US_Marine, I don't live in an area where coconut palms will grow, but I do know of one coconut palm that has been growing in southern california for quite some time now without any help from people. I believe it is located in Newport Beach, very close to the water. Here is my advice. 1. Buy one of the "tall" varieties. They tend to have more absolute cold-hardiness, which could spill over into cool-hardiness, which is really what you need since winters in So-Cal are just a tad bit too cool for Cocos. 2. Plant it so that it gets full sun all winter long. Full sun all day long all winter long. 3. Add large rocks and stones that will absorb heat all around the base of the palm. 4. See if you can plant the Coco near a wall that also absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night but doesn't interfere with the palm receiving sun all day long. 5. Water and fertilize enough during the growing months to ensure there is enough mass and sugars to help it get through the cool winters. I think if you can provide all of that, your coconut might have a fighting chance assuming you don't dip in the 20's. I have an uncle who lives in a 9b zone near Bradenton, Florida, which straddles the border of 10a and 9b. He can grow Foxtail palms and Royal palms although they will take some damage in the high 20's, but coconuts will not grow for him. 10 miles to the west, just to the inside of I-75, coconuts will grow, and right along the coast which is definitely a zone 10a they will fruit. For him, the limiting factor isn't consistent cool temperatures like So-Cal, it is absolute low temperatures. Even though the highs are right around 70*F during the coldest time of the year (which btw is the magic daily high number for coconuts) he can drop as low as 26*F during the winter. That is low enough to kill a coconut in his part of Florida. So, he meets the requirements for day-time highs throughout the year, and his average lows are sufficient too, but on those odd days each year when it gets cold, that does it for the coconuts.

@HU-289797433 Siting is everything for these. You'll want to plant them in some sort of protected microclimate if you have one available. If you can provide overhead canopy and protection from wind coming from the north and the west it will increase your chances of success. Close to a heated building helps, especially if there is a lot of brick and/or concrete in the area. Ideally, a southeast facing alcove with some form of high overhead canopy that lets light in underneath is the best bet. If you want to cheat a little, wrap it with the old school Christmas lights (aka not LED) and keep the bulbs away from the plant tissue. Even with all of the protective factors in place, there are still times where you'll have to tie up the fronds and wrap at least the growth point to keep it alive. If you get one at a big box store, it will likely be some kind of Malayan Dwarf. If possible, get the Green Malayan Dwarf. If you seek out one of the special cultivars, keep in mind their strengths and weaknesses: Jamaican Tall/Atlantic Tall: Grows extremely fast with an almost spherical crown, tends to have a touch more cold tolerance (not always), but very susceptible to Lethal Yellowing and Lethal Bronzing and does not tolerate root disturbance very well. Panama Tall: One of my friends grows these and says that they tend to hold a few less fronds than the above with similar strengths. Tend to be slightly less susceptible to disease. Maypan: A hybrid between a Malayan Dwarf and a Panama Tall. Decent compromise with a little bit of a fuller crown than the Malayan Dwarf. The coconut on these palms is huge. Mine sprouted from a coconut larger than an NBA basketball. I recently had to do some digging near this one and it did not immediately go into decline when I trimmed a few roots, so it shouldn't be as intolerant of root disturbance as the Talls. Green Malayan Dwarf: Not a true dwarf - just slower growth than a Tall cultivar. Their crown tends to be more umbrella shaped and the trunk a little more straight up and down. A technician from Spectrum decided to take it upon themselves to trim half the roots on mine without me knowing and sent it into decline. It had one frond and a spear left. I fertilized with Florikan, covered the exposed healthy roots and gave it supplemental water. It regrew its crown. Much more tolerant of root disturbance than the Talls. Golden Malayan Dwarf: Similar to above but the petioles will be golden and the coconuts will be too for a period of time before they turn brown and fall. From my experience, these seem to be the least tolerant of cold out of all the common varieties. Fiji Dwarf: Some growers are experimenting with this cultivar. It is a true dwarf that I've not seen grow over 6 feet of trunk. Supposedly almost totally resistant to Lethal Yellowing. Because Lethal Bronzing is a similar disease, it might be resistant to this as well. The crown is very large, but this would be the easiest coconut cultivar to keep alive since a blanket or two would allow you to easily protect the growing point at maturity. Another advantage is that you don't have to worry about being sued because someone died from a falling coconut. The other cultivars carry this risk since they get very tall. At least the initial reports from folks who have this cultivar are that it didn't take an inordinate amount of cold damage compared to the others. The coconut on I-Drive looks to be a Tall of some kind and has a lot of concrete and running cars around it at all times. If you provide your palm with the appropriate care, you will be successful. Here is a photo of one of my Jamaican Talls:

What is Trader's Village? The three I have in the ground are, two in the front yard and one in the back yard. In the front, I have a Golden Malayan Dwarf that I ordered through a nursery in South Florida a few years ago. I was shipped with four others through UPS, but the driver killed 3 of the 4 by throwing the package down onto the concrete front porch. I was furious. Anyway, one survived and grew very slowly because I would have to keep it inside my homemade greenhouse in Bryan in the winter. I moved to Corpus Christi last May, but did not plant it in the ground until April of this year. It has doubled in size from 2.5 feet to 5 feet since April! I use an all organic fertilizer made in Houston called MicroLife 6-2-4 all purpose. It has 70 micronutrients and is specifically formulated for the Texas Gulf Coast. Randy Lemon of the GardenLine program recommended this fertilizer to me. The second one in the front yard is a Jamaican Tall (I think) collected by my wife in December of 2010 underneath a mature Jamaican Tall in Key Largo while we were looking for good viable coconuts and/or sprouted nuts. It has doubled in crown width since being planted in the ground in April, but has only gotten slightly taller. It too was stunted from being kept in my greenhouse in Bryan for a couple of winters, but has really started putting out robust new leaves since April. It is about 3.5 ft. tall now. The third one I have is planted in the back yard, and it was sprouted from a coconut I collected off the beach in the vicinity of Matagorda Peninsula or one of the beaches just north of there last Spring. It sprouted just a couple of months after moving to Corpus. I think it is a Golden Malayan Dwarf too since it has the golden colored petiole and has a very straight trunk. The most cold hardy variety in the Western Hemisphere is the pure Mexican Tall. I estimate Mexican Talls when they have some size to them to be hardy to 26F. There are two mature Mexican Talls in Brownsville that have survived at least 3 hard freezes in the last 10 years, 2 of those freezes were in the 26 -27F range, and one of those freezes included a couple of inches of snow during the Christmas snowstorm in 2004, when the Lower Rio Grande Valley had it's first snow storm in 104 years! I collect as many viable coconuts as I can find off the Texas beaches each year. Coconut palms easily hybridize, especially nuts from Tall varieties (Malayan Dwarfs I believe are self pollinating and therefore produce pure variety offspring). I have 3 out of the hundreds a friend and I have collected that have just sprouted in the last two and a half weeks. When they get to be about 3-4 ft. tall, I sell them to people.

Hey Ptmclanahan, As far as growth rates, that sounds phenomenal even for a tall variety, and you said that you planted a dwarf. That is the fastest growing coconut palm I have ever heard of. They are fast growers, but man yours is growing faster than a weed! The fastest one I have ever had is a Hawaiian Tall, which grows about 4.5-5ft. per year. Dwarfs, usually only grow about 3.5-4ft. per year. The Malayan Dwarfs start producing their first coconuts at about 3-4 years after sprouting, therefore, you can literally have one with a trucnkof only about 4ft. that will have coconuts on it. The talls, however take 7-8 years to produce their first coconuts and their trunks are usually about 15-20ft. tall at that point. I am sorry, but I feel compelled to jump in on the Zone argument. I live in Coconut territory here in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and it sounds like we have more of them here than what you are describing in the Orlanda/Kissimmee area, yet our winters are slightly cooler here than yours are. There is a pretty good looking Golden Malayan Dwarf about 15ft. tall in San Benito (just south of Harlingen). And I have seen some good looking 30ft. tall Mexican Talls in Brownsville, so I wouldn't be worried about yours making it through the winter, especially if you have a lot of lakes (that have water in them; how bad has the drought been there?). Remember to fertilize your dwarfs with a good palm fertilizer with a 12-4-8 ratio and micronutrients. Fertilize around the base of the palm (a few inches away from the base out to the outer range of the leaves, work the fertilizer into the top couple of inches of soil, then water them good). Do this in the Spring, Summer, and Fall. Then mulch with Cypress Mulch (a good native mulch) to a depth of about 2 inches in about a 3ft. radius pattern around your palm, but not right up againt the trunk- allow about 2-3 inches of space from the trunk to the mulch). If you do these things, your Malayans should be fine, even in Kissimmee, and you should have coconuts in about 3 years! They will probably grow to be about 25-30ft. tall to the top of the crown in your area! Enjoy! John