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Want To Know About Coconut Palms?

16 years ago

Anyone wanting to know about growing coconut palms is welcome to contact me. You can reach me at: mr.coconutpalm@yahoo.com I live in Texas, and have been growing them for over 20 years. I lived in South Florida for two years and have traveled to the Caribbean, so I have extensive experience with them. I would especially welcome anyone to contact me who is growing them in the Lower Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Texas Coast. I am fascinated by the heathy beautiful ones growing in the Valley and hope to be able to move there soon and start a coconut palm nursery there.

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Comments (5)

palmfarmer
16 years ago
Didnt you already move here once?
I hate to be a nay sayer but coconuts are not long term in the valley, if you have been growing them for over 20 years where are pictures of your 20 foot tall palms? surley in 20 years you could get one up to that size right? "extensive" experience would tell you that a freeze event slightly less powerful than 1983 0r 1989 would knock a coco out flat.
coconut_palm
Original Author
16 years ago
Hey palmfarmer,

I didn't say that I have extensive experience growing them in the Valley, just that I have extensive experience growing them. I have grown beach coconuts for years since I was in college, and I have grown grocery store coconuts since high school, though now they are harder to sprout for some reason than they used to be (probably being radiated when shipped and kept in refrigeration now for too long- things that weren't done to them years ago). I lived in South Florida for two years and grew many of them down there, Malayans, Jamaican Talls, a Hawaiian Tall, and a few Maypans. I have studied coconut palms since childhood, so yes I can honestly say I have extensive experience with them, though I would not claim to be an expert since there are supposedly over 600 varieties throughout the tropics.

By the way, yes I did move down there last summer, but had to move back to the Bryan area at least for the time being since I could not find gainful employment in the Valley. I am hoping by the end of the year to move back though and work for myself or maybe teach there.

John
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You so funny OD! I remember most because I have them. I keep a notebook with the palms I have written down so that I can track their progress. Its right by the computer so I can just look in there. Usually at the box stores here they have just the more common stuff that we can use in the landscape or in the poolcage...Foxtails, Queens, Trachys, Pindos, Silver Date, Pygmy Date, Chinese Fan, Cat, and like that. Having anything more exotic is becoming more commonplace though. They are starting to stock all sorts of stuff now as people get more into tropical plants. They will now stock large containers of blooming Alpinia purpurata and people will plant it as an annual knowing its probably going to be dust after the winter. Many many people here already use the smaller psitticorum heliconias as late season annuals, putting them in "in bloom" after the extreme summer heat has axed the fall and spring color. Many people here want more tropical stuff so its only a matter of time before we get some even neater palms that we don't have to go to Orlando or more South to find, or buy as tiny seedlings mail order. I just wish that they would learn to label them correctly.
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topher2006
16 years ago
John
My hat's off to ya i'm still trying to grow a coco !
david_
16 years ago
Its always good to have an experienced grower among-st us.
kitchenshock
16 years ago
Hey John, I have a question for you. I have several midsized Maypan's that seed all the time. I also have a bunch of Mayans around them. I have a few of the seeds growing, but I have been told by several nursery men that they should not be grown because they are an F1 hybrid and apparently the child will inherit the weak genes or something like that. Of course one of the weak genes they say is the resistance to lethal yellow that they claim is lost.

Do you have any experience in growing seeds from a Maypan. Will they grow into a healthy tree?

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