Coconut palm does well after 33 degrees and 25 mph winds!!! (record cold)

[Maddox Gardening-youtube]

My coconut palm surrounded by 3 walls did fine in the extreme cold in Jax Florida. It’s bright red so possibly a variety like red spicata is more cold tolerant. After this wheather event it only had some yellow spots and very mild burns at the tips. Maybe I got a cold hardy variety, it was off Facebook marketplace. I still had to cover the trunk.

[Merlyn]

@Maddox Gardening-youtube post some updates in a few days, frequently damage is latent.  In cold fronts here it took around 3 days for the damage to show.  Some things that were spots turned to completely torched fronds, sometimes it just stayed as spotting.  I didn't see much here today after 34.7F and 15mph winds.  By this weekend whatever damage happened will be more clear.

[JohnAndSancho]

22 hours ago, Merlyn said:

@Maddox Gardening-youtube post some updates in a few days, frequently damage is latent.  In cold fronts here it took around 3 days for the damage to show.  Some things that were spots turned to completely torched fronds, sometimes it just stayed as spotting.  I didn't see much here today after 34.7F and 15mph winds.  By this weekend whatever damage happened will be more clear.

That's my favorite thing about palm trees. I've had a few that took weeks if not months to show signs of damage from overwatering and etc. You think it's fine for a while and then you wake up to a brown stick. That's my absolute favorite thing about them. 

[idontknowhatnametuse]

The same happened to mine in January 2025 and it ended up with only 1 frond 🥲

[idontknowhatnametuse]

Fortunately it has recovered nicely

 

[Merlyn]

14 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

That's my favorite thing about palm trees. I've had a few that took weeks if not months to show signs of damage from overwatering and etc. You think it's fine for a while and then you wake up to a brown stick. That's my absolute favorite thing about them. 

Hah, too true!  Or when they look fine one day and the next day the top falls off from Thielaviopsis.  Tons of fun!

[JohnAndSancho]

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

Hah, too true!  Or when they look fine one day and the next day the top falls off from Thielaviopsis.  Tons of fun!

Or how they'll get really tall in their small pots and lean over and you straighten them up and hours later they're dead. Or sometimes you can repot a great looking rootbound palm into a fresh pot of sterile soil and wake up to a crispy brown stick. My other favorite is crotons - they'll go into shock for literally any reason and lose all their leaves so you trash them and find out this is normal and they were probably fine. 

[Mazat]

On 11/12/2025 at 12:06 AM, Maddox Gardening-youtube said:

My coconut palm surrounded by 3 walls did fine in the extreme cold in Jax Florida. It’s bright red so possibly a variety like red spicata is more cold tolerant. After this wheather event it only had some yellow spots and very mild burns at the tips. Maybe I got a cold hardy variety, it was off Facebook marketplace. I still had to cover the trunk.

I hope for you, Franklin, that it is a more winter-hardy variety and, above all, that it recovers well and no further damage becomes apparent.

[Mazat]

16 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

That's my favorite thing about palm trees. I've had a few that took weeks if not months to show signs of damage from overwatering and etc. You think it's fine for a while and then you wake up to a brown stick. That's my absolute favorite thing about them. 

That's the challenge par excellence, absolutely, John. As long as there's still a chance that they'll survive, there's still hope. Basically, I think plants, including palm trees, are survivalists.

[Mazat]

11 hours ago, idontknowhatnametuse said:

Fortunately it has recovered nicely

 

Wonderful, Alex. She has recovered well. Joy reigns supreme.

[Maddox Gardening-youtube]

Tuesday there was frost all over the roofs of house’s. And the low was 34 it was humid and no wind instead of windy and dry on Monday with a low of 33. Luckily my palm after 2 days of extreme cold got a little more burn but still looks good. Either I have a good variety or a nice microclimate.

[kinzyjr]

@Maddox Gardening-youtube Keep a close eye on it.  Those temperatures aren't usually fatal, but they can sometimes weaken the palm to the point where it will develop a crown infection.  This happens a lot if the cold is early in the season with more cold spells ahead and there is rain right before a few of them.

That said, the old saying in American football is "Don't spike the ball on the 1-yard line."  In this case, we're at the 1-yard line on the other side of the field.   

[FlaPalmLover]

Did you provide any sort of supplemental heat or just wrap the trunk? You may want to try using a supplemental heat source as it gets cooler, in addition to wrapping the trunk. There's a user named "Walt" on here who posted some threads where he documented measures he used to protect his palms (I think his area was once colder than it is now... he may not even need to protect anything anymore).

Below is one of his threads. If you look back through his posts, you can see what he did to protect his palms from the cold.

 

[Maddox Gardening-youtube]

1 hour ago, FlaPalmLover said:

Did you provide any sort of supplemental heat or just wrap the trunk? You may want to try using a supplemental heat source as it gets cooler, in addition to wrapping the trunk. There's a user named "Walt" on here who posted some threads where he documented measures he used to protect his palms (I think his area was once colder than it is now... he may not even need to protect anything anymore).

Below is one of his threads. If you look back through his posts, you can see what he did to protect his palms from the cold.

I just used a blanket I guy on YouTube named Walt Darnell used a heating cape. People have also recommended heating blankets.

 

[Bkue]

I’m 120 miles south of you and had one get beat up by less last year. It’s in the ground. Took till almost spring to show the real damage. Just now getting back in shape. Brought the potted in this time. 

[Maddox Gardening-youtube]

On 11/15/2025 at 2:31 AM, Bkue said:

I’m 120 miles south of you and had one get beat up by less last year. It’s in the ground. Took till almost spring to show the real damage. Just now getting back in shape. Brought the potted in this time. 

Yeah now that I look back at pictures my other coconut I’ve had for 3 years showed most of its damage in march.

[FlaPalmLover]

Some brave zone pushers in my somewhat marginal, warm 9b climate have, it seems, been awarded for their bravery, as their coconut palm appears to be putting on some real size (a street view image from several years ago vs. a picture I took today):

 

 

[Maddox Gardening-youtube]

On 11/21/2025 at 11:26 PM, FlaPalmLover said:

Some brave zone pushers in my somewhat marginal, warm 9b climate have, it seems, been awarded for their bravery, as their coconut palm appears to be putting on some real size (a street view image from several years ago vs. a picture I took today):

 

 

Where is that? I’m also a zone 9b marginal climate

[ck_in_fla]

1 hour ago, Maddox Gardening-youtube said:

Where is that? I’m also a zone 9b marginal climate

Your 9b climate isn't the same as the Orlando area 9b.  Unfortunately, Coconut palms are not long-term in the Orlando area despite a few long term survivors.  And, there are some examples of Coconut palms that are "survivors" in the Orlando area.  The ones that come to mind immediately are those at the corner of Orange Avenue and Kaley Street just South of Downtown Orlando.  They have been growing there for some time now and seem perfectly at home.  In fact, the last time I was by there, one of them seemed to have immature fruit on it.  Those have grown well there due to a perfect set of circumstances.  And, barring a 1989 type freeze, will most likely continue to do well there.

But, in your location in Duval County, it is much more likely that Coconut palms will not survive long-term.  But, I wish you lots of luck in your attempts.

Back in 2000, I planted a Roystonea at my Orlando area home.  I wrote into the local horticulture column asking his advice.  He basically told me there was zero chance that my tree would survive.  Well, here I am 25 years later with my Cuban Royal palm towering over my home.  It is now about 40 feet tall and I now consider it long-term.  I still get people who ask me what is that beautiful palm tree you have there.  I believe that the urban heat island now reaches my Seminole County location.  And, there must be something to this global warming phenomena.  So, in my case, it was selective siting, selective genes (another story for another time) and pure luck that has allowed my tree to thrive.  Perhaps you will also be successful with your choice of site, luck with the genes of the trees you have selected and the continuing global warming phenomena...

Good luck to you and keep us informed as to your progress...

[Maddox Gardening-youtube]

1 hour ago, ck_in_fla said:

Your 9b climate isn't the same as the Orlando area 9b.  Unfortunately, Coconut palms are not long-term in the Orlando area despite a few long term survivors.  And, there are some examples of Coconut palms that are "survivors" in the Orlando area.  The ones that come to mind immediately are those at the corner of Orange Avenue and Kaley Street just South of Downtown Orlando.  They have been growing there for some time now and seem perfectly at home.  In fact, the last time I was by there, one of them seemed to have immature fruit on it.  Those have grown well there due to a perfect set of circumstances.  And, barring a 1989 type freeze, will most likely continue to do well there.

But, in your location in Duval County, it is much more likely that Coconut palms will not survive long-term.  But, I wish you lots of luck in your attempts.

Back in 2000, I planted a Roystonea at my Orlando area home.  I wrote into the local horticulture column asking his advice.  He basically told me there was zero chance that my tree would survive.  Well, here I am 25 years later with my Cuban Royal palm towering over my home.  It is now about 40 feet tall and I now consider it long-term.  I still get people who ask me what is that beautiful palm tree you have there.  I believe that the urban heat island now reaches my Seminole County location.  And, there must be something to this global warming phenomena.  So, in my case, it was selective siting, selective genes (another story for another time) and pure luck that has allowed my tree to thrive.  Perhaps you will also be successful with your choice of site, luck with the genes of the trees you have selected and the continuing global warming phenomena...

Good luck to you and keep us informed as to your progress...

Thank you, over the past decade the minimum tempatures here have been climbing, the lowest temp I have gotten this year was 33 degrees compared to 10 years ago where the mid 20’s was common. Global warming really doesn’t seem bad, much like how Lakeland Florida went from 9a to 10a in 20 years. Duval has already went from 9a to 9b in 10 years. I hope for the best!

[TropicsEnjoyer]

2 hours ago, Maddox Gardening-youtube said:

Thank you, over the past decade the minimum tempatures here have been climbing, the lowest temp I have gotten this year was 33 degrees compared to 10 years ago where the mid 20’s was common. Global warming really doesn’t seem bad, much like how Lakeland Florida went from 9a to 10a in 20 years. Duval has already went from 9a to 9b in 10 years. I hope for the best!

funny how palm people might be the only ones happy about global warming 😂

[Phoenikakias]

9 hours ago, TropicsEnjoyer said:

funny how palm people might be the only ones happy about global warming 😂

Not if accompanied by less and more expensive water! With colder weather I could still grow several palms but none without or not affordable water.

[Merlyn]

16 hours ago, ck_in_fla said:

Back in 2000, I planted a Roystonea at my Orlando area home.  I wrote into the local horticulture column asking his advice.  He basically told me there was zero chance that my tree would survive.  

I read the same thing when I started in palms around 2017.  But there's quite a few long-term Royals in N Orlando area.  Lake Mary planted a few to replace dead Sylvestris, and I've seen several big ones in yards around Lake Mary, Altamonte Springs, and Sanford.  There's a pair of them along my normal bike trail, and they were basically torched in the January 2022 freeze and again on a 3 day freeze at Christmas in 2022.  But only a few weeks after the freeze there were new green fronds growing out.  Nearby Adonidia all died, and 1 out of 5 big Foxtails at the house next door also died.  Maybe it's fair to say they are not leaf-hardy but generally bud-hardy.  The only thing that finally killed the big collection of 30+ foot tall Royals at the SE side of Orange Blvd and I-4 was not cold...but construction.

I have seen quite a few coconuts come and go around this area.  Most only last 1 winter and vanish.  But there's a couple that seem to be long-term survivors too, like this one out in Tangerine:

@pj_orlando_z9b's actually successfully fruited, IIRC...

[ck_in_fla]

26 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

I read the same thing when I started in palms around 2017.  But there's quite a few long-term Royals in N Orlando area.  Lake Mary planted a few to replace dead Sylvestris, and I've seen several big ones in yards around Lake Mary, Altamonte Springs, and Sanford.  There's a pair of them along my normal bike trail, and they were basically torched in the January 2022 freeze and again on a 3 day freeze at Christmas in 2022.  But only a few weeks after the freeze there were new green fronds growing out.  Nearby Adonidia all died, and 1 out of 5 big Foxtails at the house next door also died.  Maybe it's fair to say they are not leaf-hardy but generally bud-hardy.  The only thing that finally killed the big collection of 30+ foot tall Royals at the SE side of Orange Blvd and I-4 was not cold...but construction.

I have seen quite a few coconuts come and go around this area.  Most only last 1 winter and vanish.  But there's a couple that seem to be long-term survivors too, like this one out in Tangerine:

@pj_orlando_z9b's actually successfully fruited, IIRC...

Coconut palms are generally not long term in the Orlando area.  But, there are some examples that have survived for a number of years.  I believe it has to do with the siting of the trees, the genetics of the individual plants, the expansion of the Urban Heat Island in Orlando and the general warming of the overall climate.

The Coconut palms at Orange Avenue and Kaley Street in Orlando are perfect examples of this...

[Maddox Gardening-youtube]

53 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

I read the same thing when I started in palms around 2017.  But there's quite a few long-term Royals in N Orlando area.  Lake Mary planted a few to replace dead Sylvestris, and I've seen several big ones in yards around Lake Mary, Altamonte Springs, and Sanford.  There's a pair of them along my normal bike trail, and they were basically torched in the January 2022 freeze and again on a 3 day freeze at Christmas in 2022.  But only a few weeks after the freeze there were new green fronds growing out.  Nearby Adonidia all died, and 1 out of 5 big Foxtails at the house next door also died.  Maybe it's fair to say they are not leaf-hardy but generally bud-hardy.  The only thing that finally killed the big collection of 30+ foot tall Royals at the SE side of Orange Blvd and I-4 was not cold...but construction.

I have seen quite a few coconuts come and go around this area.  Most only last 1 winter and vanish.  But there's a couple that seem to be long-term survivors too, like this one out in Tangerine:

@pj_orlando_z9b's actually successfully fruited, IIRC...

Recently in Jacksonville there’s been an explosion of foxtails! I didn’t bother to take pictures of all of them but there about 3 foxtails/arenas per street now, and there’s a restraunt near the river with some big neglected adonidia’s that have been alive for at least 3 years

[Merlyn]

@Maddox Gardening-youtube foxtails seem to be a lot more bud-hardy once they get to real trunking diameter.  I lost a whole bunch of skinny ones like in your 3rd photo, but the ones with 6" diameter trunks seem to shrug off the cold defoliations. 

The Areca / Dypsis/Chrysalidocarpus Lutescens seem to just keep chugging along even if several trunks die from the cold or indirectly from late winter fungal rots.  I've had clumps get 100% torched and just grow right back by May.  The Alfredii in the middle took basically no damage from ~27F and medium frost.  The Lutescens on the left and Mitis (fishtail) behind it were completely torched and lost most of the trunks, but looked pretty much ok by mid-summer.  The Bottle on the right survived too, though it took a full year to look decent again.

[FlaPalmLover]

On 12/30/2025 at 2:00 PM, Maddox Gardening-youtube said:

Where is that? I’m also a zone 9b marginal climate

Deltona, which is directly north of Sanford and sort of in southwest Volusia County. The population here is about 100k, and things are getting built out and commercialized more all the time, so I think the urban heat island effect is only increasing over time. Deltona used to be closer to a warm 9a, and there were some record low temps in the high teens back 35-40 years ago, which some of the old timers still remember and incorrectly, in my opinion, believe is relevant to the current climate and what can be grown. There are a lot of queens and pindo palms around that were likely grown back when the climate wasn't nearly as favorable, but anyone who lives here and drives around will see some healthy, maturing foxtails, royals, and areca palms in people's yards. The coconut palm I posted a picture of is probably the only one I've seen around that looks that good, but I do try to keep in mind that a lot of people buy palms and think they can just plant and forget, so you can't always go off of the very few anecdotes and generalize too broadly as to what can be grown. I don't know how much long-term viability a coconut or Christmas palm would have here, but foxtails, royals, and arecas seem to be fairly safe now. A coconut might need some protection some years but could perhaps survive for 10-15 years or until the next cold front. I don't have the biggest yard myself at the moment, so I am not sure if it'd be worth it to me to experiment on a coconut palm when I could plant something safe.

[HudsonBill]

I am in zone 9b pasco county i borderline a very cold microclimate. That spot ses mid 20s every year multiple times even high teens lots of years but drive 15 min west or southwest and its zone 10a almost never freezes. Anyway I have huge mature coconut that has fruited last year before we saw a low of 27 and I left it completely unprotected and it survived. Almsot lost its entire crown. It has survived 4 winters now and I now have smudge pots (Grove heaters) to protect it.  I just pulled 2 all nighters keeping an eye on temps. We saw 30.8 and 33.3 and I know from experience it will be perfectly fine. I have 4 coconuts in total 2 seem to not mind the cool or cold much at all 1 just doenst grow much and 1 damages insanely easy.  High 30s it gets spotting and yellowing. I'll share pics if you dm me! 

[Maddox Gardening-youtube]

On 1/1/2026 at 7:12 PM, HudsonBill said:

I am in zone 9b pasco county i borderline a very cold microclimate. That spot ses mid 20s every year multiple times even high teens lots of years but drive 15 min west or southwest and its zone 10a almost never freezes. Anyway I have huge mature coconut that has fruited last year before we saw a low of 27 and I left it completely unprotected and it survived. Almsot lost its entire crown. It has survived 4 winters now and I now have smudge pots (Grove heaters) to protect it.  I just pulled 2 all nighters keeping an eye on temps. We saw 30.8 and 33.3 and I know from experience it will be perfectly fine. I have 4 coconuts in total 2 seem to not mind the cool or cold much at all 1 just doenst grow much and 1 damages insanely easy.  High 30s it gets spotting and yellowing. I'll share pics if you dm me! 

Yeah can I have some pictures

[kinzyjr]

On 12/31/2025 at 8:29 AM, Merlyn said:

@pj_orlando_z9b's actually successfully fruited, IIRC...

Yes, he had one sprout after it fell from the parent.

[pj_orlando_z9b]

On 1/10/2026 at 12:07 AM, kinzyjr said:

Yes, he had one sprout after it fell from the parent.

 

On 12/31/2025 at 8:29 AM, Merlyn said:

I read the same thing when I started in palms around 2017.  But there's quite a few long-term Royals in N Orlando area.  Lake Mary planted a few to replace dead Sylvestris, and I've seen several big ones in yards around Lake Mary, Altamonte Springs, and Sanford.  There's a pair of them along my normal bike trail, and they were basically torched in the January 2022 freeze and again on a 3 day freeze at Christmas in 2022.  But only a few weeks after the freeze there were new green fronds growing out.  Nearby Adonidia all died, and 1 out of 5 big Foxtails at the house next door also died.  Maybe it's fair to say they are not leaf-hardy but generally bud-hardy.  The only thing that finally killed the big collection of 30+ foot tall Royals at the SE side of Orange Blvd and I-4 was not cold...but construction.

I have seen quite a few coconuts come and go around this area.  Most only last 1 winter and vanish.  But there's a couple that seem to be long-term survivors too, like this one out in Tangerine:

@pj_orlando_z9b's actually successfully fruited, IIRC...

Yes, when they fall or I cut them down, I made a circular border around the mulch bed.  2 years ago in May, I realized one sprouted.  Kept it in a pot year 1 but had to plant it in the ground this summer because you know how the roots quickly outgrow pots.  Here is it in Oct.  The 30s in Nov damaged it so I have kept it covered with lights on cold nights since.  I also since build a raised bed as I realized I didn't plant it deep enough.  i have much more protecting to do tomorrow

 

[kinzyjr]

Thanks for the update, @pj_orlando_z9b.  This is inspiring.  If mine make it through the next cold snap(s), there's a shot that I might experience the same.

[Merlyn]

1 hour ago, pj_orlando_z9b said:

 

Yes, when they fall or I cut them down, I made a circular border around the mulch bed.  2 years ago in May, I realized one sprouted.  Kept it in a pot year 1 but had to plant it in the ground this summer because you know how the roots quickly outgrow pots.  Here is it in Oct.  The 30s in Nov damaged it so I have kept it covered with lights on cold nights since.  I also since build a raised bed as I realized I didn't plant it deep enough.  i have much more protecting to do tomorrow

 

Looks awesome!  I hope they both make it through Sunday morning...it could easily hit 20F at my house!

[Maddox Gardening-youtube]

8 hours ago, pj_orlando_z9b said:

 

Yes, when they fall or I cut them down, I made a circular border around the mulch bed.  2 years ago in May, I realized one sprouted.  Kept it in a pot year 1 but had to plant it in the ground this summer because you know how the roots quickly outgrow pots.  Here is it in Oct.  The 30s in Nov damaged it so I have kept it covered with lights on cold nights since.  I also since build a raised bed as I realized I didn't plant it deep enough.  i have much more protecting to do tomorrow

 

That’s very impressive for Orlando sadly Jacksonville is going to have a cold record tied with 1977 with temps from 22-24 degrees, I was thinking outing a heating blanket on it any tips on having it survive?

[CodyORB]

On 1/29/2026 at 10:05 PM, Maddox Gardening-youtube said:

That’s very impressive for Orlando sadly Jacksonville is going to have a cold record tied with 1977 with temps from 22-24 degrees, I was thinking outing a heating blanket on it any tips on having it survive?

Hi, I’m late to the party and I’ve seen that the freeze has gone by, but there are a variety of protection methods posted in the past on this forum to explore. My main caution is against having heating elements directly in contact with the palm, to avoid burns.

A more lingering problem with coconuts, though, is long-term winter coolness. Long periods of winter highs below 70F is not great for coconuts, and I’ve read that they stop photosynthesis around 50F. It’s why they are virtually impossible to grow in California, even if never exposed to temps below 40F. I believe this is the main distinction between a Jacksonville and Orlando 9b climate as discussed earlier in the thread. Average daily January highs and lows are ~72F and ~50F in Orlando, but ~65F and ~45F in  Jacksonville, maybe ~50F in the microclimates.

I tried to keep a coconut at my parents house (Beaches area microclimate with recent zone-pushers like king palms in the area) years ago, on the south face of the house facing a retention pond w/ partial canopy. It still almost died after an average winter, even after protecting it each time the temps dropped below 40F. The next winter did it in. Pritchardia Pacifica is another palm that is technically hardy down to 32F or so, but starts taking damage below 50F and is very fussy with prolonged coolness.
 

I do wish you the best in pushing the envelope, though, and you may want to look into the many varieties of coconuts that have different documented “coolness” tolerances.