My new alternatives for a tropical coconut palm tree

10 years ago

I've finally been able to get two coconut tree alternatives. Both of them are cold hardy varieties that will grow in my area and the best part of it is that they will produce coconut tasting fruit albeit in golf ball sizes ... lol. This idea of fruiting sounded strange to me at first, but I like that they are cold hardy so I'm expecting them to live and not die on me like the few coconut trees that died on me in the past years. I'm now ready to try something new.

The first one is the Bolivian mountain coconut tree and this tree will grow big, but it will take a long time to fruit. That is ok with me. If I want to eat fresh coconuts, I'll have plenty of access to them anyway. I'm just curious to see how it will grow. Here's a picture of it (the one on the right). On the left is the mini coconut tree.

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Comments (15)

bananafan
Original Author
10 years ago
Here's a picture of my new mini coconut tree. It will reach 5-6 ft in height when mature and I know it will also take many years to fruit, but not as many as the Bolivian mountain coconut tree. It's also a cold hardy variety that does not need full sun and will actually do better in a shady area. This is something nice for me as I'm fast running out of sunny spots to plant :)
stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
10 years ago
Nice choice finds. Where did you pick those up? I've seen both at the Oakland Palmetum. The Bolivian towers at 30' and about that age too.
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The picture of your dwarf coconut tree looks nice there. It has healthy looking fronds. I wonder if it's just a dwarf, or is it really sick? So, were you able to get fruit out of it all the 10 years you've had it? Thanks for the link to the Indonesian website. They do have a lot of healthy looking coconut bonsai. I'm still trying to find out if they actually will produce fruit eventually. I've looked at some bonsai fruit trees on the you tube and they seem to be able to flower and produce some fruit. It would make a lot of sense for people like us to consider having bonsai trees if we cannot be sure that we can keep these tropical plants alive in the ground. You sure are a lot closer to the equator than where I am. You're over 800 miles and I'm around 2,500 miles off the equator. It's nice that you have the warm enough temperature to keep these beautiful trees there. So, do you have to manually irrigate your your landscape, or do you have an auto irrigation? It would be a lot of land to irrigate as you seem to have a huge place there. So, what do you do when your trees produce all the fruit there .. lol? Do you eat them? Do you know that coconut is known as the miracle fruit? There have been many articles and books written on it. A few years back, I started changing my cooking oil to coconut oil and include coconut milk and flour into my diet. It has brought tremendous improvement to my health situation. I've heard that coconut water is also a super nutrient drink, but I have to read more about it to find out if it contains a high sugar content which I'm trying to avoid. There's even someone on the internet selling fresh coconut water online.
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Those aren't actually coconut palms, they are different fruiting palms that make fruit that has a somewhat similar taste to coconuts. The fruit doesn't look like coconut palms and neither do the palms themselves, but that doesn't mean they aren't any less beautiful though! I'm not familiar with the term Brazilian Wine Palm. I think you might be talking about a Jubaea chilensis (I know it as a Chiliean Wine Palm). They don't do well in Florida because they like cooler climates like those in the western US (or in Chile where they are native). They are VERY cold hardy though and also very beautiful! Quito coconut palms (Parajubaea cocoides) don't actually make fruit as far as I know but they look a lot like coconut palms which is what makes them very common for gardeners who want the tropical look but live in climates a bit too cool for coconut palms. Beccariophoenix alfredii is a palm really well known for being a "coconut look a like". It's only hardy into the mid to upper 20s so it's not significantly cold hardy, but it can handle cooler summers than coconut palms and those few degrees of cold tolerance make a big difference in climates that do get an occasional freeze every one in a while. Good luck! -Alex
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Orlando has a really nice climate and considering how far away it is from the coast, it has very mild weather. Some areas by the coast (like tampa) which is south of orlando, got the same or cooler weather. I know that the theme parks in orlando (especially universal studios) has lots of tender plants that are growing very well (not sure how they are doing now though). Some of the plants I have seen there are... screw pines (Pandanus utilis) which was pretty tall and quite a few years old Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum wallisii) these were also pretty big and were in full shade Tri-color hibiscus (Talipariti tiliaceum) which was very large and heathy Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, which were large and flowering well, but not as healthy as they could be bromeliads, lots of different types from small airplants on the trees to large ones mounted on the trunk of the palms. Foxtail palms (Wodyetia bifurcata), they were large and healthy at the time and also right by a pond which probably help protect it from a frost And lots of others that I am forgetting too. They all seemed really happy before this freeze but I wonder if they are okay now (or if the park protected them from the freezes). I also think there are coconut palms in Sea World which are still alive (I think) and protected from extreme cold. Good luck!
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Where did you get you coco palm? I do wonder though what variety it is. My coconut is still less green. The new leaf is way greener, but not as green as yours. Only in places it is. I do have a new frond though that may be a darker green. Right now its a single spear about 68% up from the center.
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bananafan
Original Author
10 years ago
stanofh,

I searched in on e-bay and they were all there--different sizes and prices. I picked the least expensive ones.

The trunk surface isn't as smooth and even as the trunk of a regular coconut tree and the fronds appear to be really huge and bushy

According to the link below, it's a threatened specie. It sounds like a nice palm to have especially for us coconut palm tree lovers ... lol. I do hope more people will grow it so it won't go extinct soon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parajubaea_torallyi

Here are some nice pictures I downloaded from the net. I hope they're not copy righted (didn't see any warnings on the pictures, so must be ok).
bananafan
Original Author
10 years ago
Another picture here showing the fronds spreading along the trunk which is why the crown appears to be very bushy and the trunk isn't as smooth. It's possible to get a good shade out of it though.
bananafan
Original Author
10 years ago
This is a humongous tree here. It looks like it's over 30 ft to the tip of the highest frond. I wonder how old this tree is.
bananafan
Original Author
10 years ago
This picture must have been taken in its natural habitat of mountainous area, hence its name.
bananafan
Original Author
10 years ago
The group effect ... wow they can get that tall!
Central_Cali369
10 years ago
I purchased young one from a local nursery for $10 and it didn't make it through the winter this year. We had a colder than usual week that really damaged frost tender plants. Maybe i'll give it a try another time when I have more of a canopy to protect it during it's early years.
stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
10 years ago
If I saw them for 10$ in pots with soil,I would have bought them all and planted a row of them.
The one time they were for sale I saw was a 5 gal,at $100. Looked great. Deep green and shiny. Having a gopher problem makes me pass on expensive plants. I grew a Rhapsis for years on my porch,planted it out ..and it wasn't long before they got that too. Its a few canes with tiny fronds now.
chadec
10 years ago
Nice palm, seriously thought of buying one from palmwholesale on ebay. But all I need is another palm to protect and the Bolivian coconut would require a heat source too.
stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
10 years ago
Btw, Howea and King palms seem to be ignored by Gophers. Pass that around the internet.
veggie_girl
10 years ago
Where did you get the mini coconut tree?
siegel2
10 years ago
Jeff has some huge $8 one gallon mini coconut palm trees
(Lytocaryum weddellianum)
http://www.floribundapalms.com/pdf/flori_1404.pdf
veggie_girl
10 years ago
Thanks, I'll check it out! Sounds like a good price.
bananafan
Original Author
10 years ago
Veggie girl, I bought mine from e-bay, but the price isn't as good as the source Cagary provided here. At $8 for a gallon plant is incredibly good deal. I wonder how much the shipping would work out to though. Even then, the price is much better than the $30 I paid (shipping not included).

I think I might get another one from that supplier also.

My new alternatives for a tropical coconut palm tree

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bananafan
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stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area

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bananafan
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