Growing Cocos nucifera (Coconut) in marginal climates outside the tropical monsoon, in subtropical, Mediterranean type climate, methods used

[veeman55]

On 10/25/2022 at 9:58 AM, Maltese coconut project said:

Update of the Maltese coconut project experiment, this time they were all kept south facing all summer.  Late October and temperatures are still relatively warm with 26 degrees celcius (78 degrees Fahrenheit) in the shade and 36 degrees celcius (96 degrees Fahrenheit) in the sun. Hopefully the new building to the west and north west significantly shields North Western winds but unfortunately the building to the north has been demolished and will take some time through winter to build high again.  New spears are still growing at the moment. Currently I am giving Potassium nitrate, calcium nitrate,, magnesium sulfate, micronutrients and NPK 3-11-38. In November I will tail off fertilisers with significant amount of Nitrogen and keep the NPK 3-11-38, Magnesium sulfate and micronutrients only to keep them as cool resistant as possible 

Nice seedlings. What happened to the plants you had from 2019? Did all survive the past 3 winters?

[Maltese coconut project]

They didn't survive last winter.. But part of it was my fault.. First mistake was that in summer I didn't leave them south facing but put them under North facing wall.. This promoted faster growth with larger leavestin summer but the drawback was that the waxy cuticle on the leaves was thinner and they had fewer but bigger stomata. Also since they weren't under stress, they didn't build up enough abscisic acid therefore they weren't prepared for winter.. This summer I left all my specimens South facing.  I am also giving Potassium nitrate, calcium nitrate, magnesium sulfate, manganese, Zinc Silicon, micronutrients,  molybdenum (acidic micronutrients on a particular watering, alkaline micronutrients on another day.) The leaves are very rigid and thick this time unlike in my previous experiments.. Also the seedlings are thicker this time 

[Maltese coconut project]

So far so good everything is going well. The hostile temperatures begin in December here. I hope that the new hardening techniques work and hopefully will be a less harsh winter 

[Will]

Where can you find hardy coconuts to germinate? Do you sell smaller plants? 

Asking for a friend who wants to try one on Mallorca 

[Maltese coconut project]

I am just germinating lidl Indian coconuts at random. I harden them myself. I use vivariums to start them then acclimatise them for the sun. Though I am still experimenting. I suggest doing it yourself approach.. It's not difficult and actually it's fun. Though you'll need to try a quantity of coconuts to increase your luck of finding some strong germinating ones. Use an aquarium under gravel heating cable, humidity, temperatures in the upper 20s. Objects you need : aquarium heating cable and thermostat.  Transparent storage box, aquarium gravel,  2 trays, a water bottle and coconuts.. You need to cut slits in storage box lid to pass heating cable and thermostat sensor. If you cut only one slit make sure the thermostat sensor isn't too near the heating part of the heating cable (note that the heating cable looks like a white wire, part of it heats but the part closer to the plug doesn't, make sure the sensor isn't too near the heating part otherwise you'll have inaccurate cut offs from thermostat 

[Will]

5 hours ago, Maltese coconut project said:

I am just germinating lidl Indian coconuts at random. I harden them myself. I use vivariums to start them then acclimatise them for the sun. Though I am still experimenting. I suggest doing it yourself approach.. It's not difficult and actually it's fun. Though you'll need to try a quantity of coconuts to increase your luck of finding some strong germinating ones. Use an aquarium under gravel heating cable, humidity, temperatures in the upper 20s. Objects you need : aquarium heating cable and thermostat.  Transparent storage box, aquarium gravel,  2 trays, a water bottle and coconuts.. You need to cut slits in storage box lid to pass heating cable and thermostat sensor. If you cut only one slit make sure the thermostat sensor isn't too near the heating part of the heating cable (note that the heating cable looks like a white wire, part of it heats but the part closer to the plug doesn't, make sure the sensor isn't too near the heating part otherwise you'll have inaccurate cut offs from thermostat 

Thank you very much!

[Maltese coconut project]

You're welcome 

[veeman55]

17 hours ago, Will said:

Where can you find hardy coconuts to germinate? Do you sell smaller plants? 

Asking for a friend who wants to try one on Mallorca 

Why Mallorca? You wont have a chance leaving it outdoors in the winter

[veeman55]

On 11/6/2022 at 4:38 AM, Maltese coconut project said:

They didn't survive last winter.. But part of it was my fault.. First mistake was that in summer I didn't leave them south facing but put them under North facing wall.. This promoted faster growth with larger leavestin summer but the drawback was that the waxy cuticle on the leaves was thinner and they had fewer but bigger stomata. Also since they weren't under stress, they didn't build up enough abscisic acid therefore they weren't prepared for winter.. This summer I left all my specimens South facing.  I am also giving Potassium nitrate, calcium nitrate, magnesium sulfate, manganese, Zinc Silicon, micronutrients,  molybdenum (acidic micronutrients on a particular watering, alkaline micronutrients on another day.) The leaves are very rigid and thick this time unlike in my previous experiments.. Also the seedlings are thicker this time 

Hope it works. Sorry about all those big plants dying

[Maltese coconut project]

Hopefully the hardening works. Regarding Majorca climate is very similar to Malta, very slightly cooler. 

[Will]

7 hours ago, veeman55 said:

Why Mallorca? You wont have a chance leaving it outdoors in the winter

Why not? They have quite a mild climate. Last years minimum in that garden was 3-4°C. Saribus rotundifolia, Ptychosperma and others growing without any problem. Might as well try a Cocos nucifera

[Maltese coconut project]

Low temperatures are subjective. In my area the January night time low is rarely lower than 9 degrees celcius. The problem is that winter night time chills in Malta though they aren't extremely low, they persist quite for long.  Areas like florida have lower lows but for a short time (few days if I'm not mistaken) before rebounding back to 20's degrees celcius( 70s Fahrenheit) 

Edited November 9, 2022 by Maltese coconut project

[veeman55]

19 hours ago, Will said:

Why not? They have quite a mild climate. Last years minimum in that garden was 3-4°C. Saribus rotundifolia, Ptychosperma and others growing without any problem. Might as well try a Cocos nucifera

Do you see any coconuts growing in mallorca and You will never see any growing outdoors all year long.

Mallorca gets colder than 3 4 during winters even going below zero.

You can try but unless your temp in winter stays above 8 in evenings and lots of sun in winter its futile

[Will]

2 hours ago, veeman55 said:

Do you see any coconuts growing in mallorca and You will never see any growing outdoors all year long.

Mallorca gets colder than 3 4 during winters even going below zero.

You can try but unless your temp in winter stays above 8 in evenings and lots of sun in winter its futile

Doesn't mean you cant try. Not seeing something grow doesn't man it couldn't. Mallorca is big, probably the mountains get below 0, doubt the harbour those though. My friend hasn't measured any negative temps since he started growing a few years ago and some climate data also don't show any negative temps.

[Maltese coconut project]

In the meantime here is an update of my current Cocos and some other tropical species on the rooftop. Yesterday it rained quite heavily marking 33.5mm average across the Maltese islands 

[gurugu]

On 11/13/2022 at 2:12 PM, Maltese coconut project said:

In the meantime here is an update of my current Cocos and some other tropical species on the rooftop. Yesterday it rained quite heavily marking 33.5mm average across the Maltese islands 

Good achievements there! And very good information! Thanks. 

Just one question: do you sterilize the coco fruits you buy at supermarkets with hydrogen peroxide, lye, insecticide or any other chemical, before placing them inside the plastic box?

I mean it because most of them are very easily prone to rot at the growing hole, once inside the box with some water. 

At least, that has been my bad experience. Only one managed to sprout and it was the only one I found already sprouted at the shop. 

Good luck with yours, and I hope to see them in the ground soon and thriving. 

[Maltese coconut project]

No I don't sterilise them.. I only put them in a bucket of water and keep them submerged. The trick is to use heat humidity in the storage box but don't go to extreme humidity or otherwise you might have problems 

[Maltese coconut project]

In fact when in the past I tried the coconut inside bag method it didn't work due to the too much humidity in a small space 

[Aleitalyyy]

On 10/11/2022 at 08:30, veeman55 said:

Vedi qualche noce di cocco crescere a Maiorca e non vedrai mai crescere all'aperto tutto l'anno.

Maiorca diventa più fredda di 3 4 durante gli inverni anche scendendo sotto lo zero.

Puoi provare, ma a meno che la tua temperatura in inverno non sia superiore a 8 la sera e molto sole in inverno è inutile

where did you read that temperatures drop below zero in mallorca? Sounds like a joke to me...

[GottmitAlex]

At this point, I will advise to move this thread under the PALMS IN POTS thread. 

@PALM MOD

[Maltese coconut project]

Welcome warm season and bye coconut hostile season for now. Temperatures are now getting set above 21 degrees celcius and 70s degrees Fahrenheit.  Only 3 coconut seedlings were able to survive this early year's cold season. Now will experiment with the higher Nitrate, negligible ammoniacal and zero urea.  The following will be the fertiliser regime I will use :

Monday: NPK 3-11-38 and quarter dose NPK 11-42-11 that equates to NPK 2.75-10.5-2.75.

Tuesday: Chelated Micronutrients (Magnesium, Manganese, Zinc, Copper, Iron, Boron and Molybdenum) 

Wednesday: Potassium Nitrate NK 13.5-0.46.2

Thursday: Magnesium sulphate (epsom salt) 

Friday : silicon and iron in an acidic solution plus root activator  

Saturday: Calcium nitrate 15.5-0-0

Sunday: Molybdenum 

The total NPK per week will be 34.75-21.5%-86.95% out of which Nitrates will consist of 31.55% Nitrate Nitrogen, 3.2% Ammoniacal Nitrogen and zero Urea. The aim is to build more compact thicker plants with thicker leaves that are more resistant to abiotic stress. This technique will be combined with south facing plants as well. I am hoping for a much better coconut palm survival rates next winter 2023-2024 by building more robust compact coconut palms in summer. I will absolutely ditch that 22-12-12 out of which has 14 urea and 8 ammoniacal without nitrate type. I learnt this information late last October but it's never too late.  Also I learnt late about the incompatibility of some fertiliser combinations and on how important to use calcium for example and regarding using potassium nitrate and increasing potassium for better winter resistance. Hopefully it will work next time. Will keep everyone updated regarding my next experiment