There were several coconut palms growing near the inland Salton Sea (in proximity to the southwest shore). The fronds didn't look very lush but they seemed to be doing okay. A number of years later, however, they all died due to not being watered. Renters moved in (you know how that can go) and the palms didn't get the care they needed. Then the house became abandoned after the area fell into economic decline right after the housing crash.

Coconut & Royal palms are cold sensitive palms. Some varieties more so than others. In Florida unless you are by the beach Ft. Myers is the northern boundary for them. Farther north around Tampa you can grow them for a few years 3-10? before eventually a cold winter freeze comes along and wipes them all out.

Trying to grow coconut palms outside their exact comfort zone can be an exercise in futility. Often just 50-100 miles too far north or a few miles closer to the beach makes all the difference.

Santa Ana has high heat level for California. But,soil temps might be what will do that coco in once he plants it. I would plant it in a raised bed. Use those garden cinder blocks from HD. Would look nice too.

Besides,a coconut that's fruiting has been photoed and on record in the Coachella valley.

I think Yuma AZ..would be best next shot. Unless the drought makes a palm like the coconut no longer usable.

Home Depot sells coconut palms here, but I have not had luck planting them in the ground, although I've only attempted that in Venice, where it never gets hot. It never gets cold either (i.e., below 45°), but the ground is not warm enough for coconuts to thrive there. It's only slightly warmer in Westchester, where I live now, but I definitely have the wrong soil (heavy clay that does not drain well) for it, and so I have not tried growing one here, even in a whiskey barrel. I do love coconut palms, however, and would like to have one, even if I did not get coconuts, which I also love.

There was a Steve in San Diego who planted a coconut palm up against a condo,put black rocks under it. At first it grew very well as I recall..as soon as it began to trunk,the fronds started to look worn longer and longer into the summer,before new ones grew in to replace them.

I haven't seen an update on that palm in at least 5 years.

I think the Newport Beach coco was a good start. I bet somewhere in the LA metropolis a trunking coconut palm is growing unknown to us. Just too warm and frost free not to grow at least one.

Hi guys am jorge ive seen the newport beach about 3 years ago I tried growing one in covina for 3 years in a 20" gallon plastic pot it was doing great super great .for 3 years it had a hard little trunk already. Till I move in December ,2012 to windy Fontana yes that was the end of coquito. 2 years ago I was driving true east los Angeles and yes I found a 10 year old coconut palm the streets are 6st and rowan its in the ground next to a mango tree looking beautiful. Ill take pictures this summer to show.as for now ill grow cactus native to mexico stenocereus pachycereus mammillarias ferocactus their easier to grow ive got a sinaloen hesper palm doing great... good luck for all u coconut growers in socal.

I looked on Google maps J. Those tall palms are King palms. 3338 did have a nice Mango and the rest of the street some large for California, Plumeria.

Whats interesting is that there are at least two coconuts well established in California. Both are in hot inland climates,one in the desert. So,it fooled people that the real first place they would start is not at the frost free coast..but at the now much milder hot inland places. Where frosts are less then decades ago..and hot days are even more of the year. That and hot nights are more important then 75f and 55f at the coast all year.

The Newport Beach coconut is no more. We have a pass a Crystal Cove and when we went by the infamous coco last fall it was gone! Big bummer for me and I'm sure, many people. I am sure they are around...I have some but not that impressive. Chris

You need more heat/humidity than what you have more likely. I can grow coconut palms with no problem at all here in Florida, but cherimoyas are a no-go. Funny how similar planting zones differ so much in terms of what is growable.

Coconut palms don't need that much humidity, they would do just fine anywhere within 15 miles from the coast in Southern California if it weren't for the extended cool winter temperatures.

I think cool and wet is what does them in. Maybe they'd be able to survive here if we had our dry season in the winter instead of the summer. Of course they like a bit of humidity if it's warm.

The good thing about coconuts though is I can go to the market and buy a young coconut (refrigerated and imported from Thailand) fairly cheap that tastes just as good as if I grew it myself (since coconuts are a fruit that has a longer shelf life).

There is a Corona ca Coconut with some trunk. Corona has hot summers to boost sugars and the rest for health for marginal tropicals in non tropical areas.

My guess is ..you have to get used to a routine of much water and ferts in summer to push for maximum growth...then ease off in late summer,so it hardens some for cool winters in socal.

Going back over your posts..that palm is 14 years old? You hadn't mentioned that amazing fact on the palm board. I grew one also until it had sizeable fronds. Died indoors on me.

Plants can do things you never would guess. Yours just might break out of the juvenile look in a couple of years and send out the parasol look of larger fronds.

I think this is at least a handful of Coconuts to be seen growing outdoors for a few years in California. I include the largest at 20' tall in the desert that was sawed down by new owners a couple of years ago.

Yeah - 14 years sounds about right. It was in a whiskey barrel up until about a year and a half ago. The barrel was filled with pure sand which made it ridiculously heavy - part of the reason it stayed in the barrel so long was I just didn't want to undertake moving it. The barrel finally started disintegrating so left me no choice. I'm sure that stunted it somewhat, but maybe kept it alive too since it drained so well. I'm sure the transplant slowed it a bit too, but it grew pretty well last summer and is looking pretty good for March right now.

Things are different now in Cali. Plants can tell. I left a trio of Bottle palms that I grew from seed ( 4 years ago now) outdoors this winter. They look like crap- but alive and looking ready for a summer of warm. Same for Pandanus up here in the bay area. Never before- we always had a 5- 10 year hard freeze to wipeout those kind of plants.

Your Coconut looks great- the Royal palm should help keep the soil from winter rains saturated. Sort of a nurse tree.

I observe that the few specimens which did succeed all seem to have one thing in common - protection by buildings (e.g. Newport Beach, Corona, Orange County, Del Mar, La Quinta Inn). Perhaps a systematic study of thermal shielding should be done regarding this.

Do not plant in the ground until it develops a foot or so of solid trunk; it may need to be kept indoors part-time until it does. When planted in the ground the palm must have its own isolated soil (almost as if it were still in the pot) so that it does not get affected by other plants. During the summer water it almost daily. Also, some sort of transparent coating over the soil allotment (but not covering the rest of the tree) during the winter would help to protect it from rain but let in the sunlight; only open the coating to give it lukewarm (not cold) water during the morning.

Else, Winter monthly rainfall must not exceed around 60-70 mm, and no more than around 2 or 3 months where the record low has dropped below freezing. For the coldest month, daytime high close to 70F, with corresponding night temperature not below 45-50 F. A couple of slightly inland places in Orange County may satisfy this requirement.

At first one may think that the likes of Pasadena and Palm Springs could also satisfy the requirement, but the former has almost double the allowed winter rainfall, and the latter has too many months where the record low was below freezing, increasing the risk that chilly nights can be semi-regular rather than being a relatively rare occurrence. On this note, I hear that the Nepal/Mexican/Jamaican tall species are slightly better at tolerating the occasional chilly evening than the Malaysian dwarf varieties - in fact the Corona tree may be of such a type.

The nearest comparison to Coconuts being planted in semi-Mediterranean type climates with mainly Winter rain are Madeira/Porto Santo (latitude 32), and Geraldton W.A. (latitude 28). They just about manage in those locations. A whole week of daytime temps consistently below 56F is a critical threshold for (non) survival, and perhaps this is what causes so many specimens in CA to fail. Indeed, Southern Florida, parts of coastal Queensland, and even Hong Kong have all experienced this at least once in their history with the loss of some weaker specimens.

(BTW, I am temporarily living in the United Kingdom in a village near Gatwick, where in 2019 I kept a mini Coconut Palm from the supermarket outdoors in the pot and wanted to see how long it could survive with minimal assistance. Thanks to an unusually hot summer where there was a week of 100F followed by a relatively dry fall that year, it remained largely undamaged until the first week of November, then temperatures suddenly nosedived where a Canada-style frost arrived and within a week it was gone).

The latest Coconut palm to break that mold was found in a front yard...no structure that close- the house was 15-20'? away. A lawn could be seen near the palm. Palm Board has photos.

I think its just warmer everywhere in California..more a matter of a lack of deep killing cold rather than much hotter summers.

I came within hours of a 10b winter..it hadn't dropped below 39f for almost the whole three month period of De-Jan-Feb until one night hit a low of 34f.

So far the Coconut palms that were doing well in sou California have not died of cold..the dead ones were killed off by going dry or cut down.

In fact I think palm people down there might try planting a few per yard. They look great in groups.

Here's a recent pic of same coconut....