VERY NICE PAUL! That is a pretty big size......looks like it will be adding some trunk in no time. That was a good idea planting it now, right before that florida heat hits.....get it real nice and established for that growing season. What kind is that again? malayan dwarf? remember i want some of them coconuts shipped up here :)

That's a nice palm. It looks like a Malayan which is good for your HOA issues, since it will not get real tall and stick out like a sore thumb. Once they get established they grow very fast, especially if you feed them well.

As for the ropes I asked that question here and over in IPS. It seems everyone has their theory whether leaving a tree tied is beneficial or not. In the IPS one of the nursery men and seller of Coconuts said he never ties the fronds and thought it was a very bad practice and then my installer and another guy that does my fert and pest treatments said to leave them tied for 20 days or so. The purpose as I was explained as to keep the tree still to allow root growth. One of my trees already came untied and probably on Monday or Tuesday I will untie the other two.

20 days is not going to make difference. The reason many landscapers give for tying the fronds is to hold moisture into the apical meristem where all the new growth occurs.

I've installed thousands of palms and the only ones we ever tied up were very large Royals (20 feet plus). Of course, all the tied fronds looked like crap when they were untied. I would recommend that you untie yours.

Congratulations, it looks stout. Now, like Ricky said, untie those fronds! Those poor Queens. They're not going to get another look. haha

The Lowe's tag just said "cocos nucifera"; I asked for a Green Malayan, and I think it looks like that. Thanks for all the comments & help guys. I'm going to head out in a minute and cut the ties loose.

The weather has been quite chilly here today; daytime high was only 68F. And this freak cold front is bringing night lows into high 40s here tonight. Average this time of year is 80/58 for comparison. Come on warm weather, it's almost April!

As for winter, if we get below 35F again next winter (bottomed out at 32F this past winter), I'll be using my 40,000 BTU propane patio heater to help increase temps. It keeps the lanai nice and toasty on those chilly nights, and is suppose to heat up to a 25 foot radius 10-25 extra degrees. But this was the coldest winter in years so who knows.

More pictures...1)My coconut palm with untied fronds, and 2) The fruit stalks I discovered when untied. Can't tell if these were developing or if still too young of a palm to fully fruit (sorry for the blur)

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Very nice! good luck and keep that baby warm.

Cut off the immature fruit and give the roots preference right now.

Kitchen - Did your Maypans or Malayans add any new trunk in their first summer? I was wondering if I could expect mine to this year. Also, should I fertilize soon or does it need to get established first?

Shaun - how about your Malayan...any new trunk growth the first year?

royal, I would not expect too much growth in the first year. They are busy putting out new roots right now and will be for a good bit of the year. They love to be fed and will pay you back with strong growth in the future. The same holds true for those queens you have. Feed them and they will look spectacular. Mine took off about a year after planting and got setback some by Wilma. Just this January the last of the damaged fronds dropped from the tree. These guys certainly hold a frond for a long time. I'll see if I can find some old pictures of them and then how they are today. I have some Malayans too that I should be able to find some old photos of.

Royal, unfortunately I don't have many pictures from 2004 that show my palms. The palm is on the left in the first picture. As you can see, my palm was a little taller then yours and don't forget these guys went through 2 hurricanes in 2004 and 1 in 2005. I think they would be even taller if it were not for the storms.

2004 - March (palm is on far left)
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2008 - March (same tree is where the white dog is standing)
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kitchenshock - you have some gorgeous coconuts and yard.

royalpaulm - congrats and good luck with on your coconut. The best I can do in the ground here in north Florida is a Bolivian Sunkha Coconut. I have a seedling that I hope looks half as good as yours... in about 10 years. lol

Kitchen - Thanks for the photos; that's really some tremendous growth. I like the coconuts you already had on the palm when planted, not sure if my age Malayan had those and the nursery cut them off or not. And I'm sure I've said it before, but you have a truly amazing yard.

Another question for anyone: I've been watering this palm every morning since planted on Friday 3/21. Is this too much and also how long should I be watering this often when newly transplanted...i.e. 2 weeks after planting, 3 weeks, 2 months? Temps are now low to mid 80s everyday and will stay this way indefinitely. Rainfall has been sparse lately as well.

Thanks for the complements on my yard.

I can only tell you what I do. I water daily for the first 7-10 days into the moat and then turn the irrigation system zone for the area with the transplant onto daily for the next 30 days. I am not an expert in this area since I rarely buy field grown palms. So maybe one of the more experienced members will give you better advice.

That is a beautiful oasis paradise !

It's nice to see a large yard only shaded by Palms instead of trees for a change.It does give a different look..the shade there is inviting not foreboding. Hard to beat the Coconut.They would even fit a cacti and succulent garden with that oasis reputation...

Hey royalpaulm,

It looks like your coconut is a healthy green Malayan. You can expect full grown coconuts on it within a year or two. Malayans can start producing within 3-4 years after sprouting and do so when they still have a very short trunk, which is one of the things that makes Malayans so appealing. You can fertilize immediately, and I would suggest doing so now with a good palm fertilizer in the 12-4-8 ratio that contains the necessary micronutrients like Manganese, Magnesium, Copper, etc. Spread the fertilizer around the trunk from about 6 inches away from the trunk out to about two feet. Water it in really good. Since you already have mulch around it, you will probably have to work the fertilizer granules into the top layer of the soil before watering it in. As for watering, taper off to two to three times per week now. I a month, taper off to just twice a week, whenever it isn't raining.

Could you do me a favor? I love coconut palms. They are my favorite tree, but here in Texas it is difficult to get them, especially specific varieties. Mostly we just grow them from Mexican nuts that wash up on our beaches in the spring and summer, most of which are Mexican Talls. Anyway, I like to grow my own from the nut, so if you could find me a few golden and yellow Malayan dwarf ripe coconuts that are ready to plant, I sure would appreciate it. I have grown green Malayans before, but only had a few goldens and yellows when I used to live in south Florida. Let me know how much the cost of shipping the nuts is and I will send you the money.

Thanks,
John

P.S. What part of Central Florida do you live in? I have seen some nice Malayans in the Orlando area, and some green Malayans at St. Pete that must have been 40ft. tall. You can reach me off site at mr.coconut_palm@yahoo.com

Hi John, thanks for the advice and information. I live in the Orlando area about 10-15 mins SW of downtown in Orange County. Unfortunately coconut palms are rather rare this far North and all the fruiting ones I've seen are Green Malayans or Maypans, which were on private property.

Cocoa Beach (50 miles east out on the Atlantic) has recently planted hundreds, yes hundreds, of Green Malayan Dwarfs. I noticed these last fall and they looked freshly planted. I was there again in late January after we had a brief freeze of 32F and the ones I saw appeared unscathed. Of course being oceanfront I doubt they ever reached below 35F that night.

Perhaps someone further South could assist you in locating Yellow or Golden Dwarf ripe nuts. I just don't think I'd have much luck in finding any here. I'll definitely keep an eye out for them and shoot you an e-mail if I come across.

Again, I really appreciate the insight.

theseventhlegend, i dont know exactly where you are in north florida, but in the jacksonville area, as our temps have been warmer the past few years, people have really been experimenting with success in growing out of our "zone". At my house (which is on the river which helps) temps never got below 28-29 at the coldest (although it was below freezing for around 6-7 hours), not the 23-24 that was forecast, and the only things that were zapped were bananas. While coconuts are pretty hard to grow in town, i have noticed them and other trees (a royal, etc) close to the beach. So dont go by everything the media says is true, especially in these warmer times. I myself have a queen, two caryotas, a foxtail, several majesties, lots of pygmy date palms, and areca palms at my house which do great even though some are new.

royalpaulm, good luck with that coconut, i think you'll need it mainly with those picky HOAs hehe!

kitchenshock, beautiful house and yard, loving all the palmtrees, where in south florida are you located because it looks like your bananas made it unscathed through a winter!

johnny_sunshine - I live further inland Jacksonville around Argyle/Orange Park. So it's somewhat cooler here and you will see frost on the ground sometimes. I am growing Queens and also a King Illawara with success. My Foxtail fried this winter... it's not looking good. lol Our temps have been warmer but the 23/24 forecast (that never came true) still keeps me from jumping the zone a bit more. It's great your having so much success. The St. Johns River probably helps with your Majesties and such. I haven't seen any Cocos or Royals around Jax but will keep an eye out for them. Close to the river and the beach there is a definite advantage and I envy you. :)

Hi royalpaulm,

Thanks for the info. Don't get me wrong, I still like green Malayans too, so when yours strart producing ripe nuts, I would be interested in a few. It's just that in the last couple of years, I have become more fascinated with the color of the golden and yellow varieties which are hard for us to get over here in Texas. Green Malayans are becoming popular in the Lower Rio Grande Valley around Harlingen, Brownsville, and South Padre, along with the old standby Mexican Talls which have been grown for many years there (when we don't have a killer '83 or '89 freeze that is). The nice thing about the greens is they grow a little faster than the other Malayans and aren't quite as needy when it comes to fertilizer. I think they must be growing some green Malayans down in Mexico now (due to lethal yellowing in the Talls), since one of our Texas beach coconuts that I sprouted about a year and a half ago, had a very straight trunk with bright green leaves and slightly slower growing than a Mexican Tall, thereby making me think it's a green Malayan. I planted it at a cousin's house in La Feria near Harlingen last summer. It was about 3ft. tall when I planted it last June, but should have coconuts on it in about another year and a half.

If you really like coconut palms, and are going to make a trip to south Florida any time soon, check out some of the nurseries there and see if you can find a Hawaiian Tall or a Red Spicata. The Hawaiian Talls are very fast growing, have the typical swelling at the base of the talls, but look like a very robust golden Malayan in color-very neat. There is a place in Hawaii that can ship you a sprouted nut via Fed Ex for about $40.00. I got one shipped to me last summer and now it's about 4ft. tall at a friend's nursery in Brownsville. There is another variety that I am trying to remember the name of. It may be the Fiji dwarf, but anyway, it is supposed to be 100% lethal yellowing resistant which would make it perfect for Florida since lethal yellowing is more of a problem for you guys than it is for us in Texas. We have it in the Valley, but mostly in our date palms and it seems to be more sporadic over here than in Florida. Therefore, when it comes to growing coconut palms over here (There is really only one county, Cameron at the southern tip of Texas where they are really succesful.), we are more concerned with cold hardiness than lethal yellowing resistance. That other variety I am trying to remember is not good for us because I have heard that it is very cold sensitive and anything below 30F can wipe it out as well as prolonged cool weather which the Valley usually has a couple of times each winter. 30F wouldn't even phase a Mexican Tall, which is hardy down to 27F once established, and 30F would only produce light to moderate frostbite on a Malayan. So anyway, as long as your winter-time lows stay above 30F and you don't have more than 4-5 hours below freezing, I wouldn't worry about your green Malayan. Talk to you later.

John

Paul,

My coconut is doing quite well, thanks for asking. Unfortunately none of the coconuts from the fall survived the winter. I was expecting that, so no big deal. Here is a picture of my palm about 2 years ago (3-4 months after planting). And here are a few pictures from today. Sorry for the large sized files. Have fun watching yours grow this summer!

Shaun

March 2006


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April 2008


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Shaun,

That's a beautiful green Malayan you've got! What city do you live in? What is your normal lowest low temp there each winter? I hope those overhead power lines in the last photo aren't going to cause a problem for your palm.

John

... where in south Florida are you located because it looks like your bananas made it unscathed through a winter!

I live in Palm Beach County in a small western community called Wellington. This winter was perfect. Only one night the temps hit 34, but very little damage was done. I love my banana trees. The bananas they produce are the best I have ever tasted. I try to give them away and most people refuse at first. Then once they taste one, they usually take bunch of them. I never knew how bad store bought bananas were until I tasted these. Sad thing is, I probably know the least about bananas then any plant in my yard. They were in the yard when I bought the house. I was told the are "reds" if that means anything.

Shaun,

That's a beautiful green Malayan you've got! What city do you live in? What is your normal lowest low temp there each winter? I hope those overhead power lines in the last photo aren't going to cause a problem for your palm.

John

John,

Thanks for the compliment. Its doing fairly well, it should really grow a lot this summer. I live in Clearwater. As for the lowest temperature, I'd say right around freezing and only for a few hours and at most two or three days a year. This year we had a pretty bad cold snap and this palm was unfazed.

The palm probably won't hit those power lines, at least I hope not. It is not so obvious in the pictures but there is actually some distance between the fronds and the lines. Luckily I was thinking when I planted it and positioned it far enough away to avoid any problems.

Shaun

Beautiful yard Kitchenshock!
I'm quite envious, being limited to zone 7a.

Very nice Shaun! Still can't believe the amazing price you got on it for that much wood. Looks very healthy and glad the brief freeze we got in January didn't harm it. What direction is the front of your home? I suppose it shouldn't matter since the palm is far enough out in the yard to receive full sun.

Been 2 weeks today since mine went in the ground and transplant shock appears minimal so far. Only some of the frond tips have discolored but I'm sure I've got a ways to go yet.

Thanks Paul. Yeah, the price was pretty good. haha

My home faces North; less than ideal protection-wise but oh well. :)

Palmshaun,

Thanks for the info. I am amazed that Malayans can do that well that far north. I thought that north of St. Pete, you could only grown Jamaicans, since they are slightly more cold hardy, but I guess this proves me wrong. The fact that you have a very healthy looking green Malayan should dispell all the naysayers in the Brownsville area who say that coconuts do not do well in that area, since Clearwater and Brownsville have about the same winter temps. You should have some good growing nuts within a year on yours.

Clearwater is not far from St. Pete (I think they border?), and actually the winter highs in Clearwater "clear" St. Pete's avg. high which doesn't even get out of the high 60s. It's true the nights are cooler elsewhere, but the warmer days are a benefit.

I was in Clearwater Beach in November and saw plenty of coconuts and royals. Most of the coconuts were fruiting and the Sheraton Sand Key Resort had dozens of these. Back in January St. Pete reached a low of 34, while elsewhere we mostly saw a 'frigid' (lol) 32. Two degrees does make a huge difference when it's right around freezing, but if it ever gets down to 20 again, 2 degrees won't matter...fried is fried.

Royalpaulm,

Thanks for the info on the winter weather in Clearwater/St. Pete. I think that couple of degrees difference is why when I was there last (about 7 years ago) I saw mature Malayans in St. Pete, but only saw a couple of mature Jamaican talls in Clearwater. Over here in Texas, the Mexican tall seems to be our best coconut for the Valley since it is hardy to 27F, but there are a lot of Malayans being planted in Brownsville, Port Isabel, and South Padre, when they are available that is. So far, I have only seen developing coconuts on a couple of Mexican talls over here, but as long as the winters stay mild in the Valley, the Malayans should have nuts in a year or two. It seems like the nurseries in the Valley have only recently started carrying Malayans, which may account for the lack of coconuts on trees already planted (many being too young). The nurseries over here do not have a regular supplier of coconut palms, so I am hoping to fill that void soon.

John

So how long does transplant shock continue given decent conditions on a newly planted mature coconut palm? (old pictures are first ones up top). I have kept the soil moist but not saturated, but temps have been cold recently for April in Florida. Saw a tied record low of 48 the other night with high of only 68. We did reach near 90 last week when it was constant 80s day and high 60s/low 70s at night for 2 weeks straight.

Total transplant shock so far hasn't been bad, but didn't know when I'm off the hook. Only the lower fronds have somewhat yellowed and browned tips and the newer fronds are nearly perfectly green still. Looks nearly the same as day I got it, so happy with that. Now come on warm weather, it's going to be May soon!

Royalpaulm,

Total time for transplant shock is only about 3-4 months. After that you should be home free. Coconut palms recover from transplanting fairly rapidly, and as you know they are fast growers!

John

royal, I would not worry about it. I have seen cocos take all kinds of abuse and then be put in the ground and they don't even brown a frond. I am guessing from your forum name that you have experience with Royals. I have never seen a coco shock like a Royal. Royals go into some serious shock but they always seem to pull through. I did learn something recently about transplanting royals that I plan to do if I ever transplant one again. Near me they transplanted about 50 very tall royals and they cut all the fronds in half. Not a single tree went into the usual Royal shock. The trees look ugly for about a year but that's a lot better then looking at three fronds and a spear.

Here's an update on the Green Malayan I planted March 21.

The palm has put on about 5 feet of wood and produced dozens of coconuts...nah, seriously though the coco has been doing great and is especially loving the full onset of summer weather. It opened 2 new fronds and is working on #3. One lower frond did brown and had to be pruned, but amazingly all other fronds are looking healthy (knock on wood...)

I fertilized with Carl Pool palm ferlizer over Memorial Day weekend which is when the new growth really kicked in. 5 more months of Florida summer left and then the test really begins!

Hows your coconut? I bet your'll have some coconuts soon :)

I've got about 7 coconuts growing on it, getting quite large. It's also added a couple feet of trunk since planting last year.