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Need Advice To Maintain Healthy Roots 4 Young Coconut Tree


veeman55

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Heres another curious fact. Why does the bergamot orange do its best along reggios southern coast? Not even in sicily spain greece and the rest of the Mediterranean does the bergamot reach its glory like in southern Reggio. Reggio is also top commercial producer of annona cherimoyas. Theres commercial mango plantations in vibo and reggio province. Huge avocado trees abound..pecan macadamias bananas white black sapote even jackfruits

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1 hour ago, veeman55 said:

Heres another curious fact. Why does the bergamot orange do its best along reggios southern coast? Not even in sicily spain greece and the rest of the Mediterranean does the bergamot reach its glory like in southern Reggio. Reggio is also top commercial producer of annona cherimoyas. Theres commercial mango plantations in vibo and reggio province. Huge avocado trees abound..pecan macadamias bananas white black sapote even jackfruits

Oranges are subtropical. Cherimoyas are from the highland tropics and generally don't do well in the lowlands where coconuts thrive. All the other stuff you mentioned grows in places like peninsular Spain and New Zealand, where there are no coconuts. Spain is one of the world's biggest producers of cherimoya and number one in mango production in Europe. Your friend no doubt lives in a mild climate by European standards, but it's far from tropical and lacks the necessary heat for coconuts. If mild and frost free winters were the only important factors, the southern California coast would be lined with coconuts...

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Jonathan

Katy, TX (Zone 9a)

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The airport is coastal (which is a good thing seeing as the water will be around 14/15 C) and just 1.5 km from center... If a thermometer is placed in a rooftop downtown you will get different values, but that is not how a climate  for a zone is measured, that is a specific micro climate for the balcony or a garden, but if you were do do the same in places like Lampedusa and Malta you would also get warmer values. There is a weather station in downtown Reggio in wunderground and there are two more in the southernmost parts, none of which have remained above 4C in the last 2 years, far from it, and in 2017 that part of Italy was not as affected as previous decades. 

Your friend does live in a very good climate for European Standards, but it is not a zone which has 4C as min records, not by any scientific account at least. Malta would be slightly better in terms of highs and lows (and especially record lows) and if you check their wunderground stations or their airport for the same 2017 event, they were way warmer. Malta records all time low 1.4 in their airport which is around 2.5/3 km from the sea, it is to be expected slightly warmer values near coast in terms of records.

That orange is also grown in Southern France, not known to be frost free. 

Anyway just my 2 cents, not much more to add in terms of climates, I think if your friend puts some effort he will be able to grow a lot of tropicals.

 

 

Edited by Cluster
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8 hours ago, veeman55 said:

Heres another curious fact. Why does the bergamot orange do its best along reggios southern coast? Not even in sicily spain greece and the rest of the Mediterranean does the bergamot reach its glory like in southern Reggio. Reggio is also top commercial producer of annona cherimoyas. Theres commercial mango plantations in vibo and reggio province. Huge avocado trees abound..pecan macadamias bananas white black sapote even jackfruits

Mate, all of these plants can survive and fruit well in a climate much cooler than a coconut will survive in. I can grow all of these plants and have them fruit very well in my yard without a great deal of effort, however, a coconut is a different prospect all together. I can grow a coconut but as I'm several hundred kilometres south of where it will grow comfortably I have to work much harder creating an environment suitable for its survival, it can be done but the palm needs every bit of help it can get. I really hope you can get one going, I'm sure plenty of people here will be watching your efforts and wishing you well, as will I, but don't think because these other plants will grow that a coconut will too because they really do need special care in a non tropical climate.

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7 hours ago, sandgroper said:

Mate, all of these plants can survive and fruit well in a climate much cooler than a coconut will survive in. I can grow all of these plants and have them fruit very well in my yard without a great deal of effort, however, a coconut is a different prospect all together. I can grow a coconut but as I'm several hundred kilometres south of where it will grow comfortably I have to work much harder creating an environment suitable for its survival, it can be done but the palm needs every bit of help it can get. I really hope you can get one going, I'm sure plenty of people here will be watching your efforts and wishing you well, as will I, but don't think because these other plants will grow that a coconut will too because they really do need special care in a non tropical climate.

Agreed.  

I read all the aforementioned fruit trees and cacti grow even I'm Arizona. However, isn't jackfruit just as, if not a notch more tropical than a coconut?

 

5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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I threw some jackfruits seeds this February to an outside pot I have here in Lisbon in the backstairs of my flat. To my surprise they sprouted early summer if I recall, maybe they get 10/20 mins of direct sunlight everyday.

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18 hours ago, veeman55 said:

Malta Lampadusa Linosa are all exposed to crazy winter storms with howling cold winds and low temp windchills in the winter look at the past few years. One year the wind was so bad it carved up a friend of mines papayas on linosa

What does that have to do with temperatures? Only humans feel windchill, it doesn't alter what the actual temperatures are & if you are sheltered from the wind you get no damage anyway, my own back garden is very sheltered & nothing gets wind damaged there.

9 hours ago, Cluster said:

The airport is coastal (which is a good thing seeing as the water will be around 14/15 C) and just 1.5 km from center... If a thermometer is placed in a rooftop downtown you will get different values, but that is not how a climate  for a zone is measured, that is a specific micro climate for the balcony or a garden, but if you were do do the same in places like Lampedusa and Malta you would also get warmer values. There is a weather station in downtown Reggio in wunderground and there are two more in the southernmost parts, none of which have remained above 4C in the last 2 years, far from it, and in 2017 that part of Italy was not as affected as previous decades. 

Your friend does live in a very good climate for European Standards, but it is not a zone which has 4C as min records, not by any scientific account at least. Malta would be slightly better in terms of highs and lows (and especially record lows) and if you check their wunderground stations or their airport for the same 2017 event, they were way warmer. Malta records all time low 1.4 in their airport which is around 2.5/3 km from the sea, it is to be expected slightly warmer values near coast in terms of records.

That orange is also grown in Southern France, not known to be frost free. 

Anyway just my 2 cents, not much more to add in terms of climates, I think if your friend puts some effort he will be able to grow a lot of tropicals.

 

 

Yes the record low at Luqa airport is 1.4C & that is well inland, minimum temperatures at the coast are always 2-3C warmer than the airport, my nearest Met Office station has a record low of 4C (3.5C to 4.4C as it is a rounded figure). I rarely get lows below 10C where I live, yet I know a coconut would not last long as the daytime highs are not warm enough.

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Malta - USDA Zone 11a

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3 hours ago, GottmitAlex said:

Agreed.  

I read all the aforementioned fruit trees and cacti grow even I'm Arizona. However, isn't jackfruit just as, if not a notch more tropical than a coconut?

 

Jackfruit grows and fruits just fine in California and Spain. Durian is an unrelated spiky fruit that is ultra-tropical. 

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Jonathan

Katy, TX (Zone 9a)

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19 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Jackfruit grows and fruits just fine in California and Spain. Durian is an unrelated spiky fruit that is ultra-tropical. 

Thank you for the info. Did not know that.

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5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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2 hours ago, SouthSeaNate said:

What does that have to do with temperatures? Only humans feel windchill, it doesn't alter what the actual temperatures are & if you are sheltered from the wind you get no damage anyway, my own back garden is very sheltered & nothing gets wind damaged there.

Yes the record low at Luqa airport is 1.4C & that is well inland, minimum temperatures at the coast are always 2-3C warmer than the airport, my nearest Met Office station has a record low of 4C (3.5C to 4.4C as it is a rounded figure). I rarely get lows below 10C where I live, yet I know a coconut would not last long as the daytime highs are not warm enough.

Yeah record low for a more coastal station is probably around 3 C over a long period of years if measured with good standards, going by Lampedusa Airport Coastal station.

 

I think Jackfruits, Breadfruits and Durian are somehow related higher up in the family. Breadfruit and Durian are very tropical. 

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Folks its not all about weather stats theres more to it than numbers. You guys just look at the stats and not look at the whole picture.

The proof is in the flora that can be grown. You measure a location's possibility by its plants not by its weather stats. Its not all about numbers.

Southern california has a hard time in keeping cherimoyas and mangos alive for prolonged years because of hard frosts that have devastated their commercial crops which isnt the case with reggio. The highs may be higher but not the lows.

Reggio has similiar climate because the cherimoya has been growing there for hundreds of years.

Andalucia is just much bigger than southern italy thats why its the biggest producer of mango and annonas in europe. Bigger landmass more space to plant..common sense. But southern italy is no slouch ive seen large mango plantations on italys 39th paralell and tasted the mangos myself. Huge size central amercan variety avocados.

The bergamot may grow in france canary islands caribbean or even timbuktu but it is nowhere the fruit quality of southern reggio. Reggio area has 90% of the worlds production.

 

Edited by veeman55
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And growing coconut palms is less about the minimum temperatures & more about maximum temperatures. Nowhere in Europe has winter average highs warm enough to keep a coconut palm alive long term.

I'm not sure why you asked for advice when you are not listening to any of it...

Malta - USDA Zone 11a

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8 hours ago, SouthSeaNate said:

And growing coconut palms is less about the minimum temperatures & more about maximum temperatures. Nowhere in Europe has winter average highs warm enough to keep a coconut palm alive long term.

I'm not sure why you asked for advice when you are not listening to any of it...

8 hours ago, SouthSeaNate said:

And growing coconut palms is less about the minimum temperatures & more about maximum temperatures. Nowhere in Europe has winter average highs warm enough to keep a coconut palm alive long term.

I'm not sure why you asked for advice when you are not listening to any of it...

 Im listening but you arent however your imposing your opinion.

We shall see whos right when that palm survives and the others along with it

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9 minutes ago, veeman55 said:

 Im listening but you arent however your imposing your opinion.

We shall see whos right when that palm survives and the others along with it

Hey, sometimes the "impossible" happens...

Regards from Southern California!

 

 

20180920_185423.jpg

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5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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11 hours ago, GottmitAlex said:

Hey, sometimes the "impossible" happens...

Regards from Southern California!

 

 

20180920_185423.jpg

Alex thats proving all the nay sayers wrong. Two thumbs up. Whats the location of these? San Diego or Baja

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17 minutes ago, veeman55 said:

Alex thats proving all the nay sayers wrong. Two thumbs up. Whats the location of these? San Diego or Baja

It's in the northermost tip of Baja,  only 6 miles south of the San Diego border. I tend not to say Tijuana, Mexico since I have gotten responses as "Oh Mexico. You can grow anything there!".  As if by crossing the border into Mexico the zone instantly changes to a 12a.....

 

 

5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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12 hours ago, veeman55 said:

 Im listening but you arent however your imposing your opinion.

We shall see whos right when that palm survives and the others along with it

You clearly are not listening at all, as you just keep mentioning about that lack of frost & cold temperatures in the area where your "friend" lives, when this is not the determining factor in keeping a Coconut palm alive during winter. You need warm daytime highs, averages in the coldest month of at least 20C, nowhere in Italy has winters that warm.

If you still wish to ignore everyone's advice on here, maybe you should take a look at this Italian gardening forum, where Coconuts have been discussed (& tried) by people actually living in Italy & who know the climate there better than anyone:

https://forum.giardinaggio.it/threads/palme-di-cocco.2776/

But yeah I look forward to seeing that coconut in pristine condition come next spring...

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Malta - USDA Zone 11a

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Nate, sometimes people just got to learn for themselves. I did. When I first got into palms, I thought if I just cared enough, tried hard enough, prayed hard enough, jumped through hoops, danced around a bonfire shaking a rattle, held my breath and counted to 10, I could grow that "impossible-in-FL" palm nobody else here could because, "Maybe you can't do it, but I can." Wrong, wrong, wrong. Steep, expensive learning curve.

Good news: coconuts are dime-a-dozen palms and that nursery in the Netherlands is cranking them out by the 1,000s. It needs buyers to kill them off, then buy more.

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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5 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Nate, sometimes people just got to learn for themselves. I did. When I first got into palms, I thought if I just cared enough, tried hard enough, prayed hard enough, jumped through hoops, danced around a bonfire shaking a rattle, held my breath and counted to 10, I could grow that "impossible-in-FL" palm nobody else here could because, "Maybe you can't do it, but I can." Wrong, wrong, wrong. Steep, expensive learning curve.

Good news: coconuts are dime-a-dozen palms and that nursery in the Netherlands is cranking them out by the 1,000s. It needs buyers to kill them off, then buy more.

True, but just puzzling why someone asks for advice, then just ignores it all... Oh well.

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Malta - USDA Zone 11a

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Best of luck.

:greenthumb:

5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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If his friend creates a micro with heating lamps and other tricks, to make such efforts might work, otherwise no game in the open.

Edited by Cluster
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3 minutes ago, Cluster said:

If his friend creates a micro with heating lamps and other tricks, to make such efforts might work, otherwise no game in the open.

I was thinking the same. I get it when it's 3,4, 10 cocos. Not feasable. But to protect just one from the get go, I think it can be done. 

I always think about Walt with his green Malayan in a wet 9b zone. 

 

 

5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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2 hours ago, GottmitAlex said:

I was thinking the same. I get it when it's 3,4, 10 cocos. Not feasable. But to protect just one from the get go, I think it can be done. 

I always think about Walt with his green Malayan in a wet 9b zone. 

 

 

Walt's location sees much much warmer winter temperatures (average high in January is 23C), there's absolutely no comparison. He could grow fields of coconuts if it weren't for a handful of days out of the year. This is not the case in this "tropical" pocket of Italy, where only half of the year routinely gets highs above 20C (!). 

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Jonathan

Katy, TX (Zone 9a)

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11 hours ago, SouthSeaNate said:

You clearly are not listening at all, as you just keep mentioning about that lack of frost & cold temperatures in the area where your "friend" lives, when this is not the determining factor in keeping a Coconut palm alive during winter. You need warm daytime highs, averages in the coldest month of at least 20C, nowhere in Italy has winters that warm.

If you still wish to ignore everyone's advice on here, maybe you should take a look at this Italian gardening forum, where Coconuts have been discussed (& tried) by people actually living in Italy & who know the climate there better than anyone:

https://forum.giardinaggio.it/threads/palme-di-cocco.2776/

But yeah I look forward to seeing that coconut in pristine condition come next spring...

 

You cant know that from words on a computer. Are you a mind reader from thousands of  miles away?  How many times i hear the same things you and others have said about growing coconuts in the Mediterranean. Read it and heard it all. From english facebook and italian websites

Im well aware of how sensitive this palm is to highs and lows thats generally accepted as what a coco can handle and its need for warm sun.  The area its planted in is in our opinion is one of the best in the Mediterranean and with some artificial external help for the next 3 years will make it survive if it needs it. Preparations are being made for it and others to survive.

Im very confident in this unique microclimate that its gonna happen.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, veeman55 said:

 

You cant know that from words on a computer. Are you a mind reader from thousands of  miles away?  How many times i hear the same things you and others have said about growing coconuts in the Mediterranean. Read it and heard it all. From english facebook and italian websites

Im well aware of how sensitive this palm is to highs and lows thats generally accepted as what a coco can handle and its need for warm sun.  The area its planted in is in our opinion is one of the best in the Mediterranean and with some artificial external help for the next 3 years will make it survive if it needs it. Preparations are being made for it and others to survive.

Im very confident in this unique microclimate that its gonna happen.

 

 

"It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe."- Cassius Clay

Go for it!

 

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5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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I just read your lasts posts about your friend's place is in  Reggio, Calabria.  It's at 38.1 latitude.  That's a tough one. 

San Francisco is 37 latitude. However, the Mediterranean is much warmer than the Pacific (at that latitude). Protect that coco. There are many threads here with great pointers and insight.

5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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15 hours ago, veeman55 said:

 

You cant know that from words on a computer. Are you a mind reader from thousands of  miles away?  How many times i hear the same things you and others have said about growing coconuts in the Mediterranean. Read it and heard it all. From english facebook and italian websites

Im well aware of how sensitive this palm is to highs and lows thats generally accepted as what a coco can handle and its need for warm sun.  The area its planted in is in our opinion is one of the best in the Mediterranean and with some artificial external help for the next 3 years will make it survive if it needs it. Preparations are being made for it and others to survive.

Im very confident in this unique microclimate that its gonna happen.

 

 

I don't know from "words on a computer", I know from experience & facts. And I don't live "thousands of miles away", I live just south of Sicily actually, in a warmer climate & guess what, coconuts won't grow here either.

The fact that your "friend" is using a force grown stretched coconut from Lidl, planted in standard garden soil, tells me that it will be dead before the end of winter. Only constructing some sort of heated greenhouse over it will keep it alive. This is not "opinion" this is fact.

Again, I look forward to seeing photos of it come next spring...

Malta - USDA Zone 11a

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@SouthSeaNatei hear what you are saying but isn't that the same with every seed germinated from a hot greenhouse with those cold sensitive characteristics as a hot house grown coconut?

So how warm (highs lows)does this lidl Coco need to be maintained to keep it alive over winter and for how many years 3?

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30c+ everyday. Nightly lows 20c

:D

Im being facetious. In all seriousness, you need, err, your friend need to prepare the plot where the coco is/will be.

At least:

3x3x3m of course sand.

Top 1 inch dressing of lava sand.

One heat lamp trained 85%on the soil, 15% on the base of the meristem.

Salt every month, fertilizer every 2 months, except October through January. 

Place a canopy above the coco. ( a tarp will do) during the winter months. Do not enclose it: don't make a tent. It will rot out.

And always get the fattest-stemmed coco you, err, your friend can find. Don't get thin ones. Even if their leaves are tall. Thin ones are prone to kick the proverbial bucket faster than the thick-stemmed cocos. (Leaf height does not matter. It's the shoot/neck girth which matters.)

Just my 2c

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20180918_123214.jpg

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5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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11 hours ago, GottmitAlex said:

30c+ everyday. Nightly lows 20c

:D

Im being facetious. In all seriousness, you need, err, your friend need to prepare the plot where the coco is/will be.

At least:

3x3x3m of course sand.

Top 1 inch dressing of lava sand.

One heat lamp trained 85%on the soil, 15% on the base of the meristem.

Salt every month, fertilizer every 2 months, except October through January. 

Place a canopy above the coco. ( a tarp will do) during the winter months. Do not enclose it: don't make a tent. It will rot out.

And always get the fattest-stemmed coco you, err, your friend can find. Don't get thin ones. Even if their leaves are tall. Thin ones are prone to kick the proverbial bucket faster than the thick-stemmed cocos. (Leaf height does not matter. It's the shoot/neck girth which matters.)

Just my 2c

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20180918_123214.jpg

Excellent advice, Alex. If this unnamed person is willing to do all of the above and keep it up much of the year, year after year, that hot house coconut might just limp along for a while.

BTW, 30C+ highs and 20C+ lows are no joke. That's the summer temps that palm will need to take on another mediterranean winter. And full blazing sun + irrigation of course.

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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On 17/9/2018 13:28:43, Cluster said:

If you present me the data source then I believe it:) I just find it hard to believe it would be warmer than Lampedusa (in terms of record lows), without at least some justification. All stations in Wunderground in coastal  reggio calabria as well as southernmost tip ones, including official Servizio Meteorologico records show a lot cooler records (Servizio Meteorologico shows freezing actually) for both Reggio and Messina. Those wunderground stations are usually one or two years old so they are not even a good representation of a long period of time but they all show cooler values. Malta and Lampedusa have recorded lower than 4C and are better positioned, the latitude difference and further away from mainland with a lot more sea between them (and slightly warmer) that a cold front has to travel through before reaching them.

Papayas are a good sign you have a good climate but many people grow them in southern Europe, for example here in Lisbon. I am not saying you can't try a coconut if you protect it, but I just don't buy the 4C record low without a source. Almeria is believed to be the only place in continental Europe to have never recorded freezing temperatures (0.2 was the lowest), while I believe there exists more places (reggio could be one), 4C is just too too far fetched and against all evidence. Of course if I see accurate data I will accept it, I just have never seen anything remotely close to that in continental Europe.

I used wunderground stations as an example because usually they are not very reliable and tend to get warmer values than a proper meteo station, still they tell the same story it can get way cooler there. With records of absolute min temperature above 4C we are talking about something than even several coastal places in Azores can't achieve. As far as I know in 2017 Messina even saw snow at the beach (does not  necessarily mean it reached 0C but gives a good idea how cold it can get there).

Good luck with the experiment.

 

 

Yep, you are right about Almeria. 

The 0.2°C were recorded at the old AEMET station of Almeria (1932-1980) exactly in 1935, the new record low was set on 2005 with 0.1°C, but yes, it is still the only place in mainland Europe which never had 0°C (or less) at least provable with a reliable source with records starting from at least 50 years ago. Strangely this new one was set on 2005, while the coldest and hardest cold waves most of Iberia had were in 1954 and 1956 (depending on the part) and in mainland Spain just Almería and Málaga had lows above 1°C that day, even Cádiz recorded it's only freeze in the history (-1°C) which is an extremely mild, 11a climate.

 

About the coconut in Reggio, I agree with what most people says. The highs are just too low. These lows with 18.5°C highs in the coldest month, maybe could work in a limit doing some tricks without putting artificial heat (lamps, heaters, etc) but average highs barely surpassing 15°C during January and February are way too low for a coconut.

Still, many beautiful tropical looking species can be planted there, such as the Ravenea Rivularis, Beccariophoenix Alfredii and some Dypsis species can grow nicely. 

Edited by Alicante

I live in Altea, Spain 38°34'N 0º03'O. USDA zone 11a. Coastal microclimate sheltered by mountains. 
The coconuts shown in my avatar are from the Canary Islands, Spain ! :)

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On 18/9/2018 4:55:24, Xenon said:

Oranges are subtropical. Cherimoyas are from the highland tropics and generally don't do well in the lowlands where coconuts thrive. All the other stuff you mentioned grows in places like peninsular Spain and New Zealand, where there are no coconuts. Spain is one of the world's biggest producers of cherimoya and number one in mango production in Europe. Your friend no doubt lives in a mild climate by European standards, but it's far from tropical and lacks the necessary heat for coconuts. If mild and frost free winters were the only important factors, the southern California coast would be lined with coconuts...

Completely agreed! And this greenhouse harvested coconuts from The Netherlands is made to have it indoors.

I live in Altea, Spain 38°34'N 0º03'O. USDA zone 11a. Coastal microclimate sheltered by mountains. 
The coconuts shown in my avatar are from the Canary Islands, Spain ! :)

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10 hours ago, Alicante said:

Yep, you are right about Almeria. 

The 0.2°C were recorded at the old AEMET station of Almeria (1932-1980) exactly in 1935, the new record low was set on 2005 with 0.1°C, but yes, it is still the only place in mainland Europe which never had 0°C (or less) at least provable with a reliable source with records starting from at least 50 years ago. Strangely this new one was set on 2005, while the coldest and hardest cold waves most of Iberia had were in 1954 and 1956 (depending on the part) and in mainland Spain just Almería and Málaga had lows above 1°C that day, even Cádiz recorded it's only freeze in the history (-1°C) which is an extremely mild, 11a climate.

 

About the coconut in Reggio, I agree with what most people says. The highs are just too low. These lows with 18.5°C highs in the coldest month, maybe could work in a limit doing some tricks without putting artificial heat (lamps, heaters, etc) but average highs barely surpassing 15°C during January and February are way too low for a coconut.

Still, many beautiful tropical looking species can be planted there, such as the Ravenea Rivularis, Beccariophoenix Alfredii and some Dypsis species can grow nicely. 

i@SouthSeaNate

Edited by veeman55
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On 9/24/2018, 10:49:07, GottmitAlex said:

30c+ everyday. Nightly lows 20c

:D

Im being facetious. In all seriousness, you need, err, your friend need to prepare the plot where the coco is/will be.

At least:

3x3x3m of course sand.

Top 1 inch dressing of lava sand.

One heat lamp trained 85%on the soil, 15% on the base of the meristem.

Salt every month, fertilizer every 2 months, except October through January. 

Place a canopy above the coco. ( a tarp will do) during the winter months. Do not enclose it: don't make a tent. It will rot out.

And always get the fattest-stemmed coco you, err, your friend can find. Don't get thin ones. Even if their leaves are tall. Thin ones are prone to kick the proverbial bucket faster than the thick-stemmed cocos. (Leaf height does not matter. It's the shoot/neck girth which matters.)

Just my 2c

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20180918_123214.jpg

Thanks Alex.

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@veeman55

http://www.meteoweb.eu/foto/reggio-calabria-messina-e-catania-inizia-la-storica-nevicata-tra-calabria-e-sicilia-notte-epocale-intorno-allo-stretto-foto-live/id/824643/#1

Reggio di Calabria and Messina had snow in January 2017, as well as many other places across the Med where snow is rare. This Italian source talks about 0°C temps as close to the sea and snow in the beach promenade, in Reggio, Messina and Catania. You can see the pics there, YouTube has also many vídeos of snow falling in the city of Reggio from that same date.

15.3°C and 15.6°C are the average highs in Reggio during the first 2 months if the year, coconuts don't even resist too much in places with averages of 17°C in January and 18°C in February, since a year comes with a harsh cold wave and it will be barren. All of the experiments of Cocos Nucifera in mainland Europe failed, even in the places with the warmest winter highs. And harvested from sprouts, not LIDL ones. 

But I wish you luck and as others say, I am looking forward to see how that coconut will be during this winter, if it's kept outdoors and not indoors, surely. :greenthumb:

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I live in Altea, Spain 38°34'N 0º03'O. USDA zone 11a. Coastal microclimate sheltered by mountains. 
The coconuts shown in my avatar are from the Canary Islands, Spain ! :)

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In bocca al lupo!

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5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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7 hours ago, GottmitAlex said:

In bocca al lupo!

On 9/24/2018, 10:49:07, GottmitAlex said:

30c+ everyday. Nightly lows 20c

:D

Im being facetious. In all seriousness, you need, err, your friend need to prepare the plot where the coco is/will be.

At least:

3x3x3m of course sand.

Top 1 inch dressing of lava sand.

One heat lamp trained 85%on the soil, 15% on the base of the meristem.

Salt every month, fertilizer every 2 months, except October through January. 

Place a canopy above the coco. ( a tarp will do) during the winter months. Do not enclose it: don't make a tent. It will rot out.

And always get the fattest-stemmed coco you, err, your friend can find. Don't get thin ones. Even if their leaves are tall. Thin ones are prone to kick the proverbial bucket faster than the thick-stemmed cocos. (Leaf height does not matter. It's the shoot/neck girth which matters.)

Just my 2c

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20180918_123214.jpg

Ciao @GottmitAlex

My freind asks what do you mean by salting? How much and how often?

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6 hours ago, veeman55 said:

Ciao @GottmitAlex

My freind asks what do you mean by salting? How much and how often?

The jury is still out on that one.

Varying opinions. I used coarse salt once a month on mine ( about 4-6 level tablespoons). I just switched to salt rocks. So everytime they get their water, they'll also get their salt.

Here's a thread on the topic.

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/57831-these-guys-love-to-be-fertilized-with-salt-nacl-yes-salt/&page=1

Edited by GottmitAlex
  • Upvote 1

5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Reggio Coconut update.

His lidl coconut recently put out another leaf. The third one since interred planting in june. He also added Salt to the soil.

Temperatures are still high in the area at 28c which is the same as paphos. For the winter He built a mini hothouse around it recently so the temps stay 5-6c above the outdoor temps

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