Update of my coconut in Cyprus

[Stelios]

13 minutes ago, Aleitalyyy said:

here's the big baby ... I'd give you mine to try ... but unfortunately we are too far away ..

Your palm looks amazing Alessandro! I might find a green variety in the future to try and see if is a bit more cold hardy.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

7 hours ago, Aleitalyyy said:

hello dear, do you know what quality the coconut palms sold in Europe in supermarkets are? they say they come from Dutch hothouses... but I didn't understand which cultivar it is... they are all green palms....

If I had to guess, not seeing the nuts close up, they are probably Green Malayan Dwarfs.

John

[Aleitalyyy]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

If I had to guess, not seeing the nuts close up, they are probably Green Malayan Dwarfs.

John

how resistant are they to the cold? thanks john...

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 11/1/2022 at 9:07 AM, Stelios said:

Sorry for the late reply. I almost lost the palm due to rot after another rainy winter (usually we have more dry winters). The palm was not protected. Despite the fronds were not that bad at first, they were slowly drying from the middle and I had to cut them to clean the rot. It recovered in the summer but grew shorter fronds. In one photo you can see the only remaining long old frond. I was thinking to leave it unprotected and this winter and if is gone so be it, but my wife insists I should protect it from the rain. She loves this palm cause it reminds her Costa Rica. Now with shorter fronds it will be easier to cover it.

I wish I had a palm with at least 2-3 feet of clear trunk to see if it would survive better in the wet winter against bud rot.

 

Is that a Dwarf Schefflera behind the Coconut Palm?  If so, that should give it good wind break protection from winter winds, with that thick crown of leaves.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

6 hours ago, Aleitalyyy said:

how resistant are they to the cold? thanks john...

Alessandro,  Green Malayans are slightly more cold hardy than the Golden and Yellow Malayans are.  All green varieties are a little more cold hardy than the golden and yellow colored varieties.

John

[Stelios]

2 hours ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Is that a Dwarf Schefflera behind the Coconut Palm?  If so, that should give it good wind break protection from winter winds, with that thick crown of leaves.

John

That's correct John. Is dwarf schefflera. It really gives a good wind protection and is like a big wall already. I'm growing a second schefflera next to this one. Together wity my lychee tree that is near, I will try to block all the wind from the north and northeast. Is where I get the most cold winds on the coconut.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

12 hours ago, Stelios said:

That's correct John. Is dwarf schefflera. It really gives a good wind protection and is like a big wall already. I'm growing a second schefflera next to this one. Together wity my lychee tree that is near, I will try to block all the wind from the north and northeast. Is where I get the most cold winds on the coconut.

Good idea.

John

[Aleitalyyy]

stelios try to germinate a supermarket coconut... yes it's not easy, but if you manage even just one you have a new plant available for summer 2023... coconuts are the cheapest fruit there is anyway. ..

[Stelios]

29 minutes ago, Aleitalyyy said:

stelios try to germinate a supermarket coconut... yes it's not easy, but if you manage even just one you have a new plant available for summer 2023... coconuts are the cheapest fruit there is anyway. ..

I'm trying sometimes but not a lot of success yet. I had one from supermarket that I left it protected outside, but in the winter it didn't make it.

[mlovecan]

On 12/25/2022 at 4:49 PM, Aleitalyyy said:

hello dear, do you know what quality the coconut palms sold in Europe in supermarkets are? they say they come from Dutch hothouses... but I didn't understand which cultivar it is... they are all green palms....

The Dutch coconuts are  phillipine green from Costa Rica.

[mlovecan]

The home habitat of the Dutch Coconut:

Edited January 16, 2023 by mlovecan
Grammer

[Palermogreen]

Hi Stelios, what's about your Cocos? I'm triyng to grow a potted specimen on a southwards balcony in Palermo, Sicily.

 

[Stelios]

15 hours ago, Palermogreen said:

Hi Stelios, what's about your Cocos? I'm triyng to grow a potted specimen on a southwards balcony in Palermo, Sicily.

 

The palm was recovering all summer from the previous winter that almost didn't make it. Until January the weather has been very mild and dry. But now in February for the next few days we'll have some cold weather and rains. Not good for the cocos but ofcourse we need the rain here on the island. I try now to keep the roots as dry as possible. I hope it will help.

I hope your cocos will be OK in the winter. You might need a bigger pot soon. Will you plant it in the ground in the future?

 

 

[GottmitAlex]

2 hours ago, Stelios said:

Will you plant it in the ground in the future?

The million dollar question.

Fantastic job with your coconut @Stelios

[Stelios]

17 minutes ago, GottmitAlex said:

The million dollar question.

Fantastic job with your coconut @Stelios

Thanks Alex! I wish my palm would as good as your cocos in your garden.

[Palermogreen]

2 hours ago, Stelios said:

The palm was recovering all summer from the previous winter that almost didn't make it. Until January the weather has been very mild and dry. But now in February for the next few days we'll have some cold weather and rains. Not good for the cocos but ofcourse we need the rain here on the island. I try now to keep the roots as dry as possible. I hope it will help.

I hope your cocos will be OK in the winter. You might need a bigger pot soon. Will you plant it in the ground in the future?

 

 

Wonderful!  A Cocos Nucifera in open ground and outdoors on a Mediterranean island...

I'll put mine in a bigger pot if it lasts the winter: sadly I don't plan on planting it in the ground because I don't have a garden.

[Stelios]

3 hours ago, Palermogreen said:

Wonderful!  A Cocos Nucifera in open ground and outdoors on a Mediterranean island...

I'll put mine in a bigger pot if it lasts the winter: sadly I don't plan on planting it in the ground because I don't have a garden.

Like we discussed before it's very difficult (almost impossible) to grow such tropical plants in the Mediterranean, but we keep the experiments going. I hope somebody will have a better microclimate and manage to grow cocos in the future.

I don't know much about your climate but I think Palermo or the area around must be a very mild climate.  We might have similar climate and there could be many options for plants there.

[Palermogreen]

Palermo has lower maximum and slightly higher minimum temperatures than Paphos throughout the year.

The island of Linosa, in the Sicily Channel between Italy and Tunisia, in my opinion could be the best place to try the outdoor cultivation of Cocos in Italy.  It has higher winter temperatures than Sicily, a lower rainfall and a volcanic soil which in my opinion would be very suitable.

https://www.islandseurope.com/weather-climate.php?island=linosa

Edited February 2, 2023 by Palermogreen

[Stelios]

5 hours ago, Palermogreen said:

Palermo has lower maximum and slightly higher minimum temperatures than Paphos throughout the year.

The island of Linosa, in the Sicily Channel between Italy and Tunisia, in my opinion could be the best place to try the outdoor cultivation of Cocos in Italy.  It has higher winter temperatures than Sicily, a lower rainfall and a volcanic soil which in my opinion would be very suitable.

https://www.islandseurope.com/weather-climate.php?island=linosa

Yes. Linosa seems like a place with some good chances if somebody could try planting cocos there. Especially is important that it has little rainfall.

[Foxpalms]

If one was tried in Lampedusa next to a building for slightly higher winter maximums do you think one could survive there? That island is fairly humid and fairly dry. Sharqi island Tunisia looks like a good area to try coconuts as well since it's very dry.

[Palermogreen]

28 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

If one was tried in Lampedusa next to a building for slightly higher winter maximums do you think one could survive there? That island is fairly humid and fairly dry. Sharqi island Tunisia looks like a good area to try coconuts as well since it's very dry.

Lampedusa is very windy: perhaps it would be a good place to attempt outdoor Cocos growing, but I think Linosa would be even better.

[Ali Hafez]

Update please

[Stelios]

On 4/13/2023 at 12:05 AM, Ali Hafez said:

Update please

Sorry for the late reply. Just came back from Seoul, South Korea (no palm trees there.).

Here is my palm after the winter. I covered only the roots to keep the soil dry (no extra watering all winter). I believe this helps the palm from bud rot.

 

Recently I saw a house here in Paphos has 2 cocos in the garden. I was checking all winter and they had no extra protection. Just more shultered from the buildings around. One is a bit small and the bigger will start trunking soon. It looks better than mine with longer fronds. They are located closer to the coast at the tourist area. Maybe there is a chance in Paphos. I will see how these 2 will be.

[Ali Hafez]

On 4/19/2023 at 11:26 AM, Stelios said:

Sorry for the late reply. Just came back from Seoul, South Korea (no palm trees there.).

Here is my palm after the winter. I covered only the roots to keep the soil dry (no extra watering all winter). I believe this helps the palm from bud rot.

 

Recently I saw a house here in Paphos has 2 cocos in the garden. I was checking all winter and they had no extra protection. Just more shultered from the buildings around. One is a bit small and the bigger will start trunking soon. It looks better than mine with longer fronds. They are located closer to the coast at the tourist area. Maybe there is a chance in Paphos. I will see how these 2 will be.

Glad yours survived! They’ll soon start to look good as the temperatures warm up.

I’m also growing coconuts in Cairo, Egypt and they’ve been unbothered by our winter.

[John Max]

At the slightly colder foothills of the Himalayan mountain range and farthest from the sea:  https://www.google.com/maps/place/Riverside+Resort+and+River+Park/@26.9313939,87.3200678,3a,90y,285.78h,107.21t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAF1QipNxW3VJWYTRgCRwoeC0sgRfzIiQdTum2hQ62btA!2e10!7i5376!8i2688!4m10!1m2!2m1!1sDhankuta+mulgat!3m6!1s0x39ef45c6b54e635b:0xe19b67dc43114d72!8m2!3d26.9304109!4d87.3177169!10e5!16s%2Fg%2F11d_z0yg97

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by John Max

[Stelios]

On 4/23/2023 at 12:31 PM, Ali Hafez said:

Glad yours survived! They’ll soon start to look good as the temperatures warm up.

I’m also growing coconuts in Cairo, Egypt and they’ve been unbothered by our winter.

Your palms look great! You must have warmer winters than I have. You should plant them in the ground in the future. Are there any mature coconut trees in Cairo? I believe there are good chances for coconuts there. Please post some photos when you see some or any other palms. I saw photos from many mature royals in Cairo.

[Ali Hafez]

On 4/24/2023 at 3:29 PM, Stelios said:

Your palms look great! You must have warmer winters than I have. You should plant them in the ground in the future. Are there any mature coconut trees in Cairo? I believe there are good chances for coconuts there. Please post some photos when you see some or any other palms. I saw photos from many mature royals in Cairo.

Yes! Royal palms fruit here no problem at all. Unfortunately there aren’t much hobbyists in Cairo that would try coconuts and nurseries don’t have coconut palms. So unless you’re able to sprout one yourself you won’t be able to get a plant.

however, I’ve seen only one coconut in Egypt, which is my neighbor’s. It is unbothered by our winters and doing great.

[Stelios]

On 5/5/2023 at 11:33 PM, Ali Hafez said:

Yes! Royal palms fruit here no problem at all. Unfortunately there aren’t much hobbyists in Cairo that would try coconuts and nurseries don’t have coconut palms. So unless you’re able to sprout one yourself you won’t be able to get a plant.

however, I’ve seen only one coconut in Egypt, which is my neighbor’s. It is unbothered by our winters and doing great.

It's great to see that coconuts can make it in Cairo. This palm looks great.

The same in Cyprus like in Egypt, unfortunately there is not a lot of choices to buy palms from the nurseries here. Of course coconuts are very difficult to grow here, but there are so many other palms that we could try. Royals are starting now to be a bit more available, but not in big quantities like queens. Even bismarckias, foxtails and spindles I didn't see when I checked some nurseries recently.

Here are photos of some royals from Paphos I found online. I have seen more around, but it will take time to grow tall like the ones I saw from the internet from Cairo.

 

[Ali Hafez]

Hi Stelios, hope you are fine!

How is your coconut doing? Mine have grown so much over the past few months.

[Stelios]

On 8/7/2023 at 3:08 AM, Ali Hafez said:

Hi Stelios, hope you are fine!

How is your coconut doing? Mine have grown so much over the past few months.

Hi Ali

Your palms look great. Before you know it you will need to plant them in the ground! After I saw the other 2 coconuts growing here in Paphos and they look very good (better than mine), it should be easier in your climate.

My palm is still alive. I don't for how long but is still surviving. 

[Foxpalms]

On 8/8/2023 at 5:23 AM, Stelios said:

Hi Ali

Your palms look great. Before you know it you will need to plant them in the ground! After I saw the other 2 coconuts growing here in Paphos and they look very good (better than mine), it should be easier in your climate.

My palm is still alive. I don't for how long but is still surviving. 

Are there any coconuts in Larnaca or Limassol as that you know of, as those areas seem more ideal?

[Stelios]

14 hours ago, Foxpalms said:

Are there any coconuts in Larnaca or Limassol as that you know of, as those areas seem more ideal?

I haven't seen any other coconuts exept of these two in Paphos. I think in Limassol it would be even more difficult to try as winter nights are colder. Limassol is closer to Troodos mountains so when there is snow there, the cold is affecting the town. According the statistcs from the government meteo site, the most mild climate especially for winter is in Paphos. Larnaca is simillar with Paphos in winter lows but still Paphos is a bit milder. The only thing Larnaca in the summer has higher day temps, but that is not that important as Paphos is already hot and very humid. There is maybe a chance to grow a coconut and in Larnaca too.

After I found the other 2 coconuts and saw how they grew in the ground unprotected all winter, I believe there are propably other areas in the Mediterranean sea with a great microclimate that they might grow. These 2 are in an area with more blocks of flats around and behind the Paphos mall, about half a mile from the coast. The microclimate must be great and the variety looks like a tall one. Time will show if they will make it and will be the most northern ground planted cocos in the world. I will try to make photos soon.

[Aleitalyyy]

stelios hi, as soon as you can take a photo of the cocos you saw, thanks...

[Stelios]

5 hours ago, Aleitalyyy said:

stelios hi, as soon as you can take a photo of the cocos you saw, thanks...

 I was passing today with the car so not the best photos.

[Aleitalyyy]

my god, in Paphos the coconut lives if well sheltered... those plants are big and healthy... how nice to see them there.. we'll see in the following years.... thanks for the photos!

[Palermogreen]

If Cocos Nucifera can grow outdoors in Paphos, I believe there are also other areas of the Mediterranean where some specimens probably could make it. Certainly the Egyptian and Libyan coasts, probably also some places on the Syro-Palestinian coast. Years ago I remember to have read somewhere that someone had seen an outdoor Cocos in El Arish, on the Mediterranean Coast of Sinai.

Edited September 13, 2023 by Palermogreen

[Aleitalyyy]

yes, I confirm! remaining in Europe, Lampedusa, and southern Greece and southern Spain...

in Spain there is one in a large pot... Malta is also perfect for trying... our friend from Malta makes a mistake in not planting palm trees in the ground, insisting on letting them grow in pots and I don't understand why... Lampedusa we have a dear gentleman who sent several plants and this year they will be planted on the island... he keeps us updated on Facebook in the tropical group.

[Foxpalms]

They could possibly survive in areas such as Karave and Ceuta Spain.  Ceuta also has higher humidity in the summer than Paphos and is slightly warmer in the winter. There's also a small chance one could work in Gibraltar because the winter lows are so mild. The south district area has an average low of 54f/12c and high of 61f/16c so if placed up against a south facing building there a chance one could work.

Edited September 13, 2023 by Foxpalms

[Ali Hafez]

On 9/13/2023 at 12:36 PM, Palermogreen said:

If Cocos Nucifera can grow outdoors in Paphos, I believe there are also other areas of the Mediterranean where some specimens probably could make it. Certainly the Egyptian and Libyan coasts, probably also some places on the Syro-Palestinian coast. Years ago I remember to have read somewhere that someone had seen an outdoor Cocos in El Arish, on the Mediterranean Coast of Sinai.

You are correct! There are a few very successful experiments done here in Egypt.

The first picture is from Al-Arish, Sinai. Fruiting coconuts, with water contnet inside, not even empty fruits.

second are my coconuts, never protected and will go in ground next year probably.

third picture is my neighbor’s, living 5 minutes away from me in Cairo, Egypt.

[Stelios A]

Hello Stelio, how is your experiment going? I see your coconut is still alive after 5 years or so which is very impressive.
I am also looking to grow a coconut in Larnaca which has the same climate as Paphos (maybe a little less humidity and hotter summers). Do you reckon it will ever be able to produce fruit?