Dwarf coconut palms newly planted

[RAP]

Had these dwarf coconut palms planted about 2 months ago and only one is doing ok.  It received plenty of water when they were planted and nutrients minus nitrogen given the time of year and they were just planted.  Zone 10a.  I will be having the 2 replaced but fear this happening again.  Any experience with something like this? Thank you.

[Than]

Not sure where you are in Florida, but generally speaking, end of autumn is not a good time to plant sensitive palms. The winter is a difficult period for them already, let alone when newly planted and thus suffering a transplant shock.

Coconuts are a cold sensitive species, which requires high temperatures all year round. Where in Florida are you?

[RAP]

I think you nailed it.  In Sarasota, 10a.  I did protect them when it went below 50 for a few nights with Christmas lights and frost blankets. I don’t think the ground is hot enough for them at this point.  It was low 80s when they were planted but this last month gave us crazy weather all over the place. Strange how the middle one is still doing fine but likely protected by the other two on the sides.  

[RAP]

I checked the nursery where these are available and they look fine.  Maybe the new location and timing is too much. 

[SeanK]

3 hours ago, RAP said:

I checked the nursery where these are available and they look fine.  Maybe the new location and timing is too much. 

Not specifically for you, but @Than gave good general advice. If a plant is bulletproof here, I might plant into September. However, if it's marginal for the zone, I try to get it planted before July 4th. Preferably in March or early April before the sun is too high in the sky.

[Than]

I'd say April and May are the best season to plant.

Also, look around in your area. Are there any other cocos? If not it means you have to be very careful to make it survive. Overall cocos is not a 10a plant. 

Btw sandy soil will help a lot.

[RAP]

Thank you.  My neighbor down the street has them and they look perfect - even now.  At first I thought it was a disease but now I am thinking it was planted at the wrong time.  

[mnorell]

Assuming these were field-grown, dug and transported to your place...all the roots would have been cut. While Cocos can branch and create new roots behind the point they were cut, reducing the stress compared to Sabal and many other genera/species...it is still a massive shock to the plant and it takes a little time, and those roots will not grow in cold/cool soil. Even on the east coast of the peninsula, which is markedly warmer in winter than the west coast of the peninsula at a similar latitude, coconuts really slow their metabolism and it is not a great idea. In the Keys where it is far warmer than your location in winter, they would slow down at our place and not start cranking again until March. That's why everyone here is rightly recommending you do such an operation in the warmer season. I would suggest  that you do any future such transplants in July or shortly thereafter...this because the spring is dry and hot in SoFla, which is very taxing on a plant in that condition, with no easy way to transport moisture from the soil up into the leaves. In July/Aug/Sep you should be getting daily storms with nice warm water bathing the roots and uniformly high temperatures for maximum metabolism and speedy root-growth. In these conditions a coconut will grow very easily.

When I was living in the lower Keys I discovered that the strongest and fastest coconuts started with a fresh in-husk seed placed in a thick mulch in partial shade, and let it find its way from there. Planting from containers or transplanting in any way, while possible, did not produce really strong plants for me. In Irma's wrath we lost all but two or three of the dozen or so big 25gal Cocos we planted because they just didn't establish a strong root-system and were killed. Those that had sprouted on their own were strong and grew like champions and survived the storm. You really don't need to start with a large-size Cocos in SoFla, because they are about the fastest-growing palm you can grow from seed there (especially the Panama Tall form...the only one that grew faster for me was perhaps Roystonea oleracea). In a few years you will have a magnificent, sturdy palm and it will likely outpace a field-grown/transplanted specimen. I would suggest you put a ripe seed-nut or two in the ground alongside these transplants and just watch the growth over the next five years...you may be very happily surprised. And the bonus...it is a heck of a lot cheaper and very, very easy!

[RAP]

6 hours ago, mnorell said:

Assuming these were field-grown, dug and transported to your place...all the roots would have been cut. While Cocos can branch and create new roots behind the point they were cut, reducing the stress compared to Sabal and many other genera/species...it is still a massive shock to the plant and it takes a little time, and those roots will not grow in cold/cool soil. Even on the east coast of the peninsula, which is markedly warmer in winter than the west coast of the peninsula at a similar latitude, coconuts really slow their metabolism and it is not a great idea. In the Keys where it is far warmer than your location in winter, they would slow down at our place and not start cranking again until March. That's why everyone here is rightly recommending you do such an operation in the warmer season. I would suggest  that you do any future such transplants in July or shortly thereafter...this because the spring is dry and hot in SoFla, which is very taxing on a plant in that condition, with no easy way to transport moisture from the soil up into the leaves. In July/Aug/Sep you should be getting daily storms with nice warm water bathing the roots and uniformly high temperatures for maximum metabolism and speedy root-growth. In these conditions a coconut will grow very easily.

When I was living in the lower Keys I discovered that the strongest and fastest coconuts started with a fresh in-husk seed placed in a thick mulch in partial shade, and let it find its way from there. Planting from containers or transplanting in any way, while possible, did not produce really strong plants for me. In Irma's wrath we lost all but two or three of the dozen or so big 25gal Cocos we planted because they just didn't establish a strong root-system and were killed. Those that had sprouted on their own were strong and grew like champions and survived the storm. You really don't need to start with a large-size Cocos in SoFla, because they are about the fastest-growing palm you can grow from seed there (especially the Panama Tall form...the only one that grew faster for me was perhaps Roystonea oleracea). In a few years you will have a magnificent, sturdy palm and it will likely outpace a field-grown/transplanted specimen. I would suggest you put a ripe seed-nut or two in the ground alongside these transplants and just watch the growth over the next five years...you may be very happily surprised. And the bonus...it is a heck of a lot cheaper and very, very easy!

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this.  It makes perfect sense and since I am newer to Florida, I am still learning.  I also realize you can’t listen to landscapers and sometimes nurseries.  Thank you again for the valuable advice. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Agree with @mnorell . I encourage you to take pronouncements by BB garden centers, independent nurseries, landscapers and other palm sellers. Often they are motivated by profit, so independently verify any claims they make, esp. if those claims sound too good to be true.

BTW, up until Hurricane Ian in 2022 I occasionally sold palm seeds and seedlings. I gave stellar deals for what I charged because I didn’t need to peddle palms to pay my bills.I verified and re-verified everything I sold and I never told any purchaser he could grow a coconut palm in Sacramento, CA. Thanks, or blame, to my frontier era native Californian parents, I inherited a legacy of family honor.