Coconut Palm in Mexicali, Baja California

[chinandega81]

Here is the coconut palm located in Mexicali, Baja California I mentioned in another thread. It is located about 3 blocks south of the border with Calexico in Callejón Reforma, a half block from the Hospital Hispanoamericano. Not sure of the age...it has seeds but they look like the froze in the winter. 

[Danilopez89]

Nice!

It looks like the other ones I found growing out here in the Coachella Valley. Hopefully they won't chop it down like the one in Palm Desert. Or get electrocuted.

[chinandega81]

Powerline decline is a possibility. Coconut palms are sold in Mxli nurseries but most people dont plant them here. Even in San Felipe I havent seen them. I hope global warming can take 5 de degrees off winter temps. 

There are also some coconut palms growing nicely in Salton Sea Beach off Hwy 86 not too far from the AM PM.

[Danilopez89]

6 hours ago, chinandega81 said:

Powerline decline is a possibility. Coconut palms are sold in Mxli nurseries but most people dont plant them here. Even in San Felipe I havent seen them. I hope global warming can take 5 de degrees off winter temps. 

There are also some coconut palms growing nicely in Salton Sea Beach off Hwy 86 not too far from the AM PM.

Yea I've posted pics of those by the Salton Sea. They look great!I wouldn't be surprised if more coconut palms are growing just south of the border from us. I saw flowering delonix regia trees further south of mexicali in large open fields. It must not freeze often out there...

[chinandega81]

Actually....it does freeze. I have a friend whose mom is from the southern portion of th Valle de Mexicali....south of Guadalupe Victoria (KM43). Every year she has large bougainvillea that burn back every winter.

There are some very large specimens of Royal Poincianas and Mangos in the random ejidos though, so I am sure slight elevation differences, more pavement and microclimates play a huge roll all the way down to the outskirts of Hermosillo, Sonora, where zone 10B truely begins without being isolated pockets.

 

What kind of cold do you see on average in the Coachella Valley urbanized áreas? I know Mecca and Thermal are low spots and attract ridiculously cold temperatures...but for their to have been a fruting coconut in Palm Desert I am interested. Also, seeing your royals palms, how cold do you go and what city are you located in?

 

Thank you for the Salton Sea Beach coconut pics. Are they recent?

[Danilopez89]

Yeah you must be right about the different elevations and microclimates. Overall I think it must be very similar to my climate here in the Coachella Valley. 

I'm right in the Indio/Coachella part of the valley. Very urbanized but lower elevation than my surroundings. I guess during the freezing nights the cold sinks further down into the Thermal/ Mecca area. So I don't get hit with the worst I guess.

My royals have done well their past 2 winters. I think I might have seen temps at about 26°F in late Dec 2014. It must have been a short freeze though. Only my biggest royal had pretty bad cold damage that year. This past winter they didn't get any damage at all. The only thing that got cold damage in my yard was a semi newly planted delonix regia.

The coconut in Palm Desert was located in south Palm Desert elevated from the valley floor. The one in La Quinta is also elevated quite a bit above the valley floor. So with all this global warming going on the days I bet they must bottom out at about 39°F - 40°F most years. Lol

[Cluster]

Freezes in those elevations will probably not happen that often with the heat island effect there and the global warming, though I would have some cables (at least for one of my favorite palms) prepared for when one day it does go below a certain threshold that would kill your palm.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Cluster

[Pando]

They tolerate freeze, as long as the temps go back up to the 60s and 70s during the day.

They hate prolonged cool damp weather, typical in coastal areas, which is why you can find healthy specimens only in Home Depot and Lowes.

[Pando]

14 hours ago, chinandega81 said:

Here is the coconut palm located in Mexicali, Baja California I mentioned in another thread. It is located about 3 blocks south of the border with Calexico in Callejón Reforma, a half block from the Hospital Hispanoamericano. Not sure of the age...it has seeds but they look like the froze in the winter

 

Looked pretty nice back in 2009 also!

https://goo.gl/maps/FPtCW9kCuS22

 

[Cluster]

Yeah they tolerate freeze but I would not let my palm unprotected in a day like the snow one Palm Desert/Palm springs had some decades ago!

Coco looks cool indeed!

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On ‎5‎/‎30‎/‎2016‎ ‎11‎:‎38‎:‎27‎, chinandega81 said:

Here is the coconut palm located in Mexicali, Baja California I mentioned in another thread. It is located about 3 blocks south of the border with Calexico in Callejón Reforma, a half block from the Hospital Hispanoamericano. Not sure of the age...it has seeds but they look like the froze in the winter. 

Judging by the size of the leaves and color of the leaves and petioles, it looks like a pure Mexican Tall, which would make it the best suited variety for that area.  They probably got it from a relative or friend on the Gulf side of Mexico, since the Pacific Coast and the Gulf of California Coast have a lot of Pacific Talls.  It is real shame they planted it right underneath the power lines.  I am sure it will get power line decline and look pretty bad soon, and probably will not produce many good nuts as a result of it.

[GottmitAlex]

It's a real shame about it being so close to the power lines. However, vis a vis against the Newport (while it stood) and the Salton sea coco palms, this one tops them. 

The leaves look quite healthy on the Mexicali coco palm.  La Quinta's coco palm seems to be the best of the Cali coco palms.

 

 

[GottmitAlex]

Mexicali Freeze in 2015

In the video the guy says his current temperature was 2C, while the evening's temp was 0C.

 

Just look at Mexicali's December 2015 temps  http://www.accuweather.com/en/mx/mexicali/241910/december-weather/241910?monyr=12/1/2015

Mexicali's JAN and Feb 2016 temps: http://www.accuweather.com/en/mx/mexicali/241910/january-weather/241910?monyr=1/1/2016

 

This, of course, begs the question: How does one acquire one of these "Mexican tall" coconut palm seedlings? 

Wow

Edited August 15, 2016 by GottmitAlex

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

50 minutes ago, GottmitAlex said:

Mexicali Freeze in 2015

In the video the guy says his current temperature was 2C, while the evening's temp was 0C.

 

Just look at Mexicali's December 2015 temps  http://www.accuweather.com/en/mx/mexicali/241910/december-weather/241910?monyr=12/1/2015

Mexicali's JAN and Feb 2016 temps: http://www.accuweather.com/en/mx/mexicali/241910/january-weather/241910?monyr=1/1/2016

 

This, of course, begs the question: How does one acquire one of these "Mexican tall" coconut palm seedlings? 

Wow

Alex,

With those kind of nighttime lows in the 30'sF and 40'sF night after night, I don't see how they can get any kind of coconut palm to grow there!  Where I live, the normal high/low in Jan. is about 65F/50F, and they are considered marginal here, but in Mexicali, the normal low looks like it is 42F, which is way too chilly for overnight lows for a coconut palm!  By the way, the only way to get a Mexican Tall that I know of is to get really lucky with sprouted beach nuts collected off the beach here at Padre Island.  Most of the sprouts we get from beach nuts here are likely Maymex hybrid crosses between Malayan Dwarfs and Mexican Talls, with some sprouts appearing to be pure Malayan Dwarfs.  I would say that only about 10 to 20% of the sprouts we get are pure Mexican Talls.

John

[GottmitAlex]

2019 updated google map of the Mexicali coconut.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/MsanW

https://maps.app.goo.gl/4cw5q

 

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by GottmitAlex

[bubba]

What is the latitude of Mexicali? What were low temperatures experienced during February California Polar Vortex? I am wondering how the La Quinta coconut and Salton Sea coconuts are doing after some rather cold temperatures out in the desert this winter. I understand numerous mornings were well below freezing from a friend at La Quinta (26F). Not sure about the Salton Sea but those are tough temperatures for Cocos nucifera culture. Would like an update on La Quinta.

[kinzyjr]

12 minutes ago, bubba said:

What is the latitude of Mexicali? What were low temperatures experienced during February California Polar Vortex? I am wondering how the La Quinta coconut and Salton Sea coconuts are doing after some rather cold temperatures out in the desert this winter. I understand numerous mornings were well below freezing from a friend at La Quinta (26F). Not sure about the Salton Sea but those are tough temperatures for Cocos nucifera culture. Would like an update on La Quinta.

Latitude is ~32.6N, record low is 17.6F according to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexicali#Climate

[GottmitAlex]

On 4/3/2019 at 5:51 PM, kinzyjr said:

Latitude is ~32.6N, record low is 17.6F according to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexicali#Climate

Yup. Mexicali does not have hills. Add to the fact they are below sea level. It may not snow there too often, however, they get constant freezes/frost.

Edited April 7, 2019 by GottmitAlex

[GottmitAlex]

On 5/31/2016 at 12:13 AM, Pando said:

Looked pretty nice back in 2009 also!

https://goo.gl/maps/FPtCW9kCuS22

 

I may be mistaken, but seems the coconut (and the house) have been taken down.

I cant seem to find either of them in 2020 streetview/gmaps.