Coconut Palm in North Carolina Experiment

[Zeni]

@ZPalms

For me still no browning of lower fronds yet, while autumn is nearing. Surprised it did well for me as a houseplant this summer near a south facing window.  I didn't help it out with humidity which I read is what makes Cocos suffer as houseplants.

Luckily or unlikely depending on one's perspective, due to the ridiculous energy prices in Europe because of the Ukraine situation I won't be turning on central heating in the upcoming autumn and winter in the room where my Cocos is located. Hopefully that will help it survive this crazy experiment of mine to make a Cocos Nucifera get through winter as a houseplant. 😂

[Lux0l0]

This won’t work this coconut doesn’t have the husk anymore. The husk needs to still be on to germinate the coconut. 

[ZPalms]

After I repotted my coconut in the trash can, I didn't realize the mistake of repotting right before winter. It's still alive and doing great, even with the couple of leaves that died off, and the new spear is coming in nicely! I'm not sure why the three leaves all died off one by one, and I'm not sure if it was shock or a lack of water because I try to be generous with watering but wait long enough between the time I water because with the lack of heat I want to make sure it's getting enough time to dry and utilize what it can before the next time I water. 

Ignore the mess behind the coconut on the bench; with the amount of plants and tables I have at the moment, it's difficult to get over in that corner. 😂

Edited January 21 by ZPalms

[Zeni]

Looking good @ZPalms

PS. I've managed to get a cheap Syagrus Romanzoffiana at about the same developmental stage of your current Cocos. I think I will go for it instead and forgo the Cocos project next year. For my northern self it is just as tropical, maybe not as mesmerising, but good enough and with the added benefit of a bit more hardiness. It can stay outside from early-March to late-November instead of late-May to just early-September for me. 😄

Edited January 22 by Zeni

[ZPalms]

3 hours ago, Zeni said:

Looking good @ZPalms

PS. I've managed to get a cheap Syagrus Romanzoffiana at about the same developmental stage of your current Cocos. I think I will go for it instead and forgo the Cocos project next year. For my northern self it is just as tropical, maybe not as mesmerising, but good enough and with the added benefit of a bit more hardiness. It can stay outside from early-March to late-November instead of late-May to just early-September for me. 😄

That’s a palm I definitely want to get this year after I plant all my palms in pots into the ground, I hope it performs awesome and grows quick!!!! 😍

[Zeni]

15 hours ago, ZPalms said:

That’s a palm I definitely want to get this year after I plant all my palms in pots into the ground, I hope it performs awesome and grows quick!!!! 😍

Slight downside is that Romanzoffianas have rapid verical growth. In less than 5 or 6 years they could start being too difficult to place indoor for overwintering. They are like little rockets. 🚀

Some sellers cut off all the fronds when shipping as they grow back in a short time. Analogous to Robustas in growth, maybe even slightly faster.

[ZPalms]

6 hours ago, Zeni said:

Slight downside is that Romanzoffianas have rapid verical growth. In less than 5 or 6 years they could start being too difficult to place indoor for overwintering. They are like little rockets. 🚀

Some sellers cut off all the fronds when shipping as they grow back in a short time. Analogous to Robustas in growth, maybe even slightly faster.

I think I want a mule more than Syagrus because they look more attractive to me, I'm not even sure about the growth speed of mule palms

[Zeni]

1 hour ago, ZPalms said:

I think I want a mule more than Syagrus because they look more attractive to me, I'm not even sure about the growth speed of mule palms

True, but they are more difficult to get and are a bit pricey. 

Currently seeds are available here:

https://www.mulepalmsofmississippi.com/mule-palm-seeds/100-mule-palm-seeds-x-butiagrus-nabonnandii-f1-fnf3h

https://wanderlustnursery.com/shop/products/p/mule-palm

I think you should try from seed. It's also rewarding to grow from seed. 👍

 

[ZPalms]

18 minutes ago, Zeni said:

True, but they are more difficult to get and are a bit pricey. 

Currently seeds are available here:

https://www.mulepalmsofmississippi.com/mule-palm-seeds/100-mule-palm-seeds-x-butiagrus-nabonnandii-f1-fnf3h

https://wanderlustnursery.com/shop/products/p/mule-palm

I think you should try from seed. It's also rewarding to grow from seed. 👍

 

Oh awesome! Thanks for the links. I was looking for seeds earlier but couldn't find a good place. The $15 is great! I usually grow all my palms from seeds anyway, as it's cheaper for me. 😍

[ZPalms]

I'm kinda wanting to put my coconut outside but I'm not really sure if I should, the weather looks decent and the lows don't last very long and my coconut is constantly exposed to cooler temperatures indoors with the A/C including at night so I'm not sure

I could throw burlap over it during the night to help keep it a tiny bit warmer why its outside at night but Im all ears but I really want to get it outside as quick and safe as possible to extend the grow season as much as I can with it

 

 

Edited April 15 by ZPalms

[PalmatierMeg]

On 4/15/2023 at 5:15 PM, ZPalms said:

I'm kinda wanting to put my coconut outside but I'm not really sure if I should, the weather looks decent and the lows don't last very long and my coconut is constantly exposed to cooler temperatures indoors with the A/C including at night so I'm not sure

I could throw burlap over it during the night to help keep it a tiny bit warmer why its outside at night but Im all ears but I really want to get it outside as quick and safe as possible to extend the grow season as much as I can with it

 

 

It can go outside if lows are above 45F (anything less than that will cause leaf spotting and yellowing). Coconuts want high heat, full sun and warm rain so yours will be much happier outside when weather is warm/hot.

[ZPalms]

2 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

It can go outside if lows are above 45F (anything less than that will cause leaf spotting and yellowing). Coconuts want high heat, full sun and warm rain so yours will be much happier outside when weather is warm/hot.

Appreciate the reply! I suppose maybe in 3 weeks or so the temperature should be good enough! 🌞

[ZPalms]

Alrighty its that time of the year again, It's finally outside and nature is rebalanced and spider mites can kiss my *** 😂 anyway It made it through winter and this year I didn't baby it at all indoors, If I was hot and I wanted the fan on and the a/c blasting then that's what I did but it spent the majority of its time in what I would consider cooler temperature indoors, I should really get a thermometer in my bedroom so I can see what it's actually experiencing! I think repotting it before winter was a really dumb idea but it pulled through 😍

I expect the leaves this season to finally go full pinnate 🤠🌞🌴

Edited May 7 by ZPalms

[PalmatierMeg]

Looks really good, @ZPalms. It should take off over your NC summer. Well grown

[PortCharlotteCocos]

Looks great, make sure the roots don't stay wet.

[ZPalms]

What do y’all think if I drilled holes into the side of the trashcan for more air into the soil? Or will it not matter?

[CGMarko]

Looks great! I think that the main threat is water in the bottom where water can remain for a time. I don’t think that in other areas it is critical as long as the plant receives light and heat. In the end, coconut palms live in areas where it is always moist. You can aerate the soil though by poking the soil with bamboo sticks or something like that.

Edited July 7 by CGMarko

[ZPalms]

Alrighty here’s a mid summer update! Working on its nature fronds, very excited! I wish it would move them out quicker but it’s what I’ve been waiting for! 🤠🌴

 

Edited August 1 by ZPalms

[DTS1]

nice!

[PalmatierMeg]

That new growth looks great. Well done.