Southern California Coconut - Orange County (Santa Ana)

[BayAndroid]

7 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Feed the Queen palm heavily and particularly in the fall (mid October) and your Queen palm is likely to handle the long cool winter months better. PalmGain is my favorite brand. 

Hey Jim, on this topic, would you recommend feeding all palms heavily in mid October, or should the feeding be specific to different palms? For example, some suggest SulPoMag in the fall. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

30 minutes ago, BayAndroid said:

Hey Jim, on this topic, would you recommend feeding all palms heavily in mid October, or should the feeding be specific to different palms? For example, some suggest SulPoMag in the fall. 

Will, I give all my palms a good feeding in October. PalmGain usually. The healthier they are going into winter, the less likely they are to yellow as much if the winter is cooler than average. 

[BayAndroid]

34 minutes ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Will, I give all my palms a good feeding in October. PalmGain usually. The healthier they are going into winter, the less likely they are to yellow as much if the winter is cooler than average. 

Cool, I'll give it a shot this fall. 

[29coolpalmdude]

I am very excited to announce that my palm tree's spear opened up! I wasn't expecting growth this fast early on, but here we are! Wow! I never thought it would make it this far let alone produce and open up another leaf. Here's the picture: 

12CE9400-2E43-470D-8295-A24821343F7D (2).heic IMG_5524.HEIC IMG_5525.HEIC IMG_5526.HEIC IMG_5527.HEIC

[SouthernCATropicals]

On 8/15/2024 at 6:41 PM, 29coolpalmdude said:

I am very excited to announce that my palm tree's spear opened up! I wasn't expecting growth this fast early on, but here we are! 

Looks great, be careful not to get impatient and separate the leaves manually too much, I did that a lot last winter and now all the earliest leaves are still attached but dangling and not contributing to the trunks fatness lol 

[29coolpalmdude]

Update for November 3, 2023 on my coconut palm growing in San Jose, California. The palm has some leaf burn, but opened up 2 spears so far, so doing pretty well overall. Here are some pictures: Any advice? Thanks! 

[Silas_Sancona]

21 hours ago, 29coolpalmdude said:

Update for November 3, 2023 on my coconut palm growing in San Jose, California. The palm has some leaf burn, but opened up 2 spears so far, so doing pretty well overall. Here are some pictures: Any advice? Thanks! 

Looking good  

Only advise i have is try to keep the temp above 45F in it's enclosure,  and on the drier side thru the winter up there and you should be off to a good start once spring arrives..

No fertilizer needed now as well ( " Slumbering plants don't eat ", so to say ).. Save a nice " wake up " feeding ( Fert. with a high K content is ideal )  for when it starts moving again come late March or April, depending on how soon it starts to warm up  ...Hopefully sooner this year compared to the last 2 years.

[Moose]

On 6/8/2024 at 4:18 AM, Palmiz said:

@AS in SA update please, would like to see how large yours is getting.

Curious if it's a palm 🌴 of Doom.

[Palmiz]

4 hours ago, Moose said:

Curious if it's a palm 🌴 of Doom.

That would suck if the overpruning caused it's doom. Hope it's still kickin

[29coolpalmdude]

Thanks for the reply. Is there any way I can get the leaves to green up?

[SouthernCATropicals]

Hey everyone a friend that lives nearby just snapped these photos of the Santa Ana coconut. Looks amazing and getting so much trunk 

[Jim in Los Altos]

Looks amazing. The neighbors need to try coconuts too! 

[rizla023]

I am a neighbor but I am too scared lol! I have never tried it fully, but this inspires me. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

29 minutes ago, rizla023 said:

I am a neighbor but I am too scared lol! I have never tried it fully, but this inspires me. 

If I had a neighbor growing a coconut like that one, I’d sure give it a try or at least a few tries! 

[mlovecan]

All of the Greeks are insisting I put mine in the ground but I have been putting it off. The big advantage of not doing so is I can move my cocos into the shade for the summer.  The Malayan dwarfs I've managed to get through the winter have been killed of by cats or intense summer sun. Now that I have a couple Panama Talls,  I am becoming far more optimistic. They have taken the summer heat quite well and still look perfect. The Panama Talls are the smaller ones.

[Las Palmas Norte]

7 hours ago, mlovecan said:

... The Malayan dwarfs I've managed to get through the winter have been killed of by cats or intense summer sun. ...

Cats?

[Than]

8 hours ago, mlovecan said:

All of the Greeks

Any non-Greeks agree that you should put them in the ground? 

[mlovecan]

Greece is home to large numbers of feral cats and can be a real nuicance. To decrease the nuisance, you feed a couple and they will keep the others away. One of the ones I kept around  had decided my 2 year old potted cocos made a great litter box. He managed to kill one.  "Albert" now lives at an all inclusive hotel about 40 km from here.

[mlovecan]

1 minute ago, Than said:

Any non-Greeks agree that you should put them in the ground? 

Good point. Some do. But they have no idea how strong the sun can get around here. The Malayan dwarfs seem to love the sun about as much as kentias do.  

[Than]

6 minutes ago, mlovecan said:

The Malayan dwarfs seem to love the sun about as much as kentias do.  

I thought kentias hate direct sun

[mlovecan]

Correct. Just like the Kentias. The Pananama Talls are the opposite so far. Maybe because they were barely germinated when I received them,  I don't know.

[Than]

On 8/9/2024 at 4:46 AM, Jim in Los Altos said:

Will, I give all my palms a good feeding in October. PalmGain usually. The healthier they are going into winter, the less likely they are to yellow as much if the winter is cooler than average. 

You don't use slow release fertilizers I assume?

[Jim in Los Altos]

1 hour ago, Than said:

You don't use slow release fertilizers I assume?

PalmGain is slow release. 

[SouthernCATropicals]

10 hours ago, Than said:

Any non-Greeks agree that you should put them in the ground? 

I would wait as long as he can while maintaining the root health and vigor. Mine certainly have gained a good amount of cool tolerance from age. If I could redo things I would have given every coconut another year in a pot so that they aren’t unnecessarily set back by a specific storm or two. These last two days got down to 50/49f  here and I see no damage(except the yellow one🫨) . Last year that would have left a mark for sure. Similarly one of my three coconuts is still growing at summer speed right now but last year all three were virtually 100% paused since November. So I vote wait until the roots are bursting out the pot haha

[Than]

8 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

PalmGain is slow release. 

If you give them slow release fertilizer in October isn't it working also during winter months?

[Jim in Los Altos]

10 minutes ago, Than said:

If you give them slow release fertilizer in October isn't it working also during winter months?

Yes. Most of my palms continue growth during the winter and being well fed during the cooler time of the year is much healthier than being undernourished. A well fed palm will endure cold periods much better than one starved of nutrients. In my climate, there’s really no good reason to hold off feeding a slow release fertilizer going into winter. 

[kylecawazafla]

Thank you for the updated photos! I "discovered" this coconut palm a few years ago on Google Maps and I'm so glad it is still alive! I'd like to share ANOTHER coconut I just discovered on Google Maps growing in Long Beach, CA. I might have a problem 😂

[Than]

1 hour ago, kylecawazafla said:

Thank you for the updated photos! I "discovered" this coconut palm a few years ago on Google Maps and I'm so glad it is still alive! I'd like to share ANOTHER coconut I just discovered on Google Maps growing in Long Beach, CA. I might have a problem 😂

No you don't! I'd def do the same and I do actually whenever I spot an unusual plant. Then again, we may both have the same issue. Anyway, I wish I could find a cocos in my country.. 

[DoomsDave]

@Palmiz how about an update on your coconut?

[Phoenikakias]

On 12/7/2025 at 7:37 PM, mlovecan said:

Greece is home to large numbers of feral cats and can be a real nuicance. To decrease the nuisance, you feed a couple and they will keep the others away. One of the ones I kept around  had decided my 2 year old potted cocos made a great litter box. He managed to kill one.  "Albert" now lives at an all inclusive hotel about 40 km from here.

Ever considered to stick skewers in to the soil around the plant?

[tim_brissy_13]

11 hours ago, kylecawazafla said:

Thank you for the updated photos! I "discovered" this coconut palm a few years ago on Google Maps and I'm so glad it is still alive! I'd like to share ANOTHER coconut I just discovered on Google Maps growing in Long Beach, CA. I might have a problem 😂

Don’t take this the wrong way Kyle (and you know I have a problem too 🤣), but can I ask how you come across these? Do you go on Google street view hunts looking for Cocos or other rare palms in likely locations? If so that’s next level and belongs in the old ‘you know you’re a palm nut when…’ thread!
 

Love your work by the way, pretty cool to see Cocos in marginal climates and that’s now a couple that don’t seem to have a significant advantage from planting location (up against a wall for retained heat for example). 

[L.A.M.]

On 10/19/2020 at 6:19 PM, AS in SA said:

Haven't posted in a long time - thought I'd share my Southern California coconut pictures.  I purchased this as a sprouted nut back in 2007 and planted it in a whiskey barrel full of sand.  I planted a few others outdoors in a similar fashion, but don't think any lasted more than a year or two.  I've tried a few other marginal palms (spindle, bottle) which I was able to limp along for a number of years - but this one is the sole survivor.  It was in the whiskey barrel until about a year and a half back the barrel was simply disintegrating, wouldn't hold water, etc - so after digging a really big hole - in the ground it went and has done pretty well.  If you look up some of my older posts I've posted a number of pictures throughout the years.  Definitely not setting any speed records, but fronds/petioles have definitely started thickening up since it went in the ground.  

Best of luck! How has it done since then? Checking the climate data for Santa Ana, it seems to be one of the few parts of the state that they stand even a chance but with difficulty. If a place isn't quite a tropical climate, I expect it to be difficult, but still theoretically possible if the average temperatures are over 14 degrees Celsius (57.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in every month, the mean annual temperature is at least 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and the annual mean minimum isn't 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) or lower.

[kylecawazafla]

lol! I usually just browse Google street view if I'm stuck on the phone for a long time - which tends to happen a lot! I usually select areas that I think will be good microclimates where I figure they'd be most likely to survive to begin with, and then also tend to either look at older neighborhoods or more "diverse" neighborhoods as they tend to also have greater plant diversity. I feel like most newer developments in the USA have super strict HOA requirements so I just skip over those as they have the same 5 boring species of plants lol 

 

 

3 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Don’t take this the wrong way Kyle (and you know I have a problem too 🤣), but can I ask how you come across these? Do you go on Google street view hunts looking for Cocos or other rare palms in likely locations? If so that’s next level and belongs in the old ‘you know you’re a palm nut when…’ thread!
 

Love your work by the way, pretty cool to see Cocos in marginal climates and that’s now a couple that don’t seem to have a significant advantage from planting location (up against a wall for retained heat for example). 

 

[Than]

2 hours ago, kylecawazafla said:

lol! I usually just browse Google street view if I'm stuck on the phone for a long time - which tends to happen a lot! I usually select areas that I think will be good microclimates where I figure they'd be most likely to survive to begin with, and then also tend to either look at older neighborhoods or more "diverse" neighborhoods as they tend to also have greater plant diversity. I feel like most newer developments in the USA have super strict HOA requirements so I just skip over those as they have the same 5 boring species of plants lol 

 

 

 

There are HOA rules about what plants you may or may not plant in your garden? What the h... 

We have no such things here although tbh I wish we had some, cos some people turn their front gardens into dumpsters.. but yeah, only for the basic requirements. What I will plant in my garden should be my decision. That being said, even without HOA, here too most people grow the same 5 trees: orange trees, olive trees, orange trees, olive trees and orange trees.

[Phoenikakias]

3 hours ago, Than said:

There are HOA rules about what plants you may or may not plant in your garden? What the h... 

We have no such things here although tbh I wish we had some, cos some people turn their front gardens into dumpsters.. but yeah, only for the basic requirements. What I will plant in my garden should be my decision. That being said, even without HOA, here too most people grow the same 5 trees: orange trees, olive trees, orange trees, olive trees and orange trees.

No figs!??!

[Than]

3 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

No figs!??!

In the old times, locals say

[Silas_Sancona]

12 hours ago, kylecawazafla said:

lol! I usually just browse Google street view if I'm stuck on the phone for a long time - which tends to happen a lot! I usually select areas that I think will be good microclimates where I figure they'd be most likely to survive to begin with, and then also tend to either look at older neighborhoods or more "diverse" neighborhoods as they tend to also have greater plant diversity. I feel like most newer developments in the USA have super strict HOA requirements so I just skip over those as they have the same 5 boring species of plants lol 

 

 

 

Sometimes street view is the best way to find stuff you might not be aware of ..even in one's immediate neighborhood 

..so yes, lol  ..I also do lots of " virtual touring"  to find stuff.

 

As for HOAs,  ..most know my view on them ha ha..

" Gotta go "  ...is the nice -est way of saying it, 

[Silas_Sancona]

On 12/4/2025 at 8:41 AM, SouthernCATropicals said:

Hey everyone a friend that lives nearby just snapped these photos of the Santa Ana coconut. Looks amazing and getting so much trunk 

👍👍👍👍

Not a betting man, but,...

Happy to:

Bet 2$ that thing tries to throw an inflo. in the next 3 years.. ..

Bet 8$ one future flowering attempt results in a nut ..of some sort.

Add 3$ if even one ...one... future nut produced ends up being viable..

In other words...

..that thing looks great..

...and on its way to great things ...if the owner / any future owner leaves it alone👍

[mlovecan]

13 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

👍👍👍👍

Not a betting man, but,...

Happy to:

Bet 2$ that thing tries to throw an inflo. in the next 3 years.. ..

Bet 8$ one future flowering attempt results in a nut ..of some sort.

Add 3$ if even one ...one... future nut produced ends up being viable..

In other words...

..that thing looks great..

...and on its way to great things ...if the owner / any future owner leaves it alone👍

It does look flawless. The trunk thickness is quite impressive.

[Palmiz]

On 12/11/2025 at 8:28 AM, DoomsDave said:

@Palmiz how about an update on your coconut?

Hey Dave, mine is still kickin! It's growing quite well, faster than alot of others.