Coconut Palms in Jupiter FL

[brinked]

Hey guys. Complete newb here when it comes to palm trees and any kind of gardening at that. Wife and I love coconut water, we have been buying vita coco but its very expensive. We bought a house in jupiter about 6 months ago and I recently noticed we have a coconut palm in our yard that produces delicious coconuts!

We are very excited about this and I want to take care of this palm so we can enjoy it for many years. I have some questions, hopefully someone will be able to answer as it is really hard to get really good information online about palm trees.

I bought jobes palm spikes and drove 5 of them in around the palm tree (further than 24 inches like the directions say. As you can see from my image attachments, there are other greens growing right near it, is it ok to drive these spikes near these bushes and plants? Will the coconut palm be able to get the food from there?

As you can see, the trunk appears black in some areas, and there seems to be a metal piece in it, should I remove this metal? I am not sure what it is.

There are several dead branches, should I remove them? Does it make a difference?

There are a ton of ants on the tree going up and down, should I do anything to control them? I placed some borax based ant traps near the tree.

Does anyone know where I can buy miniature coconut palms in the palm beach county area of florida that are around 6' tall and produce coconuts? I have room for a tree this size and the coconuts would be easier to pick.

Thanks everyone, I am glad to have found this great community, I have always been fascinated with palm trees and part of the reason for my move to florida!

[Rafael]

Ouch, my neck!

[redant]

The spikes are fine to use and no problem around other bushes and stuff. It appears your palm has been previously treated with tetracycline for lethal yellowing. I don't believe you should be consuming the coconuts from a tree that has been spiked for LY. The ans should pose no problem. Look on craigslist for plenty of palms available of mature size. Maybe a grower on this board has something to offer. I live in Jupiter, been planting palms for 20+ years. If you would like some help picking out palms suitable for this area let me know.

Edited February 8, 2012 by redant

[Moose]

Will - welcome to Palm Talk, a forum created by and supported by the members of the International Palm Society. I will attempt to answer some of your questions.

#1 Leave the metal in the trunk where it is. Palms are not like trees, they have no bark. What damage has been done is done, the palm cannot heal these penetrations. If you remove the metal "spikes" you will be creating an avenue for potential pathogens to enter your Coconut.

#2 Fertilizing your Coconut (proper binomial name is Cocos nucifera) should be done with a granular Palm Special formulated for South Florida Soils. This is recommended in Ornamental Palm Horticulture, published by the University Press of Florida, State Unversity System. Jupiter has sandy very fast draining soils. The spikes you used only melt in place and the nutrients are absorbed by a small area of roots. It is better to broadcast granular under the canopy and a bit beyond for your coconut can absorb the needed minerals.

#3 You should not remove any fronds (what you called branches) unless they are completely brown. The browning on you leaves are actually leaves that were damaged last winter. Do not permit any lawn maintenance people trim your palm. They will overprune, they make the palm "look nice" but it is not good for the palm. Any frond that still has any green should be kept on the palm. Continually pruning green fronds will cause macro nutrient difficiences that will cause a decline of your palm.

#4 There are dwarf varienties of coconuts that produce fruit faster than the tall varieties. Coconuts can grow to 80ft or more. Due to lightning here, they usually don't get that tall. Don't let the term "dwarf" fool you, they will grow to 40 ft with time. Just dwarf compared to 60-80 ft.

There is a Palm Beach Palm & Cycad Society that you could get alot of information at their meetings.

Welcome once again!

[brinked]

Thank you for all the replies. Extremely helpful.

I am a little disappointed to hear my tree was treated for this disease. We have already consumed about 5 coconuts from this tree, I hope we do not get sick.

It is best to not take any chances, so I guess I will not eat any more coconuts from this palm. I was thinking about visiting one of the nurserys here in Jupiter. redant, do you have any experience with lidonni nursery in jupiter farms?

I would like to grow a coconut tree from a coconut fruit, but I would also like a tree that's producing coconuts right now as well so I will look around to see if I can buy something locally.

Is it ok to plant a coconut from this palm that had LY? Or is that not a good idea? There is a coconut that I found on the ground near the palm that has some liquid in it that I feel would be perfect to plant.

Thanks again everyone for the fast replies. Learned a lot.

Will

[palmislandRandy]

Welcome Will, Yeah, the weeping is from previous Tetracycline injections. The previous owner may have been "sold" a preventative treatment. I don't know if eating a few coconuts will cause you any harm, although you may be able to skip your flu shots for a few years. This is the best info on Florida coconuts http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg043

[redant]

I doubt that a couple of coconuts is a problem and who knows how long ago they where treated, but because you don't know best not to eat them. They should grow just fine and the nuts from them fine to eat. If I was to buy a mature coconut (which I never would) I would buy from some area further south. We has some bad cold the last 2 winters in Jupiter any IMO any coconut from west jutiper is damaged goods. Moose is probably correct that granular fert is best for future use.

[brinked]

Thanks redant. So further south as in miami area, right? I was looking at browardpalms. He has nice specials advertised on craigslist, I might give him a call and see what he can do for me. I do also have granular palm fertilizer that I will start to use its called vigoro plant food for palms.

What are signs of damage? Will all damage be noticeable such as dead or unhealthy looking fronds?

Many thanks, its cool to be talking with someone from the same area as me.

[Tomw]

Will, again welcome to the forum.

Moose has already done a great job answering most of your questions. As for purchasing coconut palms, Jupiter Farms has many nurseries, and finding coconut palms there wont be a problem! You can probably get your granular Palm Special Fertilizer for the nursery that you buy your coconut from, or you can also get Lescos 13-3-13 Palm and Ornamental Fertilizer at Home Depot. I have used that fertilizer (Lesco) in the past with great success. If youre looking for coconut to eat, I suggest looking at your neighbors trees they usually will be happy to give you there coconuts!

For more information on all kinds of palms, youre welcome to join us at the Palm and Cycad Society. We meet the first Wednesday of every month at Mounts Botanical Garden in the front building at 7:30pm.

This is where Mounts is located (beteen Belvedere Road and Suthern on Military Trial).

Edited February 9, 2012 by Tomw

[redant]

Thanks redant. So further south as in miami area, right? I was looking at browardpalms. He has nice specials advertised on craigslist, I might give him a call and see what he can do for me. I do also have granular palm fertilizer that I will start to use its called vigoro plant food for palms.

What are signs of damage? Will all damage be noticeable such as dead or unhealthy looking fronds?

Many thanks, its cool to be talking with someone from the same area as me.

"What are signs of damage? Will all damage be noticeable such as dead or unhealthy looking fronds?"

if you are talking about the treatment for lethal yellowing, it's done as a precautionary (like a vaccine)and must be done on a regular basis. If the palm was to get LY it WILL die and nothing will stop it from dieing. For more information on LY google it or read this http://flrec.ifas.ufl.edu/pdfs/LethalYellowingOfPalms.pdf

[sur4z]

Thank you for all the replies. Extremely helpful.

I am a little disappointed to hear my tree was treated for this disease. We have already consumed about 5 coconuts from this tree, I hope we do not get sick.

Thanks again everyone for the fast replies. Learned a lot.

Will

Welcome Will- Your coco was not treated "for this disease", BUT to help prevent the LY disease. I have my LY suseptible palms inoculated every year.

[Moose]

Will - I gotta agree with Pedro (Sur4Z). It was an old and wrong practice to drive nails in plants that were suspected of iron deficiency. I've blown up your photo but can't be sure. Oxytetracycline injections every 4 months according to Dr. Tim Broschat is a treatment but not a cure for the Lethal Yellowing disease. Injection sites look simular to the dark "weeping" areas on your trunk. If this palm had been treated, the innoculate has completely dissapated and no cause for alarm for consumption of the nuts.

Here are some other forum members that are also Palm Beach Palm & Cycad Society members. They have been very helpful to me in the past. You should PM (Private Message) them for advice, upcoming events and where to find palms.

Dale Holton (Mapu1)

Randy (palmisland)

Betty (pdleft)

Kitty (palmmermaid)

Will - you don't need to travel to Miami to find palms. There are plenty of palm nurseries in West Palm. Why waste your time and gas? Plus these palms have been better acclimated to your area.

[Moose]

Hmmmm - Just heard a report on the Channel 10 morning news that coconut water consumption doubled from last year's level. Such a drastic increase has drawn the attention of both Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Many making the switch from bottled water to Coconut water is indicated.

[Moose]

Will - the following information was derived from Growing Coconuts In South Florida by David H. Romney.

Varieties for South Florida (Lethal Yellowing Resistant)

Green Malayan Dwarf (leaf stalks and immature fruits are green)

Yellow Malayan Dwarf (immature fruits are a golden buttery-yellow)

Red Malayan Dwarf (fruits apricot-red)

Maypan Hybrid (malayan dwarf mother / Panama Tall father)

Red Spicata Dwarf (inflorescense consists of single long spikelet, nuts are small - a little deeper red than Red Malayan Dwarf)

*** Fiji Dwarf - at the time of publishing (1997) this cultivar was still being accessed. It is now included as a LY resistant variety.