New coconut frond for the start of spring

[sandgroper]

Spring has sprung, after coming out of winter looking a bit tatty a new frond is opening and a new spear is coming up alongside. I'm happy about that! 

[sandgroper]

The little coconut growing close by looks a bit brighter too.

[GottmitAlex]

3 minutes ago, sandgroper said:

The little coconut growing close by looks a bit brighter too.

Now that's sand!!

[GottmitAlex]

7 minutes ago, sandgroper said:

Spring has sprung, after coming out of winter looking a bit tatty a new frond is opening and a new spear is coming up alongside. I'm happy about that! 

Seems the spear has almost the same height as the opening frond. It's doing the splits. .

I had one do the same right after winter. The emerging spear after it opened up, collapsed almost at the middle. I had to cut it. But the succeeding spears/fronds turned out great.

Here's a pic of the frond which buckled under it's own weight.  Our cool winter lasted well into May.  We never had a spring this year.

 

[sandgroper]

52 minutes ago, GottmitAlex said:

Seems the spear has almost the same height as the opening frond. It's doing the splits. .

I had one do the same right after winter. The emerging spear after it opened up, collapsed almost at the middle. I had to cut it. But the succeeding spears/fronds turned out great.

Here's a pic of the frond which buckled under it's own weight.  Our cool winter lasted well into May.  We never had a spring this year.

 

I've never had that happen Alex but we did have a storm come through earlier in the week which knocked the new frond around a bit but it's not too bad.

[sandgroper]

Starting to get a nice trunk now too, hopefully the next step will be flowering!

[GottmitAlex]

28 minutes ago, sandgroper said:

I've never had that happen Alex but we did have a storm come through earlier in the week which knocked the new frond around a bit but it's not too bad.

What I meant was there was a point in time in which the spear I mentioned was almost the same height as the then-previously open frond.

 

[sandgroper]

23 minutes ago, GottmitAlex said:

What I meant was there was a point in time in which the spear I mentioned was almost the same height as the then-previously open frond.

 

Got ya, yes that seems to happen with mine, the bigger and stronger it gets,  each spear seems to reach the height of the previous open frond before it opens itself. I'm really pleased with my coconut, this has been a rewarding project and a lot of fun.

[The Palm Nut]

Your coconut is looking great. Did you cover it at all? I had one for many years till it got just above the roofline and once it was exposed to the cold south-westerly it went down hill pretty quickly over a couple of years. Didn't exactly die but looked pretty bad so cut it down and germinated more.

Here is an old photo of it at its best, and some I have now.

I picked up more nuts up north last July will see if any germinate.

Good luck

 

[sandgroper]

3 minutes ago, The Palm Nut said:

Your coconut is looking great. Did you cover it at all? I had one for many years till it got just above the roofline and once it was exposed to the cold south-westerly it went down hill pretty quickly over a couple of years. Didn't exactly die but looked pretty bad so cut it down and germinated more.

Here is an old photo of it at its best, and some I have now.

I picked up more nuts up north last July will see if any germinate.

Good luck

 

Cheers mate, no I didn't cover it, it is just too big now but I did cover it for as long as I could. It has been exposed to the elements for the past two winters which it has survived although I tried to protect it as best I could. It certainly looks quite rough at the end of winter but I think it will keep going, at least I hope it will.

[The Palm Nut]

One thing I learned if anything is to keep these dry if possible for the coldest periods of the year. As much full sun as possible in winter, excellent drainage and some sort of heat retention close by. Unfortunately I have none of these requirements any more to any degree, but I do have a huge amount of competition for moisture from years of planting. When ever I dig a hole for a new plant I encounter matts of roots, this in itself will keep the soil on the dry side particularly during winter, though during drought water bills can be high. I believe Perth is a little colder as well in winter?  

[veeman55]

Why the surprise? Coconuts are common over half the Australian continents coasts

[sandgroper]

13 minutes ago, veeman55 said:

Why the surprise? Coconuts are common over half the Australian continents coasts

Yes but not in southern Australia.

[sandgroper]

18 minutes ago, The Palm Nut said:

One thing I learned if anything is to keep these dry if possible for the coldest periods of the year. As much full sun as possible in winter, excellent drainage and some sort of heat retention close by. Unfortunately I have none of these requirements any more to any degree, but I do have a huge amount of competition for moisture from years of planting. When ever I dig a hole for a new plant I encounter matts of roots, this in itself will keep the soil on the dry side particularly during winter, though during drought water bills can be high. I believe Perth is a little colder as well in winter?  

During the winter I don't water at all as there is enough rainfall to cover that,  drainage is pretty good though as we are virtually in beach sand and the palms face north so they've got the best they can get in my yard.  I try to keep them dry during winter as best I can but it's not always easy but that's part of the adventure. 

[greysrigging]

1 hour ago, veeman55 said:

Why the surprise? Coconuts are common over half the Australian continents coasts

Still have to use the Latitude 'rule of thumb'
Below 30*S coconuts struggle...Perth is at about 32*S, so an outstanding effort to have such a healthy specimen in a Mediterranean climate.
Even Sydney on the milder and wetter east coast ( 33.8*S ) is a no grow zone. And Port Macquarie at 32.4*S sounds like a real struggle 

Edited September 21, 2019 by greysrigging

[Rickybobby]

Looks awesome as always mate. Cheers to your coconut success 

[veeman55]

Perth isnt really southern though. Melbourne is south

[sandgroper]

4 hours ago, veeman55 said:

Perth isnt really southern though. Melbourne is south

Not sure how much time you've spent in Australia but you won't find coconuts growing anywhere south of around Kalbarri in Western Australia and any from there north need watering to grow,  their not wild. It's only when you get to the true tropics with wet hot summers and warm drier winters that they grow well unattended, areas from about Broome in the West. The northern Queensland coast is a perfect growing climate for them but you won't find them along the coast of NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and most of Western Australia, depending on where you are the climate is either too cold in winter or not enough natural rainfall for them to grow. They're like most plants, with the hand of man involved you can tend to stretch their range by artificially altering the environment with extra water, fertilizer, weather protection etc.... but that will never mean that you can go too far out of their natural climatic range. That's why there's only a handful of coconuts growing outside in Perth, the climate is just not quite right but with effort and dedication it can be pushed.

[Tyrone]

I’ve seen a nice trunking one in Dongara and some good trunking ones in Geraldton. Also a guy in Jurien Bay about 200m from the high tide mark had an unprotected one growing on the north side of his metal shed and it looked good. But once you get down near Perth the odds quickly stack up against you. It’s all about latitude with a coconut.

[sandgroper]

I've seen them in Dongara and Geraldton, a few nice ones in Gero but they're starting to get a bit thin on the ground down there.

[GottmitAlex]

I've watched youtube vids of coconuts in Perth.. even with protection by actual palm enthusiasts, they die around 2 years of age. Perth freezes.  

What you are doing Dave is nothing less than incredible.

 

Edited September 22, 2019 by GottmitAlex