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Coconut Palm in Sarasota, FL?


Emarohl

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i just  moved to Sarasota and am starting to plant trees in the backyard. I recently bought a small coconut palm maybe about 2-3 feet tall and planted it outside in our yard. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or advice on a coconut palm growing here. I know they aren’t very cold hardy. Our house is less than .5 miles from the Sarasota bay and west of highway 41. The yard gets plenty of sunlight and has good drainage. Will it be too cold for it to survive? Can I cover it in cold snaps to keep it warm? Coldest it got this year in our area was 38 deg. According to maps online we are right on the cusp of 9b and 10a. Wondering if anyone in the area had experience with coconut palms. Thank you! 

7F897F90-3ACB-4657-8AE1-62E34D0DBD52.jpeg

Edited by Emarohl
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You should be good. You are in a good location west of 41 so you should be good to go.

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Lived in Cape Coral, Miami, Orlando and St. Petersburg Florida.

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9 minutes ago, Palmaceae said:

You should be good. You are in a good location west of 41 so you should be good to go.

^ Second this.. West of the 41 is pretty much the perfect area of Sarasota for growing Coconuts there.. Plenty of nice specimens can be seen if you're near ..or venture to.. Selby Botanical, or Bird Key as you're heading across the Bay to Saint Armand Circle.. or out to Siesta Key / neighborhoods out there.

A couple old pictures for example:

Bird Key, May 2014: Have better pictures of these somewhere..

SAM_2762.thumb.JPG.c7253791fb1397e4be4350858115cd76.JPG

Selby Botanical, Feb. 2016:

DSCN0295.thumb.JPG.98eea65be630cfac6ee3294821bcf588.JPG

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It should be relatively safe there. The islands still have a pretty nice advantage over the mainland, but there are plenty of coconuts on the mainland too and some much further inland than you.

Edited by RedRabbit
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Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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Can anyone tell me what type of coconut palm this little guy is? It didn’t say on the label. Any guesses based on the plant or pic on the label?

2263D41F-92A2-44AA-A4EC-290BFC1D8B6A.jpeg

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  • 3 months later...

Most likely as others have stated it should be ok, but if we have any prolonged cold snaps where night temps dip below 40, it may affect it. Younger palms are the most vulnerable to cold damage.

Edited by Dave965
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On 3/16/2022 at 12:38 AM, Emarohl said:

Can anyone tell me what type of coconut palm this little guy is? It didn’t say on the label. Any guesses based on the plant or pic on the label?

As @Jimbean stated, most likely Malayan Dwarf.  Since the petioles are green, most likely Green Malayan Dwarf.

 

1 hour ago, Dave965 said:

Most likely as others have stated it should be ok, but if we have any prolonged cold snaps where night temps dip below 40, it may affect it. Younger palms are the most vulnerable to cold damage.

Welcome to PalmTalk!

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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  • 10 months later...

I'm wondering how old those coconut palms are because I'm having a hard time believing they were planted before the 1980s .  Definitely not bulletproof in that area you might get 10 , 20 maybe 40 years out of it who knows . It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of when those palms get killed by a severe freeze.  I see this zone pushing phenomenon all over the southern part of the U.S. . All I need to do is to look at records lows and even with global warming there's also the threat of Arctic blasts coming all the way down to the South.  We had Queen palms growing in San Antonio for decades then Feb 2021 came and reset the button.  Nothing wrong with zone pushing on private property but imagine the cost of tree removal outside your own yard . 

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9 hours ago, MarcusH said:

I'm wondering how old those coconut palms are because I'm having a hard time believing they were planted before the 1980s .  Definitely not bulletproof in that area you might get 10 , 20 maybe 40 years out of it who knows . It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of when those palms get killed by a severe freeze.  I see this zone pushing phenomenon all over the southern part of the U.S. . All I need to do is to look at records lows and even with global warming there's also the threat of Arctic blasts coming all the way down to the South.  We had Queen palms growing in San Antonio for decades then Feb 2021 came and reset the button.  Nothing wrong with zone pushing on private property but imagine the cost of tree removal outside your own yard . 

Mother Nature does have a twisted sense of humor when it comes to tropical gardening.

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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7 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

Mother Nature does have a twisted sense of humor when it comes to tropical gardening.

Yes it does . 

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On 5/23/2023 at 12:37 PM, MarcusH said:

I'm wondering how old those coconut palms are because I'm having a hard time believing they were planted before the 1980s .  Definitely not bulletproof in that area you might get 10 , 20 maybe 40 years out of it who knows . It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of when those palms get killed by a severe freeze.  I see this zone pushing phenomenon all over the southern part of the U.S. . All I need to do is to look at records lows and even with global warming there's also the threat of Arctic blasts coming all the way down to the South.  We had Queen palms growing in San Antonio for decades then Feb 2021 came and reset the button.  Nothing wrong with zone pushing on private property but imagine the cost of tree removal outside your own yard . 

Sarasota County does have some coconuts that survived the all 1980s freezes. They’re in sheltered spots, normally behind condos, on Lido Key, Siesta Key and Venice Island. I’ve posted quite a few on here and think I found some new ones on the south side of Siesta Key over the weekend.

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Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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On 5/23/2023 at 12:37 PM, MarcusH said:

I'm wondering how old those coconut palms are because I'm having a hard time believing they were planted before the 1980s .  Definitely not bulletproof in that area you might get 10 , 20 maybe 40 years out of it who knows . It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of when those palms get killed by a severe freeze.  I see this zone pushing phenomenon all over the southern part of the U.S. . All I need to do is to look at records lows and even with global warming there's also the threat of Arctic blasts coming all the way down to the South.  We had Queen palms growing in San Antonio for decades then Feb 2021 came and reset the button.  Nothing wrong with zone pushing on private property but imagine the cost of tree removal outside your own yard . 

Yeah. I’d take 40 years any day lol. Anyway, I base success on being able to plant something as a seedling directly in the ground unprotected in winter and have it live long enough to fruit and propagate volunteer seedlings around it.  Know this can all get reset by a decade like the 1980s but I’m betting against that happening again any time in my lifetime on the decade level.  I do expect another 2010 or two within my remaining lifetime though. 

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Parrish, FL

Zone 9B

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Probably the only thing that gives us another decade like the 1980s again is a massive volcanic event or a large meteor strike or.. 

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Parrish, FL

Zone 9B

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On 5/23/2023 at 12:37 PM, MarcusH said:

I'm wondering how old those coconut palms are because I'm having a hard time believing they were planted before the 1980s .  Definitely not bulletproof in that area you might get 10 , 20 maybe 40 years out of it who knows . It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of when those palms get killed by a severe freeze.  I see this zone pushing phenomenon all over the southern part of the U.S. . All I need to do is to look at records lows and even with global warming there's also the threat of Arctic blasts coming all the way down to the South.  We had Queen palms growing in San Antonio for decades then Feb 2021 came and reset the button.  Nothing wrong with zone pushing on private property but imagine the cost of tree removal outside your own yard . 

It's interesting that we don't all get our 100-year freeze the same year. Dixie got hers in Jan 1985

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We all know that some UHI can push up an entire zone but I'm more talking about the entire area , not a zone behind someone's house wall.  How many coconut palms survived the freeze and where were they located ? I highly doubt that these palms laugh off a light freeze.  From my observations is that these palms in Sarasota are zone pushed and it's just a matter of time until they're wiped out.  Could be in 6 months or in 20 years we don't know.  

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5 hours ago, MarcusH said:

We all know that some UHI can push up an entire zone but I'm more talking about the entire area , not a zone behind someone's house wall.  How many coconut palms survived the freeze and where were they located ? I highly doubt that these palms laugh off a light freeze.  From my observations is that these palms in Sarasota are zone pushed and it's just a matter of time until they're wiped out.  Could be in 6 months or in 20 years we don't know.  

I see your point. Any coconut survivors for the 1980s is good when you consider only 1 coconut is known to have survived north of Anna Maria Island. 1962 would have been a total wipe out for Sarasota County though so it’s possible, even with the most favorable siting.


At the end of the day, there’s always some level of risk outside of Z11 so it’s up to the individual what risk they’re willing to take. For me, Sarasota is good enough and I have a couple coconuts planted out there. In fact, planting coconuts is one of the first things I did after buying the property since they don’t grow well where I’m at in Tampa.

Edited by RedRabbit
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Westchase | 9b 10a  ◆  Nokomis | 10a  ◆  St. Petersburg | 10a 10b 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 5/23/2023 at 10:37 AM, MarcusH said:

I'm wondering how old those coconut palms are because I'm having a hard time believing they were planted before the 1980s .  Definitely not bulletproof in that area you might get 10 , 20 maybe 40 years out of it who knows . It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of when those palms get killed by a severe freeze.  I see this zone pushing phenomenon all over the southern part of the U.S. . All I need to do is to look at records lows and even with global warming there's also the threat of Arctic blasts coming all the way down to the South.  We had Queen palms growing in San Antonio for decades then Feb 2021 came and reset the button.  Nothing wrong with zone pushing on private property but imagine the cost of tree removal outside your own yard . 

The way I see it though, coconut palms are so cheap/easy to obtain and grow that I really don't see why the threat of it being wiped out decades down the line is even a concern. Who cares if you got decades of enjoyment of it? If we get the apocalyptic killer winter next year, just replace it with another cheap (or free if you know where to look) sprout.

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7 hours ago, cocoforcoconuts said:

The way I see it though, coconut palms are so cheap/easy to obtain and grow that I really don't see why the threat of it being wiped out decades down the line is even a concern. Who cares if you got decades of enjoyment of it? If we get the apocalyptic killer winter next year, just replace it with another cheap (or free if you know where to look) sprout.

If you would have read my post to the end you would understand but again there's absolutely no problem to plant whatever you want on your property but the real issue is planting palms in a not suitable area on public land . Imagine the cost of removing thousands of palm trees that the tax payer has to pay.  Looks over more important city improvement projects where everyone can benefit from it ? Come on.

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9 hours ago, MarcusH said:

If you would have read my post to the end you would understand but again there's absolutely no problem to plant whatever you want on your property but the real issue is planting palms in a not suitable area on public land . Imagine the cost of removing thousands of palm trees that the tax payer has to pay.  Looks over more important city improvement projects where everyone can benefit from it ? Come on.

I read your entire post and your point about public plantings is valid, however you were responding to OP asking about planting coconut palms on his private property, he did not say he was a city planner. The cost on taxpayers of removing dead cocos in a once a generation freeze event is irrelevant to his inquiry.

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