Reserected!!!!! My Cocos have come back!!!

[gsn]

I had the pleasure to visit Mark's garden last month. It was the worst it will ever look after the cold but I was still amazed at what he is doing there in central florida! Keep it up Mark!

the Butia x cocos is not done justice in photos as Mark said, its somthing you have to see to believe. the very wide not 100% pinnate leaves are like none other, plus the texture of the frond, hard to explain but FEELS like a coconut.

How big was the seed Mark on that butia x cocos ? shoulda been a larger than the normal Butia seed right?

Luke,

Your PM box is full, it wouldn't let me reply to your PM question!

[Rhizophora]

Hi,

This is possibly the most amazing thread I have ever read! I'm not at all an expert, but I'm almost certain the hybrid has some Cocos in it. The large fronds have very deep grooves and ridges just like a Cocos seedling and the way the leaflets are arranged also convinces me that a coconut palm is one parent.

I am also amazed that I also had the coldest winter in over 20 years and my temps went down to 'only' 23F despite me being at 51N latitude. That Butia x Cocos seems unfazed by 22F. That gives me hope that a Butia x Cocos hybrid might survive here, if it can handle cool summers, dark winters and regular low temps.

I'm also very glad that your coconut survived the freeze. Is that a record, I thought they are easily killed at 28F?

Thanks

James

Edited April 18, 2009 by Rhizophora

[Copihue]

I am also thrilled by this Butia x Cocos plant!!! . Thanks for the great pictures and info!. There is hope for us, coconut palm lovers, to grow someday a similar plant in less than adequate climates.

Mauser, I urge you to start your hybridizing work, to get Butia x Cocos plants in Spain the sooner... Good luck!!!

[MAUSER]

I am also thrilled by this Butia x Cocos plant!!! . Thanks for the great pictures and info!. There is hope for us, coconut palm lovers, to grow someday a similar plant in less than adequate climates.

Mauser, I urge you to start your hybridizing work, to get Butia x Cocos plants in Spain the sooner... Good luck!!!

Thank you. But with so much support, if it cross are fails ... I can not go outside in the street... for much time.

[ErikSJI]

Here is another pic, my hand for scale!!

That hybrid is incredible. Would love to see pictures of it when it was a seedling, and how large it was when you put it in the ground.

[ErikSJI]

Here is another pic, my hand for scale!!

That hybrid is incredible. Would love to see pictures of it when it was a seedling, and how large it was when you put it in the ground.

Does anyone have a cocos we can raid to do this hybrid?

[Mark Heath]

I am also thrilled by this Butia x Cocos plant!!! . Thanks for the great pictures and info!. There is hope for us, coconut palm lovers, to grow someday a similar plant in less than adequate climates.

Mauser, I urge you to start your hybridizing work, to get Butia x Cocos plants in Spain the sooner... Good luck!!!

Thank you. But with so much support, if it cross are fails ... I can not go outside in the street... for much time.

Mauser,

No worries, if this indeed turns out to be just a freak of nature and the two palms cannot be crossed,,, well nothing ventured nothing gained!!! Maybe it's a mutant cross, who knows??? It sure looks like it has Cocos in it!! We will find out for sure when it flowers!!! I have 5 seeds sowed at the moment where i did the cross intentionally, so time will tell!

James,

If indeed this is proof that the two can cross then it is a good candidate for your climate! It would grow slower where you live but "grow" is a good thing!!

[Walt]

Mark, Yes, let's hope your coconut makes a full recovery. Since you directed propane heaters on it, that probably kept the bud and trunk from any freeze damage. That coconut is too big to lose. I'm glad you protected it.

My coconut palm is now making a comeback, too. The crown was mostly fried. I wrapped a 40 LF Easyheat cable (7 watts/foot) around the trunk of my coconut palm, up and past the growth bud. Then I wrapped from the crown base down, all around the trunk with old discarded quilted bed mattress covers (they make great insulation). I placed one remote Oregon Scientific thermometer sensor inside the wrappings, so as to be able to monitor the temperature. I can tell you the trunk and growth bud never saw less than 50 degrees. So even though the crown was fried, at least the growth bud and trunk were unhurt. There should be enough starch in the trunk and root system to regenerate a new crown. So far it's opened (almost) a full frond.

I did the same as explained above to my Dypsis leptocheilos (with 6 feet of trunk), A. cunninghamiana (two with 5-6 feet of trunk) and several other palms. All are opening new, undamaged fronds.

This is the first time I've tried this method, protecting the palms' trunk and growth bud only. In past winters I have, when the palms were much, much smaller, I bundled the fronds and wrapped (insulated) the entire palm, also using the heating cables. When I did this there was never any damage. I don't care how cold or how much frost there is. Total wrapping with supplemental heat is almost foolproof for protecting palms. The only caveat is that some crownshafts can get heat burned if not first wrapped with a terry cloth towel or equivalent. I've scorched adonidia crown shafts in the past, but since wrapping them first I have never had that problem again.

[Mark Heath]

Hello Walt!

I have learned alot from you in regards to protecting "out of our zone palms"!!!! I am happy to hear that your palms are going to make it! At my palm grove in Frostproof, 17f was recorded as the low temp!!!! Needless to say i lost all of my small Foxtails! They were about 15gallon size! What a shame, i grew them from seed!!! Let's hope that we don't have another winter like we just had for another 20 years!