Coconut Palm in Titusville Home Depot

[GottmitAlex]

1 hour ago, NickJames said:

It already fell over once! Ah! Not sure how it knocked over a very heavy Polywood chair it was wedged in between. Must get in ground ASAP!

May I suggest to strap it somehow to that fence corner while you plan out where you will plant it.

[NickJames]

16 hours ago, GottmitAlex said:

May I suggest to strap it somehow to that fence corner while you plan out where you will plant it.

Thanks. Did that. I figured out where I’m going to plant it I think. Will wait until after 39 degrees this week. 
 

Going to use a mix of palm garden soil, sand, and some organic matter. Thoughts?

[Cluster]

On 2/23/2020 at 7:23 AM, pj_orlando_z9b said:

Just a bit when given TLC and fertilized well. 2015 vs 2020.  This includes a major setback in 2018. 

Oh my god, such an amazing looking coconut in Orlando! What variety is it, is it a dwarf? (the lights are for cold spells?).

[NOT A TA]

12 hours ago, NickJames said:

Going to use a mix of palm garden soil, sand, and some organic matter. Thoughts?

Won't matter much if at all unless you're planning on digging a really, really, really, big hole (as in using a backhoe).  The roots will grow right through the few inches of soil you put around the root ball in a very short period of time.   I'd just plant it in whatever soil is there, fertilize in 6-8 weeks.

[NickJames]

20 minutes ago, NOT A TA said:

Won't matter much if at all unless you're planning on digging a really, really, really, big hole (as in using a backhoe).  The roots will grow right through the few inches of soil you put around the root ball in a very short period of time.   I'd just plant it in whatever soil is there, fertilize in 6-8 weeks.

Thank you!

[NOT A TA]

1 hour ago, NickJames said:

Thank you!

Looking at your weather the next couple days I'd strongly recommend putting that Coconut in the garage. It can be laying down.  40 F at night and barely 60 F daytime will not make for a happy coco in a bucket.

[NickJames]

8 minutes ago, NOT A TA said:

Looking at your weather the next couple days I'd strongly recommend putting that Coconut in the garage. It can be laying down.  40 F at night and barely 60 F daytime will not make for a happy coco in a bucket.

Thanks. What’s better - the garage (concrete block so it’s pretty well insulated, but also dry because my water heater has a heat pump in it that pulls the moisture from the air) or my living room (74 degrees, 52% humidity)? Frankly, my living room is easier since it’s three feet from the palm but perhaps it’s too dry in here? I planned to plant Sunday once nighttime temps went back into 50s. 

[NOT A TA]

Living room FTW!!!!!

[NickJames]

Where should I plant it Sunday? The green arrow is pointed due south. The red outline is a paver area I’m putting in with a fire pit in the middle section. 

[NickJames]

2 minutes ago, NOT A TA said:

Living room FTW!!!!!

Thank you! 

[NOT A TA]

6 minutes ago, NickJames said:

Frankly, my living room is easier since it’s three feet from the palm but perhaps it’s too dry in here?

I'd put it inside now if you can, supposed to drop to mid 40's by morning. I'll bet that palm has never seen temps that low and you'll get lousy looking cold damage on the leaves if it stays outside. .

[GottmitAlex]

10 minutes ago, NickJames said:

Where should I plant it Sunday? The green arrow is pointed due south. The red outline is a paver area I’m putting in with a fire pit in the middle section. 

Closest as possible to the fire pit.

If not, then (IMO) at the base of your arrow 

Edited February 27, 2020 by GottmitAlex

[NickJames]

6 minutes ago, NOT A TA said:

I'd put it inside now if you can, supposed to drop to mid 40's by morning. I'll bet that palm has never seen temps that low and you'll get lousy looking cold damage on the leaves if it stays outside. .

Thanks. Headed out now 

[NOT A TA]

5 minutes ago, NickJames said:

Where should I plant it Sunday?

Depends on your views from inside and your covered lanai. Consider how much it will grow. Don't plant it within 10 feet of the home or you'll have frond marks on the siding from it blowing in the wind. I did notice in your previous posts that the travelers palm is going to block views in the future. Those things get huge and suckers are hard to keep under control.

[NickJames]

4 minutes ago, GottmitAlex said:

Closest as possible to the fire pit.

If not, then (IMO) at the base of your arrow 

Thanks! Yes I thought fire pit or house for warmth. 

[NickJames]

4 minutes ago, NOT A TA said:

Depends on your views from inside and your covered lanai. Consider how much it will grow. Don't plant it within 10 feet of the home or you'll have frond marks on the siding from it blowing in the wind. I did notice in your previous posts that the travelers palm is going to block views in the future. Those things get huge and suckers are hard to keep under control.

Thanks. 
 

This is kind of my view from ground level outside in the future paver area. Pine trees are Tiger Bay State Forest so trying to retain that view. Reason why I did cabbage palms in the back was to blend in with the “native” feel of the pines etc. 

Travelers palm is on one side...basically to my left in this photo....for privacy. Will be doing a Substantial project soon to create more privacy on both sides. 

[Merlyn]

One suggestion from Eric @ Leu Gardens was to place cold-sensitive plants where they'll get the earliest AM sun.  So if there's a spot for the coconut that is near concrete and gets AM sun in the winter, that'll help warm it up first thing on a cold morning.  I can confirm this helps with Agave Desmettiana, because I had 4 identical plants in the ground.  The two next to the driveway that saw AM sun (with no canopy) took no damage on a 33F light frost night last winter.  The other two were in dense oak canopy but no AM sun, and had about 30-50% burn.  Theoretically the ones under canopy should have been better with the light frost, but the opposite was true.

[NickJames]

1 minute ago, Merlyn2220 said:

One suggestion from Eric @ Leu Gardens was to place cold-sensitive plants where they'll get the earliest AM sun.  So if there's a spot for the coconut that is near concrete and gets AM sun in the winter, that'll help warm it up first thing on a cold morning.  I can confirm this helps with Agave Desmettiana, because I had 4 identical plants in the ground.  The two next to the driveway that saw AM sun (with no canopy) took no damage on a 33F light frost night last winter.  The other two were in dense oak canopy but no AM sun, and had about 30-50% burn.  Theoretically the ones under canopy should have been better with the light frost, but the opposite was true.

Thanks - any spot in my backyard will get sun as soon as it rises. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

On 2/26/2020 at 8:36 PM, Cluster said:

Oh my god, such an amazing looking coconut in Orlando! What variety is it, is it a dwarf? (the lights are for cold spells?).

Pretty sure it is a dwarf malayan because it fruited at a young age. I'm guessing it is approximately 6-8 years old. I put lights on it at Christmas for look but keep them up until Jan/Feb in case of cold. It would likely had died Jan 2018 had I not protected. That is the only night it ever saw protection with lights and tarps. Got to 28F for 6 hrs and I lost the entire crown except the emerging spear. 

[xoRudy]

On 2/23/2020 at 12:23 AM, pj_orlando_z9b said:

Just a bit when given TLC and fertilized well. 2015 vs 2020.  This includes a major setback in 2018. 

wow amazing, @Rudy yuma,az 

[ahosey01]

On 2/15/2020 at 8:23 PM, kinzyjr said:

@NickJames

The tag is fairly accurate from .  I prefer to think of hardiness more in terms of probability than a single number.  This thread contains a spreadsheet I have been compiling to consolidate the cold hardiness data on the site into a single document: https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/61358-0000-cold-hardiness-observation-master-data/

As an example of my philosophy, some coconuts have survived into the 20's, there are a few reports of specimens surviving 19F, but there are also observations of coconuts dying in the low or even mid-30s in spots.  The 30F benchmark is probably accurate in the majority of cases.  Foxtails are another mixed bag.  We have specimens that handle mid-20s with few or no issues, we have others that take damage as soon as there is any amount of time below freezing. 

Then... there is the Corona, CA coconut, which nobody on earth has a good answer for.

[James B]

I love how HD labels every palm as hardy to 30 degrees. I picked a Butia Capitata(Odorata) at HD and it’s tag said the same thing: hardy to 30 degrees when it is easily hardy to 20 degrees if not lower lol.

 

It also labels it Bottle Palms as hardy to 30 degrees when they have almost no chance in ground in California. 

[Palms1984]

On 8/16/2020 at 12:32 PM, James B said:

I love how HD labels every palm as hardy to 30 degrees. I picked a Butia Capitata(Odorata) at HD and it’s tag said the same thing: hardy to 30 degrees when it is easily hardy to 20 degrees if not lower lol.

 

It also labels it Bottle Palms as hardy to 30 degrees when they have almost no chance in ground in California. 

 

On 8/16/2020 at 12:32 PM, James B said:

I love how HD labels every palm as hardy to 30 degrees. I picked a Butia Capitata(Odorata) at HD and it’s tag said the same thing: hardy to 30 degrees when it is easily hardy to 20 degrees if not lower lol.

 

It also labels it Bottle Palms as hardy to 30 degrees when they have almost no chance in ground in California. 

There’s actually many bottle palms (Hyophorbe langenicaulis) in the urban areas of San Diego, and some have been in the ground for over 30 years.  They probably wouldn’t have been exposed to temps much below 40 degrees here, though. 

[Maddox Gardening-youtube]

On 2/15/2020 at 10:00 PM, NickJames said:

Wow, such great info. The tag said “cold hardiness: 30 degrees” which is the same as I believe they mark on queen palms and a few others I know to be far more tolerant than a coconut palm. 
 

What is the true cold hardiness for the photographer specimen? I have my foxtail and a triangle palm which I know aren’t terribly tolerant. 
 

I briefly touched 35 degrees in January at my weather station about 7 feet off the ground 50 feet away from my house. I imagine my neighborhood will trend slightly warmer as more homes are built. I’m currently kind of alone down here. (Mosaic, off LPGA Blvd)

On 2/25/2020 at 3:14 PM, NickJames said:

It already fell over once! Ah! Not sure how it knocked over a very heavy Polywood chair it was wedged in between. Must get in ground ASAP!

where do you think the most northern on Florida's east coast store is that sells coconuts like these? 

 

[Maddox Gardening-youtube]

On 2/16/2020 at 10:51 AM, NickJames said:

So kind of on this topic - what is the best big box garden center in Central Florida? The Home Depot near my childhood home in Jacksonville For example always ordered random palm specimens that other Home Depots did not. 

I’m in Jax are you talking about the one on Philips highway or Lenox? Also do you know how far south you have to drive to find a coconut like that?

[Golden10]

Any updates on the palm?