Coconut seedlings

[Taccadave]

Please see photo, at what stage do the leaves feather into leaflets? Mine has been producing leaves, now a little yellow, for about 6 months?

[Lior_Gal]

Hello David,

Your Coconut Sprout is in a very early stage of growth,

the leaves that it has now are most probably wont feather into Leaflets..

Only the larger leaves that will grow in the future will, Usually untill it gets

to that stage, it may take about 8 months to a year...(the Coconuts that

has leaflets even in an early stage are the Dwarf Verieties like the 'Samoan Dwarf' etc).

The yellow leaves may be due to several things:

1. Lack of iron / other Minerals in the Soil.

2. Lack of Sun Light.

3. Over watering.

I would recommend you to check the Soil Acidity as well,

Coconuts love Acidic Soild (PH=5.5) there are organic fertilizers

which lowers the soil acidity to the right levels for Coconuts

I usually use "Bio-Fish" and my Coco Sprouts love it. they grow

on a very fast rate right now....And I'm Living in Israel where

the Conditions aren't ideal for coconut Growth.

This one is about 1.3 years old,

Good Luck,

Lior.

[Taccadave]

Thank you Lior

Your seedlings look fantastic and green!! I will definitely get some of that fertiliser you recommend. Have you grown a coconut beyond the first year, or are you having a go for the first time like me? Ps are your seedlings growing outside? I guess the only thing they lack in Israel is humidity. I'm eagerly awaiting a new leaf on my sprout, its in a pot and in the bottom tray of a heated propagator so its roots are warm. I'm hoping for a slightly divided leaf, but if not, at least a big leaf

Regards

David

[Lior_Gal]

_{Thank you Lior}

_{Your seedlings look fantastic and green!! I will definitely get some of that fertiliser you recommend. Have you grown a coconut beyond the first year, or are you having a go for the first time like me? Ps are your seedlings growing outside? I guess the only thing they lack in Israel is humidity. I'm eagerly awaiting a new leaf on my sprout, its in a pot and in the bottom tray of a heated propagator so its roots are warm. I'm hoping for a slightly divided leaf, but if not, at least a big leaf}

_Regards

_David

_{Hello David,}

_{Thank you for your Compliments, I've been growing Coconuts only for a 1.3 years now, But i thaught about it for a long time till eventually i decided to give it a shot,}

_{The Main problem while growing Coconut Palms in Israel, Isn't the Humidity level, at least in the Center of israel where i live near the Coast, Humidity gets to 55-65%}

_{During the Summer, And About 44-48% during spring time, The Winter here can be too Hard for coconuts, Sometimes the temps may drop to 7-6C with cold winds}

_{(if it lasts for more then a day or two it may kill even a mature Tree) So during winter times i used to keep them Indoors and Sprinkle water on the leaves twice a day}

_{to keep humidity up, i placed them near a large window will direct sunlight.}

_{Since Mid March I took all them outside and they are Happy as you can see in the Pics.}

_{I think that you should also try to place your Palm in a larger Pot, So it will be able to grow a larger root system, I would recommand on a much larger pot so you}

_{wont have to move it again in the near future, Make sure to use a Substrat that contains about 40% sea sand mixed with 40% Potting Soil, 20% Potting Moss, it}

_{should do the job, The Bottom layer of the Pot should be made of Lava rocks for a good draining.}

_P.S.

_{In my pics you can see one of my Samoan Dwarf Coconut Sprouts that had Leaflets immidietly with it's first leaf.}

_{Good Luck and keep us updated,}

_Cheers,

_Lior.

[Pal Meir]

Hallo David, I have grown up a coconut in the 1970s also inside a living room. Here you can see the same palm in its 2nd and in its 5th year:

But you have to consider that this palm is a very fast grower. So it is impossible to keep it for a long time inside a normal living room. I had to give up this palm in 1981 when the new leaves didn't feel healthy any longer under the ceiling. The sad remnant of this palm you can see here:

I have potted the Cocos in a soil consisting nearly only of a very coarse sandy loam of withered granite and kept always enough water in a very deep saucer. If you use a humus rich substrate it can get rotten if it is too wet.

[Pal Meir]

Oops, I meant »wheathered granite« of course.

[Taccadave]

Thanks Pal,

Fantastic to have a 5 year coconut in your living room!! I can see that it produced feathered leaves. I have a large Archontophoenix alexandrae - king palm that has hit the ceiling in my living room, but it was really easy to grow. I'll post a photo soon. I don't expect the same for the coconut, ideally I would like to see the first feathered leaf, so it looked like a coconut palm. I tried to order some 'Bio Fish ' as Lior described above, but its only available from America on line, I hope to greenen the leaves as they are a bit golden. I see you live in Germany, did you mist the palm's leaves? I haven't done this

Thanks

David

[Taccadave]

Hi the above is my Archontophoenix alexandrae, king palm that hit my living room ceiling. I t was easy to grow. I don't expect the same of the coconut. But well done on growing one in your living room for 5 years! I can see it has feathered leaves! I tried to buy some ;Bio-Fish' fertilizer as Lior suggested, but it is only available on line in the US. I like your trunk momento - cool! My plants leaves are a little golden I don't know how longer it is going to last. Did you mist the leaves? I haven't done this yet, maybe dry air is causing the yellowing.

Best wishes

David

[Taccadave]

I rang the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) advice line and they suggested I took a look at the coconut's roots, if rotted, then I'm overwatering, if shrivelled, then I'm not watering enough. They recommended an ericaceous general fertilizer to give acidity (bio-fish isn't available here) if acidity is what it needs, or foliar feed with a general balanced fertilizer for a 'quick hit' to green the leaves. Or finally a seaweed fertiliser to apply to the compost. I guess that might make it feel at home on a desert island!

[Pal Meir]

Did you place your coconut in direct sunlight? This can also cause yellowing of the leaves if the palm is not accustomed to direct sun (even in England!). And did you water it enough? It doesn’t like getting dry. The soil I used was almost humus free, so it didn’t get rotten even when I watered the palm constantly (with normal fresh water, not especially soft or acidic), leaving always some fresh water in the saucer. – As fertilizer I used a normal one for green plants (e.g. COMPO).

The photo of your Archontophoenix is also very impressive. I had similar problems with my Archontophoenix palms as with the Cocos, because they grew too fast. Finally I could give away one A. cunninghamiana to a botanical garden whose Archontophoenix had grown too tall for the greenhouse so that they had to fell it. (Here a link to a photo of the same A. cunninghamina in 19802, 1989, and 2012: https://www.flickr.com/photos/palmeir/14811993492 )

[Taccadave]

Thanks Pal,

I've already taken action, I re-potted the coconut in a nice tall deep pot and it's roots looked good! I foliar sprayed it with a sequestered iron feed for yellowing leaved acid loving plants, like azalea or Rhododendron and camellia. I potted it in a sand/loam and humus mix blended for cacti and bonsai plants. Funnily enough it used to grow in a propagator under fluorescent light. Sunlight is a new experience for it, but I think it did look a little yellow even before I moved it.

Thank you for sharing your photo and you must be very proud to have one of your plants in a botanical garden. I'm hoping to move Florida to my flat, as I can't see myself having the opportunity to holiday there in the near future. A happy coconut palm in my living room would really do it for me!

[Lior_Gal]

^{Hello Dave,}

^{You may notice in the following days that some leaves may turn more yellow}

^{Since Coconuts don't like to be Re-Located, They are very sensitive to Root}

^{System trauma, Even if it was a slight one, But it's better to Re-Locate it sooner then later,}

^{Now that it has enough room to grow more roots and develop, It will keep}

^{growing new leafs, It's growth may freeze for a few weeks, Don't worry about}

^{it, It's just a normal thing, It will recover from the 'Shock' and keep on growing ....}

^{Just make sure it has decent amount of sunlight, Nutrients and water and}

^{let it do it's thing.}

^Cheers,

^Lior.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Lior_Gal

[Taccadave]

Thank you again Lior,

I'll brace myself for trauma in the coconut department! Just hope it recovers, next time I'll start the coconuts off in these really deep pots.

[_Keith]

I rang the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) advice line and they suggested I took a look at the coconut's roots, if rotted, then I'm overwatering, if shrivelled, then I'm not watering enough. They recommended an ericaceous general fertilizer to give acidity (bio-fish isn't available here) if acidity is what it needs, or foliar feed with a general balanced fertilizer for a 'quick hit' to green the leaves. Or finally a seaweed fertiliser to apply to the compost. I guess that might make it feel at home on a desert island!

Very interesting advice.

[Pal Meir]

In nature coconuts thrive very healthy on coral reefs (lime, non-acidic), watered by the sea (salt water, also non-acidic) …

[ando.wsu]

Please see photo, at what stage do the leaves feather into leaflets? 007.jpg Mine has been producing leaves, now a little yellow, for about 6 months?

Nice looking plants. I have a couple going into I think their fourth summer in Arizona. So really hot and coupled with low humidity. When we are consistently in the 100's I keep mine under the patio. Mine seemed to burn when it gets really hot. I think the soil temps get way too hot in a pot, which causes a little burning.

They have both grown pretty fast putting out about 6 new fronds a year on average. They are dark green as well. It was about the 5 th or 6th frond is when they started to go pinnate. Both now are fully pinnate and are putting out their 4th new frond this year, definitely picking up speed. Lots of water and I fertilize with miracle grow a couple times a month. Seems to keep them greened up. Not sure what I am going to do with them when they get to big to bring in for the winter.

[Taccadave]

I'd love to see some pictures of those plants! So it CAN be done!

[ando.wsu]

I'd love to see some pictures of those plants! So it CAN be done!

First pic is from a month ago when they were outside in mostly full sun, shade in the evening. They do appear yellow here, but not sure if that's just the camera making it appear so.

Second pic shows the different color of petioles. I think the left coco is a dwarf, and the right a tall. Both had the same number of fronds when purchased, and have pushed frond for frond the same amount and even open at the same time. The one on the right is almost twice as tall as the one on the left with twice as large of fronds. They were just repotted together this past winter for my convenience when they need to be moved around. The tall one is a little over 6 ft tall including pot.

Third and fourth pic just a general view. I cut off the remaining strap leaves a couple months ago as they were hanging really low and dying off.

Last pic a tennis ball for scale. They are outside except for about two months when it gets chilly here in phoenix az.

I love my cocos. I am a bit attached to them.

Edited June 16, 2015 by ando.wsu

[DoomsDave]

Dave look for my PM.

[Taccadave]

My lead coconut sprout's leaves are still golden, including the colour of its stems and trunk despite spray foliage feeding. My younger sprout is still nice and green.

Could the lead coconut be a golden leaved variety? Like 'Malay Gold' or something?

Planted a colourful croton below the coconut to give that Floridian garden look. A cacao plant seems to be thriving next to the coconut, so growing conditions must be fairly good.

David

[Phoenikakias]

With all respect, I can not understand why people persist on to growing a coconut in a pot for all its life, whch is generally a difficult task and of short duration anyway, while instead there is the alternative of a pot-growing Jubaeopsis, which is under proper conditions a much easier task. Besides a Jubaeopsis may stay for a longer time in the same pot.

[Taccadave]

I think it is the novelty value of an iconic plant, I'm sure once I've grown a few coconuts Ill move on to something else like jubaeopsis, which I'm not familiar with yet.

[ando.wsu]

With all respect, I can not understand why people persist on to growing a coconut in a pot for all its life, whch is generally a difficult task and of short duration anyway, while instead there is the alternative of a pot-growing Jubaeopsis, which is under proper conditions a much easier task. Besides a Jubaeopsis may stay for a longer time in the same pot.

It's for the Hobby. I know It won't live forever but I have enjoyed watching it grow, and when it gets too big, I'll plunge it in the ground and maybe it will survive in Phx like the ones discovered in Palm Desert.

[PalmnutVN]

I've had coconuts in pots for 6 years now and if anything, I'd say that they are much easier to control and look after than if planted in the ground, which is incidentally, not an option for me at this particular moment in time.

I have a double coconut (two sprouts from one seed) in one pot and it has more or less become a 'bonsai' palm, the leaves having become much smaller over the past couple of years.... and in my humble opinion, it looks great!

[Taccadave]

Also it's so easy to get viable seed and very cheap from your local supermarket. Seed for Jubaeopsis are rare, but granted the palm does have fronds looking like a coconut palm

[Taccadave]

I think sprouting a coconut would be a great project for children, being one of the most economically important plants. Beats sprouting a broad bean by miles!