Coconut palm in Cyprus

[Stelios]

Happy new year everybody. A small update of my coconut palm in Cyprus. It's still alive for another winter. I increased the water in the summer and it started to make a difference in the growth.

 

 

[Stelios]

I love the cocos but I also wanted to give priority to palms that can more easily grow in my climate. Here are some photos. Sorry for the mess. I have a lot of cleaning to do, but I've been very busy lately with work.

[Stelios]

My biggest surprise was my two veitchia arecina. They propably becoming my fastest palms. When I put them in the ground last summer they were 2 feet overall height. Now they are about 7 feet with a few rings of trunk. I'm glad they survived in the summer heat. I lost some palms in the heat waves, and some don't happy under the summer sun. I increased the watering for all the palms and it helps a lot.

 

[Harry’s Palms]

Healthy looking garden . The palms seem very happy there. Harry

[Than]

Wow, you can also grow Veitchias!! Man, we can only dream of such palms here! You should try V. Joannis too, it's stunning and they say it is the hardiest of all.

I love how healthy your cocos looks even in January. The ones in Malta also look fine. I saw the one in Torremolinos in recent photos and it looks quite sad, like it may not make it. If I ever come to Cyprus I'd love to come and do a pilgrimage to that unique, iconic cocos!

[Stelios]

4 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

Healthy looking garden . The palms seem very happy there. Harry

Many thanks. I appreciate that.

[Stelios]

4 hours ago, Than said:

Wow, you can also grow Veitchias!! Man, we can only dream of such palms here! You should try V. Joannis too, it's stunning and they say it is the hardiest of all.

I love how healthy your cocos looks even in January. The ones in Malta also look fine. I saw the one in Torremolinos in recent photos and it looks quite sad, like it may not make it. If I ever come to Cyprus I'd love to come and do a pilgrimage to that unique, iconic cocos!

Yes. It looks OK despite a hailstorm we had a few weeks ago. It's unusual for my area and it made a small damage mostly on the leaves of fruit trees. The other cocos closer to the sea near the center looks even better. It's very impressive in person.

I would like to try V. Joannis but the source of palms here is very bad. I have to rely mostly on seeds which is not always successful and it requires time and patience. Only royals starts to appear more and more in the gardens.

If you are ever in Cyprus, let me know. There are also some nice not so common palms to see, but are very few.

[Than]

2 hours ago, Stelios said:

I would like to try V. Joannis but the source of palms here is very bad

I know someone in Athens who has access to V Joannes but only big ones and they are costly. 

The market in Europe is bad indeed. I buy usually tiny seedlings which may become trees in 20 years. It's sad. 

[Phoenikakias]

1 hour ago, Than said:

I know someone in Athens who has access to V Joannes but only big ones and they are costly. 

The market in Europe is bad indeed. I buy usually tiny seedlings which may become trees in 20 years. It's sad. 

If you mean Ilias,  any Vetchia is a big NO for climate below 10B.

[Than]

4 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

If you mean Ilias,  any Vetchia is a big NO for climate below 10B.

Correct, I mean Ilias. He also told me they cannot survive outdoors in Athens, but we are talking about Stelios' garden in Paphos now.

[Phoenikakias]

Just saying lol, in case you are so ambitious and confident.

[pietropuccio]

Veitchia arecina and joannis can do well in zone 9b/10a, even starting from seed, if placed in a not too open area.

[Stelios]

4 hours ago, Than said:

I know someone in Athens who has access to V Joannes but only big ones and they are costly. 

The market in Europe is bad indeed. I buy usually tiny seedlings which may become trees in 20 years. It's sad. 

I might try to grow v. Joannis from seeds. Or if I will find small seedlings not expensive, I could get more. I am already happy with arecina and how fast these 2 grew in the last year.

[Than]

1 hour ago, pietropuccio said:

Veitchia arecina and joannis can do well in zone 9b/10a, even starting from seed, if placed in a not too open area.

You have no article on V. Joannis yet on the encyclopedia, which is my Bible as you know! I trust you more than other sources cos you are not too optimistic. That guy Ilias, has a property in zone 10a I believe but told me that all his V. Joannis would die in the winter, even when protected. If I remember correctly he told me they would die even if indoors! @Phoenikakias also has had no luck, so I guess I'll pass on this one. I have too many plants to protect already, I might as well spare myself the effort.

[pietropuccio]

1 hour ago, Than said:

You have no article on V. Joannis yet on the encyclopedia, which is my Bible as you know!

Thanks for the "Bible," you're very kind. However, I haven't contributed to the encyclopedia for several years. Regarding the Veitchia, I had the arecina in my garden for many years before it was cut down during renovations. The joannis is growing ever more vigorously. This album contains photos of the arecina and the joannis, which is not recent, it's currently about 1 m taller:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pietropuccio/albums/72177720322877228/

 

[Than]

8 hours ago, pietropuccio said:

Thanks for the "Bible," you're very kind. However, I haven't contributed to the encyclopedia for several years. Regarding the Veitchia, I had the arecina in my garden for many years before it was cut down during renovations. The joannis is growing ever more vigorously. This album contains photos of the arecina and the joannis, which is not recent, it's currently about 1 m taller:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pietropuccio/albums/72177720322877228/

 

I guess V Joannis is a 9b plant but only if we consider zones the way you suggested: if we're in Europe we must reduce it by half or one. So if theoretically my garden is 9b/10a, in reality I'm 9a.. 

[Phoenikakias]

1 hour ago, Than said:

I guess V Joannis is a 9b plant but only if we consider zones the way you suggested: if we're in Europe we must reduce it by half or one. So if theoretically my garden is 9b/10a, in reality I'm 9a.. 

Not exactly but closely. It proves that USDA zone system is imperfect. Many growers in the USA use instead the Sunset zones, in order to discover the potential of their garden.

[Than]

44 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

Not exactly but closely. It proves that USDA zone system is imperfect. Many growers in the USA use instead the Sunset zones, in order to discover the potential of their garden.

Let me know if you find a sunset zone map for Europe

[Phoenikakias]

1 minute ago, Than said:

Let me know if you find a sunset zone map for Europe

Highly unlikely for Greece in particular, because this system focuses on what can or can not be cultivated in a certain region or area. In other words it uses canaries. But the cultivation of non commercial tropicals in Greece is very limited. You know how it goes, everything that can be eaten is to be preserved and the rest to be dumped. Long story short, there are not enough canaries in Greece for a reliable application. If you create a new topic prompting experienced US growers to assert the special Sunset Zone for your garden, you may get some very considerate replies. Although even those highly experienced people may underestimate the negative importance of  poor quality of soil and water for marginal tropical, as almost all of them have in their gardens a quite generous top soil layer and have larger estates, where they can bring in truck loads of compost easily. Now try doing that in a small lot in a slope...

[Than]

5 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

Highly unlikely for Greece in particular, because this system focuses on what can or can not be cultivated in a certain region or area. In other words it uses canaries. But the cultivation of non commercial tropicals in Greece is very limited. You know how it goes, everything that can be eaten is to be preserved and the rest to be dumped. Long story short, there are not enough canaries in Greece for a reliable application. If you create a new topic prompting experienced US growers to assert the special Sunset Zone for your garden, you may get some very considerate replies. Although even those highly experienced people may underestimate the negative importance of  poor quality of soil and water for marginal tropical, as almost all of them have in their gardens a quite generous top soil layer and have larger estates, where they can bring in truck loads of compost easily. Now try doing that in a small lot in a slope...

Interesting. Sounds like every garden is kind of its own sunset zone. Our canaries here would be I guess lemon tree, bougainvillea and Syagrus.

[mlovecan]

On 1/6/2026 at 8:22 AM, Stelios said:

Happy new year everybody. A small update of my coconut palm in Cyprus. It's still alive for another winter. I increased the water in the summer and it started to make a difference in the growth.

 

 

I was getting worried about your coconut as you haven'tposted any photos for a while. I'm super impressed with the other Paphos one. Seems like useless worry as it's looking just fine. How many leaves is your cocos producing in a year now that you've increased the irrigation? And how old is now? 

[Phoenikakias]

1 hour ago, Than said:

Interesting. Sounds like every garden is kind of its own sunset zone. Our canaries here would be I guess lemon tree, bougainvillea and Syagrus.

Because there are no other more marginal plants around...Btw bougainvillea can be scorched to the ground and resprout and even flower during following summer. Of course this is not possible with a solitary palm sp.

[Stelios]

1 hour ago, mlovecan said:

I was getting worried about your coconut as you haven'tposted any photos for a while. I'm super impressed with the other Paphos one. Seems like useless worry as it's looking just fine. How many leaves is your cocos producing in a year now that you've increased the irrigation? And how old is now? 

The other coconut looks amazing in person. Propably better microclimate there. Rhodes must have very similar climate and maybe somebody can try some coconut there. Malta cocos look very good too.

My cocos produced 4 fronds this year (before usually 3) and the new spear looks better and keep growing but very slowly. I almost lost it 2 times in the past. I see now in our summer it likes a lot of water everyday but before I wasn't sure if I could do that. If I will try to grow cocos again, I will do things a bit different. At the moment I will try mostly palms that can grow to similar climate with mine. I had this palm since it was germinated in 2009. Hopefully in the future if it will make it, to start growing faster.

[mlovecan]

13 minutes ago, Stelios said:

The other coconut looks amazing in person. Propably better microclimate there. Rhodes must have very similar climate and maybe somebody can try some coconut there. Malta cocos look very good too.

My cocos produced 4 fronds this year (before usually 3) and the new spear looks better and keep growing but very slowly. I almost lost it 2 times in the past. I see now in our summer it likes a lot of water everyday but before I wasn't sure if I could do that. If I will try to grow cocos again, I will do things a bit different. At the moment I will try mostly palms that can grow to similar climate with mine. I had this palm since it was germinated in 2009. Hopefully in the future if it will make it, to start growing faster.

My cimate is pretty much identical to both yours and Jonathan's (in Malta).  I have 20 degrees today with a low of 16 tonight. The coldest night I've had this year has been 9 degrees one night last week.  The lowest high was in the same 24 hour period and it was 14. Every year is getting noticeably warmer. I read an article a few weeks back that states the same for Cyprus.

I have these 3 right now. The larger one is Green Mayaln Dwarf (third winter outside). The smaller ones were both purchased as Panama Talls. Another Palmtalk member, who lived for some time in Florida, had purchased the same "Panama Talls" from the same South Florida nursery but he is quite cerain they are Jamaica Talls or crossbreeds of the same. Regardless, I love them as they take my full summer heat and sun quite well. The Green Malayans (I've gone through at least a dozen of them) need to spend the hotter part of the summer in the shade or they are too beat up to make it through winter. For that reason, I have started leaving them in pots. 

I marked the spears on all three 9 days ago. One of the smaller ones has grown about 1 cm since then. The other tow cocos have both grown about 2 cm. 

You told me a couple of years ago you have a Golden Malayan Dwarf and I believe the other one in Paphos is a Golden Malay as well. It is truly amazing to see photos of that one.

Maybe I will put the smaller ones in the ground this year or maybe I will keep them one more year in pots. The Green Malay will only go in the ground when I can leave it in full summer sun. I think that's going to take another 3 or 4 years.

 

[Than]

46 minutes ago, Stelios said:

I see now in our summer it likes a lot of water everyday

This is a lesson I too have learned this summer, about all my plants! All, no exceptions, wanna be watered every day. I underwatered even my African acacia. Once rains started they started growing so much faster.

[mlovecan]

37 minutes ago, Than said:

This is a lesson I too have learned this summer, about all my plants! All, no exceptions, wanna be watered every day. I underwatered even my African acacia. Once rains started they started growing so much faster.

When I first bought my place in Rhodes, I put in a couple citrus plants and an avacado. When I returned a week later, they were all dead. Before buying even one more tree, I put in irrigation for the entire garden. Maybe not so important today as I have a lot of shade in the back garden where it has been out for a couple of years. But at the beginning, full sun was bloody deadly for everything. 

[mlovecan]

1 hour ago, Stelios said:

My cocos produced 4 fronds this year (before usually 3).

3 1/2 seems to be about normal for me. I was wondering if they started exploding like most palms once trunking begins.

[Stelios]

2 hours ago, mlovecan said:

3 1/2 seems to be about normal for me. I was wondering if they started exploding like most palms once trunking begins.

I hope this summer will grow more fronds. I thought my palm wad golden malayan dwarf but I'm not sure now. Somebody here told me that it could be a panama tall.

[Stelios]

18 hours ago, pietropuccio said:

Thanks for the "Bible," you're very kind. However, I haven't contributed to the encyclopedia for several years. Regarding the Veitchia, I had the arecina in my garden for many years before it was cut down during renovations. The joannis is growing ever more vigorously. This album contains photos of the arecina and the joannis, which is not recent, it's currently about 1 m taller:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pietropuccio/albums/72177720322877228/

 

Amazing collection you have Pietro! The trunk of the veitchia arecina seems very thin. I hope they get more fat at the base as they get bigger. I'm worried if they can make it through some very strong wind. 

 

[mlovecan]

1 hour ago, Stelios said:

I hope this summer will grow more fronds. I thought my palm wad golden malayan dwarf but I'm not sure now. Somebody here told me that it could be a panama tall.

I know that was long ago but do you have a picture of the nut?

The vast majority of the nuts (and young coconuts as well) sold in Europe are dwarfs. The ones produced in the Netherland and sold at Obi, Praktika and other DIY places are Green Malayan Dwarfs. The IKEA ones are both Green and Golden dwarfs. 

The really nice one is Paphos is from IKEA so it will be a Golden Malaya Dwarf.  The one growing in the Malaga area of Spain is a Golden as well. The Goldens are more cold tolerant of the dwarf varieites. Getting a green one through winter takes a real effort. It would be nice to know if it's just one variety or more than one that is surviving the winters in the Mediterranean.  

It's a simple matter of trasport cost. A nut from a tall coconut variety is quite a bit bigger than a dwarf one and it's a simple matter of transport cost. I'm looking at bringing some nuts in from India in the spring and the weight / volume ratio of nuts qualifies for the higher shipping cost already.  

I believe we are limmited mostly in the Mediterranean area by the varieties. The guy in Netherland grows 100's of thousand of Green Malayan Dwarfs and they are horrible - especially for out sun. He just started producing Gold ones recently.

I found an exporter that sends germinated nuts worldwide. He charges only about 1.50 for each one. I will be getting a mix of several different kinds. Apparantly the Indian "West Coast Tall" is a Pacific Tall but they have East Cost Talls (the really long ones in this photo) and practically every type of tall and hybrid imaginable over there. There is no custom charges or Phutosanitary requirements to enter the EU. The only limitation is the minimum order quantity and the shipping costs for such large quatity. But they have a shelf life of 30 days so definitely will come over by boat. Shipping a few over to Cyprus won't be very expensive from here if you want to try some other varieties. 

[pietropuccio]

2 hours ago, Stelios said:

Amazing collection you have Pietro! The trunk of the veitchia arecina seems very thin. I hope they get more fat at the base as they get bigger. I'm worried if they can make it through some very strong wind. 

Many thanks, Stelios! The arecina's trunk is indeed quite slender, thinner than that of the joannis, but its structure allows it to withstand the wind well, like all tall palms. This is the cross-section of my arecina after the "accident". As you can see, it has a thin but compact outer ring and an inner portion where the vascular bundles are immersed in spongy tissue (parenchyma). This non-rigid structure, similar to a hollow tube, makes the trunk resistant to bending due to the wind.

[Stelios]

I don't have photo of the nut but I remember it was small and it's from Costa Rica. I'm not an expert but I believe the more chances could be with a tall variety. Some tall coconuts I've seen in Sri Lanca had very fat trunk (at the base were more fat than royals). I could be wrong but the fat trunk might handle the cold better. Anyway, it's good to hear more about ourexperience here in the mediterranean.

 

[Stelios]

20 minutes ago, pietropuccio said:

Many thanks, Stelios! The arecina's trunk is indeed quite slender, thinner than that of the joannis, but its structure allows it to withstand the wind well, like all tall palms. This is the cross-section of my arecina after the "accident". As you can see, it has a thin but compact outer ring and an inner portion where the vascular bundles are immersed in spongy tissue (parenchyma). This non-rigid structure, similar to a hollow tube, makes the trunk resistant to bending due to the wind.

That's great. Thanks for the info Pietro.

[Janni]

On 1/6/2026 at 8:35 AM, Than said:

Wow, you can also grow Veitchias!! Man, we can only dream of such palms here! You should try V. Joannis too, it's stunning and they say it is the hardiest of all.

I love how healthy your cocos looks even in January. The ones in Malta also look fine. I saw the one in Torremolinos in recent photos and it looks quite sad, like it may not make it. If I ever come to Cyprus I'd love to come and do a pilgrimage to that unique, iconic cocos!

Just for your information, here is one Veitchia in Greece:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/7wri6XZzcTHr3YXc8

[mlovecan]

2 hours ago, Stelios said:

I don't have photo of the nut but I remember it was small and it's from Costa Rica. I'm not an expert but I believe the more chances could be with a tall variety. Some tall coconuts I've seen in Sri Lanca had very fat trunk (at the base were more fat than royals). I could be wrong but the fat trunk might handle the cold better. Anyway, it's good to hear more about ourexperience here in the mediterranean.

 

All the nuts that are grown in Netherlands come from Costa Rica. I've bought green(referring to level of ripeness and not variety) from Costa Rica in London as well. They are all dwarfs. The nut is small as you describe (however I nelieve you described your nut as ahusj removed?). The nuts from the talls stretch out at the front like a torpedo. You most likely have a golden malayan dwarf. That's actually good news as it means a tall would do even better in your climate. This is a photo from Alex in Amsterdam comparing the nuts between a tall and a dwarf:

[mlovecan]

But then again you have a good point about the trunk  base

[Than]

10 hours ago, Janni said:

Just for your information, here is one Veitchia in Greece:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/7wri6XZzcTHr3YXc8

Ah in Malia! No wonder. A hotel has a Ravenala too there apparently. Crete, Rhodes, Cyprus.. huge potential. 

[Stelios]

11 hours ago, Janni said:

Just for your information, here is one Veitchia in Greece:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/7wri6XZzcTHr3YXc8

And when you move the picture there are 2 foxtails near.

[Than]

10 hours ago, Stelios said:

And when you move the picture there are 2 foxtails near.

Foxtails must be less sensitive than Veitchias. I would expect Foxtails to grow easily in Crete and most Greek islands, on the coastal areas. In Pietro's encyclopedia he writes that Veitchia arecina "may be tried in the milder warm temperate ones, where temperatures around the 0 °C are very short lasting exceptions" and for Wodyetia: "may be tried also in the warm temperate zones having particularly mild winters, where the adult plants can resist to exceptional and very short lasting decreases of temperatures to -2 °C .

[mlovecan]

3 hours ago, Than said:

Foxtails must be less sensitive than Veitchias. I would expect Foxtails to grow easily in Crete and most Greek islands, on the coastal areas. In Pietro's encyclopedia he writes that Veitchia arecina "may be tried in the milder warm temperate ones, where temperatures around the 0 °C are very short lasting exceptions" and for Wodyetia: "may be tried also in the warm temperate zones having particularly mild winters, where the adult plants can resist to exceptional and very short lasting decreases of temperatures to -2 °C .

Foxtail are dead simple around here. Not many around but they are rockets. Take the heat as well.