I really want a Fiji dwarf, but I live in California and don't know where to buy it. Do you know of a place that could ship to CA? 

[climate change virginia]

where can I but the coconuts from this palm

[climate change virginia]

14 hours ago, climate change virginia said:

where can I but the coconuts from this palm

buy the coconuts sorry mispelled that

Edited November 29, 2020 by climate change virginia

[aTropic33]

Does anyone have a figi nut, sprout or tree near Tampa for sale?