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Wayne
11-07-2008, 02:35 PM
Hello guys if anyone has a fresh Coconut with the husk still attached.
maybe from a local beach.? I'd love to try and grow a coconut palm. I think coconut palm trees are probably the best looking palm or plant I've ever seen, i love the look of it. Thanks alot

-Wayne-

bencelest
11-07-2008, 03:08 PM
Good luck to you. But your dreams growing one are all uphill battle. Very stiff. Unless you have a greenhouse that can maintain above 75 degrees tempt and sandy soil and good humidity constantly. Here in California they sell coconuts in pots 4 to 5 feet high but I dare not buy one. I don''t see any house or green houses that grow them.
Unless you happen to live in Miami FL or Hawaii.

Wayne
11-07-2008, 06:01 PM
Well what a negative answer... well i guess your right, but trying doesn't hurt? i mean doesn't grocery store bought ones work? give'in the right requirements?

Simply Bananas
11-07-2008, 06:25 PM
The Lows here had sprouted coconuts a while back, but I have not seen any in a while. You could perhaps check the website.

bencelest
11-07-2008, 07:01 PM
I am sorry if I am too harsh on you.
This was discussed here before and you can read it if you type coconut tree and click on search.
If you still want to continue I am with you.
Here's one sample of a post
"

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Default Re: coconut tree
LOL you need a temp of 30 - 35 C daily , they need 12 - 18 hours of sunlight each day and they drink water thats on 20 degree's C.
they can't survive temp fluctations , 10 C fluctation = kill

o yes and the roots are deeeep and huge, its almost impossible to have it indoors when its a few years old, even in a 200 litre.

its only for zone 11 and higher, the grow will always stunt if you grow in colder zones, alot coconut nucifera will stunt at 20 C

i had one that was a few years old and i gave up --too big, i planted it in the garden becuase it was so badly rootbound while it was in a very big pot. so i had no choice to plant it in the garden , it died in the summer at 28 C we had no sunlight for 3 weeks here in the netherlands zone 7a - 8b
NOT MENTIONING THE RISK OF COCONUT ON YOUR HEADS
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Wayne
11-07-2008, 07:58 PM
I am sorry if I am too harsh on you.
This was discussed here before and you can read it if you type coconut tree and click on search.
If you still want to continue I am with you.
Here's one sample of a post
"

Lodewijkp's Avatar

Location: the netherlands
Zone: 7a 8a
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 148
BananaBucks : 5,039 [Donate]
Feedback: 0 / 0%
Thanks: 28
Thanked 20 Times in 12 Posts
Welcomes: 0

Default Re: coconut tree
LOL you need a temp of 30 - 35 C daily , they need 12 - 18 hours of sunlight each day and they drink water thats on 20 degree's C.
they can't survive temp fluctations , 10 C fluctation = kill

o yes and the roots are deeeep and huge, its almost impossible to have it indoors when its a few years old, even in a 200 litre.

its only for zone 11 and higher, the grow will always stunt if you grow in colder zones, alot coconut nucifera will stunt at 20 C

i had one that was a few years old and i gave up --too big, i planted it in the garden becuase it was so badly rootbound while it was in a very big pot. so i had no choice to plant it in the garden , it died in the summer at 28 C we had no sunlight for 3 weeks here in the netherlands zone 7a - 8b
NOT MENTIONING THE RISK OF COCONUT ON YOUR HEADS
__________________
The Orion Project (http://www.Theorionproject.org)

No need you dont sound one bit HARSH to me. but i get what your saying. but that sucks. i love these trees, nothing beats the tropical feeling of a cocos nucifera. and btw any other Palm that grow or maybe look exactly alike, but is still capital of growing and living onward?


-Wayne-

bencelest
11-08-2008, 06:53 AM
I have a picture that I thought just as pretty that is very hardy and can grow in your local greenhouse. Once I find it I'll post it here.

bencelest
11-08-2008, 08:10 AM
Here it is:

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=7295 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=7288)

Phoenix reclinata
Common Names: Senegal date palm
Family: Arecacea/Palmae

Bob
11-08-2008, 08:25 AM
Check with some of the florida growers. I'm pretty sure that there's a "dwarf" variety that only gets 10-12ft tall that you might be able to get. As I recall It was controversial whether or not this was a true dwarf. I had one about 15 years ago for a season but was in an accident and was unable to bring it in before it got killed by the frost. Since it was so long ago I forgot the particulars. I'll see if I can find more info.

bencelest
11-08-2008, 03:14 PM
I did some more search and here's what I found.
Family: Arecaceae (ar-ek-AY-see-ee) (Info)
Genus: Phoenix (FEE-niks) (Info)
Species: reclinata (rek-lin-AY-tuh) (Info)

One vendor has this plant for sale.

2 members have or want this plant for trade.

Category:
Tropicals and Tender Perennials
Palms

Height:
over 40 ft. (12 m)

Spacing:
12-15 ft. (3.6-4.7 m)

Hardiness:
USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6 °C (20 °F)
USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 °C (25 °F)
USDA Zone 10a: to -1.1 °C (30 °F)
USDA Zone 10b: to 1.7 °C (35 °F)
USDA Zone 11: above 4.5 °C (40 °F)

Sun Exposure:
Full Sun

Danger:
Unknown - Tell us

Bloom Color:
Pale Yellow

Bloom Time:
Blooms repeatedly

Foliage:
Grown for foliage
Evergreen
Dark/Black
Bronze-Green

Other details:
Drought-tolerant; suitable for xeriscaping
Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater
Requires consistently moist soil; do not let dry out between waterings

Soil pH requirements:
6.6 to 7.5 (neutral)

Patent Information:
Unknown - Tell us

Propagation Methods:
From seed; sow indoors before last frost

Seed Collecting:
Remove fleshy coating on seeds before storing
Allow unblemished fruit to ripen; clean and dry seeds

You can buy the seeds for 6 cents each. minimum to buy : 11 seeds.
Fast grower.

Worm_Farmer
11-08-2008, 05:07 PM
I was told at a local nursey that you have to be south of Melbourne Beach on the East coast of FL to get a Coconut to fruit, and in winter almost all the leafs will die back if it gets too cold. Some people grow them out real tall and never get a coconut.

bencelest
11-09-2008, 10:49 AM
The time I went to Hawaii this year I noticed that I did not see a single coconut tree that has a fruit in it in the park or hotels I passed by.

cedardave
11-09-2008, 12:00 PM
Well.....I think to some degree you can grow just about anything you want almost anywhere you want. I bought a sprouting coconut 3 or 4 years ago. It still resides in a fairly small pot as its growth is slowed because of where I grow it. It has reached about 7 or so feet tall and continues to grow. In addition I have another coconut(recently sprouted) also growing well as well as seven of the big box store coconuts, although I havent had these as long. The largest has grown only indoors under skylights. It is likely that eventually they will perish as a result of the climate here, but for now we enjoy them. Interestingly enough, the largest one(bought as a sprout from an online store in hawaii) seems fairly resistant to spider mites.If you want the address for the online store send me a pm. They always have them.

lorax
11-09-2008, 12:30 PM
You could also go with Parajubaea cocoides (http://ispeakforthetrees.blog.com/3269694/), which is hardy to about -5 and can be kept indoors until it gets really tall. A nice bonus is edible nuts.

brettay
11-09-2008, 01:56 PM
The time I went to Hawaii this year I noticed that I did not see a single coconut tree that has a fruit in it in the park or hotels I passed by.

I have seen many coconut fruits in Hawaii, but at the hotels and public places they are invariably removed when they are small so as not to later fall on people's heads.

-Brett

Wayne
11-09-2008, 03:39 PM
All of these ideas are all good, and i feel as if anything is possible, or at least approachable. yes near death is a factor, but the shear pleasure of a huge Tropical coconut frond canopying you from the sun is Dreamy.. lol, but you get what i mean. ;)

-Wayne-
:bananarow:

lorax
11-09-2008, 04:24 PM
I do. That's why I moved to the tropics. I used to be a Canadian....

bencelest
11-10-2008, 12:59 PM
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=14458 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=14457)

Thanks Brett.

I imagine you can grow coconut trees anywhere as Cedardave said.
I am only talking from my experience. I tried to grow them indoors twice but I was not successful. Both tries were failures.
If someone's is successful, please let us know how did you do it.
Yes, it would be dreamy having a coconut tree in your yard or greenhouse.

bencelest
11-10-2008, 01:01 PM
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=14457 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=13600)

lorax
11-10-2008, 04:34 PM
I've been successful with them indoors by making the soil slightly salty, and maintaining the arboretum at 28C. The rest of my indoor tropicals loved it.

This is when I lived in zone 3a, btw.

bencelest
11-10-2008, 07:39 PM
Thanks Lorax.
I might do that someday when my greenhouse is ready for constant 84 degrees Fahrenheit tempt. I am still building my greenhouse at the moment.
Once my greenhouse is complete coconut is only one to grow that I have in mind. I have many others like papaya, star apple, mango, cherimoya.....etc.....

bencelest
01-12-2009, 10:54 AM
Ah, I just came back for 3 weeks vacation in the Philippines and I just took pictures of my coconuts planted in my vacant yard. One of them is a yellow/orange coconut fruits and I just bought 7 coconut pups about 2 feet high for roughly $2.00 for all. The unique thing about these coconuts that I just bought is that there is no liquid inside the fruit but all meat. The locals called it "makapuno" meaning it is filled in full.
I will post pictures of them as soon as possible.
It said that it will start to fruit in 5 to 7 years at about 5 -foot -high.

damaclese
01-12-2009, 03:15 PM
i Have a friend that is an arborist in Hawaii and he told me that the reason they do not have vary many coconuts in and around the tourist sites is that the failing fruit is quite dangerous he told me and i don't know if this is true that the #one cause of head trauma in the tropics is death by coconut dropping on your head hes a bit prone to exaggeration so I'm not sure i believe that but i thought id pass it on just encase!

sorta make me think if the game clue! "Miss Peabody in the arboretum with a coconut" LOL :ukkibannana:

bencelest
01-12-2009, 04:27 PM
Pauly:
That is a myth if I heard one. I still have to know someone died because of a falling coconut fruit. Coconuts can stay on the tree until the husk dried up. The only time that I know that a coconut fell off the tree was when the rats chew on the stem or the giant crabs from Hawaii chew on the coconuts (this I heard from a Hawaiian friend of mine who as a kid hunt this giant crabs and they were very delicious so I heard). And he knows where to hunt them.

Chironex
01-12-2009, 04:43 PM
Pauly, I think he was yanking your chain. I can't imagine coconut bonking outdistancing surfboard injuries, motorcycle/moped/bicycle accidents, sailing incidents/boating, slips and falls and public intoxication for head trauma. :ha::aliennaner:

bencelest
01-13-2009, 01:31 AM
Here's the orange yellow coconut fruit planted in my vacant lot in the Philippines
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15151&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15151)

island cassie
01-13-2009, 01:33 AM
Hey guys - death by coconut is a serious statistic here in the Dominican Republic after rta and bullet holes! haha! At the beaches they have men to warn the unwary which trees not to park their cars under. I've seen many vehicles with broken windscreens caused by falling coconuts, so I know that tourist venues worldwide cut the fruit down while they are small!

bencelest
01-13-2009, 01:33 AM
This is how a regular coconut looks like and in the background is a yellow orange coconut fruit

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15149&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15149)

bencelest
01-13-2009, 01:36 AM
Here is a place where coconuts are stored and some are being prepared to sell along the highway fruitstand

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15152&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15152)

bencelest
01-13-2009, 01:38 AM
and here is a coconut fruitstand alongside the highway

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15150&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15150)

bencelest
01-13-2009, 01:41 AM
Another view of a orange yellow coconut fruit. Aren't they pretty?

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15153&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15153)

Bob
01-13-2009, 10:51 AM
Great pics Benny! These look a lot like the Malayan Dwarf coconuts sold on ebay. If they can actually start fruiting at 5 ft this may be a good choice for us northerners. Can't hurt to try right? Thanks for posting.

frog7994
01-13-2009, 11:44 AM
Check with some of the florida growers. I'm pretty sure that there's a "dwarf" variety that only gets 10-12ft tall that you might be able to get. As I recall It was controversial whether or not this was a true dwarf. I had one about 15 years ago for a season but was in an accident and was unable to bring it in before it got killed by the frost. Since it was so long ago I forgot the particulars. I'll see if I can find more info.

I've never heard of a dwarf variety. From all the coconuts i've grown up around and seen I've heard of it being tryied I would love to have one too. So if any one have such a plant for sale please contact me .

Bob
01-13-2009, 11:47 AM
I've never heard of a dwarf variety. From all the coconuts i've grown up around and seen I've heard of it being tryied I would love to have one too. So if any one have such a plant for sale please contact me .

Just go on ebay and type in "dwarf coconut " as a search. You'll see a few different ones. They can only be considered "dwarf " in comparison but if you could get fruit at less than 6 or 8 feet tall it might be interesting to give it a try.

frog7994
01-13-2009, 11:57 AM
I've seen them produce a 4 feet but that does not make them dwarf coconut. Every time the fruit is cut off it grows taller. My neibor next door has them all over his yard he loves coconuts. I'll see if he will let me take some pics and post them.

bencelest
01-13-2009, 12:42 PM
I have a few pictures that started bearing fruit at around 5 feet. I'll look for it.

bencelest
01-14-2009, 02:43 PM
Tried but could not find it.
Here's the closest one I could find. Pic taken while on vacation in Hawaii

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15174&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15174)

Notice the coconut trunk that is almost parallel with the coconut pic? That trunk just so happened to extend growing almost across the pond in that position. So it is kinda unique having to grow that way almost parallel to the ground.

bencelest
01-14-2009, 02:50 PM
and there is this banana that I could not pass taking a picture. If I can have one half as that pretty in my backyard..............

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15175&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15175)

Gabe15
01-14-2009, 07:16 PM
Pauly:
That is a myth if I heard one. I still have to know someone died because of a falling coconut fruit. Coconuts can stay on the tree until the husk dried up. The only time that I know that a coconut fell off the tree was when the rats chew on the stem or the giant crabs from Hawaii chew on the coconuts (this I heard from a Hawaiian friend of mine who as a kid hunt this giant crabs and they were very delicious so I heard). And he knows where to hunt them.

A friend of mine almost died from a falling coconut. She was in the hospital for awhile in serious condition. They can be rather heavy and not much different as if large stones were falling from trees. Here, almost all coconuts in public areas (and in and around hotels and resorts) are routinely pruned of flowers to stop large fruit from ever forming. All coconuts have to fall off the tree sometime, and even when they look brown and dry they are full of water and oil inside the seed still.

On another note, there are no coconut crabs here in Hawai'i, thats a south pacific thing. So perhaps your friend grew up somewhere else or was telling you the myth!

frog7994
01-14-2009, 08:07 PM
well I've seen them in the west indies just not sure which island.

Chironex
01-14-2009, 08:36 PM
Wayne, I found some seeds for sale on ebay.
Here is the link: Live Fresh Key Largo Coconut Palm Seed Ready to Plant - eBay (item 190275483672 end time Jan-20-09 08:04:47 PST) (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?campid=5336119895&customid=Bananas.org&toolid=10001&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%2 6item%3D190275483672)

and here's another: TWO Malayan Golden Dwarf Coconut Palm Seeds C nucifera - eBay (item 360050314115 end time Feb-01-09 11:09:05 PST) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360050314115)

bencelest
01-15-2009, 10:33 AM
On another note, there are no coconut crabs here in Hawai'i, thats a south pacific thing. So perhaps your friend grew up somewhere else or was telling you the myth!

My friend is a native Hawaiian. You maybe right that there are no more coconut crabs anymore in Hawaii.
he was just telling me his experience when he was a teenager where he was the only one who knew where the coconut crabs reside. He would go to extreme hills and mangroves to get there. And it was his secret place.
But as the civilization progresses, no one can tell if they become extinct.
I remember very well I hunt birds, and fish right after I got out of our house, now, it was rows and rows of urban houses abound. I even remember the fences were bougainvilleas and gumamelas. Now nothing but concrete and rocks.
I'd see my friend sometime today if his secret place is still a secret. He also told me his secret place where he fished large fish and catch a bunch in no time at all. It's another secret place of his. Just his.