By Julie Christensen
Few trees are more exotic than the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera Linn.). This regal tree produces edible seeds – coconuts. Unfortunately, coconut palms are hardy only in USDA plant hardiness zone 11 and 12. They need minimum temperatures of about 72 degrees and grow best when temperatures range between 85 and 95 degrees.
You can try growing them indoors, but they probably won’t bear fruit. If you live in a warm, tropical area, you can plant coconut palms outdoors at any time of the year, although the warm, rainy months of summer are best. The trees grow slowly and may not produce fruit for several years. At maturity, they can reach heights of 80 to 100 feet.
Propagating Coconut Palm
The simplest way to grow coconut palms is from a potted nursery plant, but you can grow them from seed. Start with a coconut – the kind you find in the grocery store will do. Place the coconut in a bucket filled with lukewarm water. Use a rock or weight to keep the coconut submerged under water and leave it for three or four days. This soaking softens the coconut and accelerates the germination process.
Remove the coconut from the water. Fill a large zip-top plastic bag with 1 cup of water. Place the coconut in the plastic bag and seal it. Store it in a warm, dark location, such as near a water heater. Check it every week. The seed will germinate and produce roots and a sprout within a few weeks or up to three months.
Once the roots begin to grow, gently wrap them in a damp paper towel and place the coconut back in the bag. It’s time to transplant the coconut when the sprout grows to about the size of your finger and the roots are about 6 to 8 inches long. To plant your coconut palm in a pot, select a pot that holds at least 10 gallons of soil. Fill it with a potting soil designed for cactus or make your own mix by combining one part regular potting soil with one part sand. Add a few handfuls of fine gravel. Plant the coconut so part of the sprout is beneath the soil.
To plant a coconut seed in the ground, select a location that has sandy, loose, well-draining soil. In low-lying areas, plant coconuts in raised beds to improve drainage.
Whether you propagate your coconut palm from seed or from a nursery transplant, coconut palms need frequent moisture. Water them at least weekly so the soil stays consistently moist. Coconut palms should be planted in an area that gets full sun. A warm, protected area is ideal. If you like, you can create a mini-greenhouse around your young plant. Drive several bamboo stakes into the ground 6 inches from the plant to create a sort of fence around the plant. Wrap plastic wrap around the bamboo sticks and across the top to create an enclosure. Remove this greenhouse once the tree stands 12 inches tall.
Coconut palms are subject to phosphorus, nitrogen, manganese and boron deficiencies, which typically present themselves as yellowed leaves or slow growth. To prevent nutrient deficiencies, fertilize your coconut palm every two months with a fertilizer made for palm trees. Apply the fertilizer with a rotary spreader throughout the area under the crown of the tree. Apply it at a rate of 1 pound per 100 square feet of soil.
Pests and Diseases
Coconut palms are plagued by several disease problems. The most common one is “lethal yellow” (LY), which has slowly spread up the coast of Florida, killing off many native and commercial plantings. Yellowing leaves, dropping fruit and slow death are the most likely symptoms. If you live in an area prone to LY, plant a disease-resistant variety such as Malayan Dwarf. Infected trees may be treated with antibiotics, but you must treat the tree every four months for the rest of its life. In a home garden, it’s usually best to remove infected trees.
Fungal bud rot causes spots on the leaves or the leaves become gray. As the fungus infects the buds, they shrivel, yellow and drop and have a foul odor. The disease is most common after heavy rains or in poorly draining soil. Plant palm coconuts in full sun, in well-draining soil and treat them with fosetyl-Al to prevent fungal bud rot. Once infected, the trees should be removed.
Harvesting Coconut Trees
Your coconut palm may begin producing fruit five to seven years after planting. The coconuts take 7 to 12 months to mature from bud set. Harvest them at seven months for drinking. Harvest at 12 months if you plan to dry the coconut.
For more information, visit the following link:
The Coconut Palm in Florida from the University of Florida IFAS Extension
Julie Christensen learned about gardening on her grandfather’s farm and mother’s vegetable garden in southern Idaho. Today, she lives and gardens on the high plains of Colorado. When she’s not digging in the dirt, Julie writes about food, education, parenting and gardening.
I have been growing coconut palms for many years is South Florida. Hollywood to be exact. I am pretty convinced the lethal yellow has ran it’s course. I have not seen any trees in the Dade and Broward county area succumb to lethal yellow in the past ten years. I grew up here in south Florida in the 60s and 70s and saw the destruction as lethal yellow laid waste to thousands of Jamaica tall and even the Malayan palms that were planted back then. The date palms and Manila Palms died by the thousands. Today more than 40 years later I have seen a rebirth of the coconut trees they are everywhere again and as beautiful as ever. It looks like the place back in the 60s before Lethal yellow. The coconut palms here today are robust fast growing producing fruit at incredible rates. The coconuts are very prolific 7 of ten nuts sprout now! The coconut palm is one of the most beautiful palms on earth the tree of life. It adds so much to south Florida just to see them all back again lining streets and beaches brings back memories. Coconut Palm’s made south Florida the tropical tourist spot it is today. So my advice to you is if you don’t have a coconut palm in your front lawn. Plant one increase the beauty of your property and inspire other neighbors to do so as well creating a tropical wonder land. So when people form the northern climates pass by they too can enjoy the wonder of the tropical world of South Florida
Hi
I just came across your post. I grew up in Miami in the 60’s. Always loved my
coconut trees. I’m in south Texas now and want to see if I can get one to grow.
Many of our winters are mild.
Hey John, I am from Norfolk Island, our closest land mass is New caldonia a French Territory, 463 miles away coconuts where never originaly found here, however, I have 3 large coconuts trees growing, one 19 yrs old one 16 years old one 10 years old, all bearing for the first time. I have also just germanted two other nuts, planted in mulch that has been placed around the senior coconut trees.i have 9 coconuts (unhusked) trying to germante in the plastic bag method. Question is, instead of putting the plastic bags with the nuts in them, in to a dark warm spot, can I leave them out doors in direct sun light still in the zip lock bags ,? Our temperature is about 22 degrees,, if the coconuts come from New Caledonia, or may be Vanuatu,,? What breed would they be,? ,,,,,, Warren finch
When do you go to cover a coconut tree when I gets cold how cold
Hello! We have 4 coconut palms in the yard of our new home. I would like to add more by using the coconuts from our own trees. I’m a transplant from Tennessee and although I did my fair share of gardening there I’ve never grown coconuts before! We have lots of large coconuts from a severely damaged tree (lightning hit it halfway down the trunk so unfortunately we had to have it removed.) We were so sad. This particular tree had the largest and tastiest coconuts on it and they all have lots of water in them. We saved all the coconuts from this tree & we also set aside 7 coconuts to try to sprout. They are a green smooth color on the outside. All the coconut sprouting videos I’m seeing show folks soaking brown coconuts and not the green ones. Can I sprout mine?
I am from Charleston wv area and want to know if i can coconut palm tree
How interesting to read all these comments.I lived for a while in Key West in the mid 80’s and recall the coconut palms vividly.I now live in tropical far north Queensland Australia where Cocos nucifera has an ideal climate but is frowned upon as an invasive weed unfortunately by so called environmental “experts”.I personally love these palms and am fortunate to live where so many other palm species thrive here in Cairns.
I have a house in Jacksonville which is zone 9b. I would like to live in a place where i could grow coconuts, mangos, pineapple etc. The internet said for coconuts to grow well it needs a zone 11 or 12. I noticed it is real busy in the south with lots of traffic. Where is the beginning area in FL that it is hot enough for the coconuts and mangos to grow? if possible I would like a more laid back area with not a lot of traffic.
South of the frost belt, from Frostproof, Florida and south. Lake Okeechobee area, I would think.
On the West Florida Coast, Coconuts from Manatee and South and on the East Coast Melbourne and South
Is it possible to grow a coconut palm in North Port (Sarasota County)?
I live in zone 7A and am zone pushing growing coconuts. I live in coastal Maryland on the western side of the Chesapeake bay. I use a climate controlled greenhouse with some simple modifications and have been able to successfully recreate the conditions of South Florida with correct temperatures, humidity, light and watering.
The biggest and least talked about aspect is the lighting. In South Florida, there are about 13.5 hours of daylight at the summer solstice and 10.5 hours at the winter solstice – so nothing too drastic. In Maryland, out longest daylight approaches 15 hours and the shortest is about 9 hours – so a much larger daylight swing – which is why I have to make it up with supplemental lighting to about 11.5 12 hours total.
I can keep them outdoors up here from mid-June through mid-late September.
They range in size from 2 feet to 7 feet currently.