how do I grow a coco in zone 9b/10a?

[2palm]

I love coconut palms and their fruit, but don't have a warm enough environment to grow them. yes, you can wrap them and put something over them but that isn't realistic when its 35 ft tall and has lots of coconuts. It might be possible to wrap the fronds and mulch the root ball to help it but I'm not sure. Is their a particular way to keep palms of this size and this type alive in winter? or am out of luck?

[2palm]

does anybody think a dwarf coconut would work as I could keep it in a pot?

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 10/2/2023 at 8:14 PM, 2palm said:

I love coconut palms and their fruit, but don't have a warm enough environment to grow them. yes, you can wrap them and put something over them but that isn't realistic when its 35 ft tall and has lots of coconuts. It might be possible to wrap the fronds and mulch the root ball to help it but I'm not sure. Is their a particular way to keep palms of this size and this type alive in winter? or am out of luck?

Hi, it looks like you live in West Texas in a Zone 8A Climate.  In such a zone, Coconut Palms of any variety are out of the question.  Theoretically, they could be grown in the ground for a while in an adequate milder Zone 9B Climate, with proper protection in the winter.  But for the most part, they can only be grown successfully in the ground in milder wintertime Zone 10A Climates and above (as opposed to cooler or chillier Zone 10A  Climates like Galveston and coastal Southern California due to the chilly daytime highs in the winter in these regions). Here in Texas, the northernmost limit of where we can grow them in the ground is on the east side of Corpus Christi near the water, where we are Zone 10A by the skin of our teeth, but a milder Zone 10A than Galveston.  So, your only option is to grow one in a pot for a few years, and bring it in in the wintertime.  You could set it out on warmer sunny days in which the temps are in the 60'sF or even 70'sF there.  I would suggest you get either a Golden Malayan Dwarf, or Yellow Malayan Dwarf sprout shipped to you from Florida, as these are slightly slower growing than the Green Malayan Dwarf and will thus stay smaller longer.  Once you get it, plant it in a 5 gal. pot, and you can repot it in a 7 or 10 gal. pot in about a year and a half and keep it in that pot until it gets too big to take inside in the wintertime.  Then when it gets too big to take inside, if you make a trip to the Rio Grande Valley, you could sell it or give it to someone there, as Cameron County (the Brownsville area over to the coast there) is the only area in Texas where these two varieties can grow to maturity.  Oh, and only water it about once every 7 or 8 days in the winter, and only on warmer days.  In the warmer months, you can water it every other day when the highs are in the upper 80'sF and 90'sF.

John

Edited October 4, 2023 by Mr. Coconut Palm
to correct mistakes

[2palm]

Thank you all very useful!

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

Just now, 2palm said:

Thank you all very useful!

You are welcome.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

1 minute ago, 2palm said:

Thank you all very useful!

You can look for the Golden Malayan Dwarfs and Yellow Malayan Dwarfs as sprouts from sources in Florida on Ebay.