lakeland Coconuts in Lakeland, FL

[kinzyjr]

11 hours ago, idanny76 said:

Looking at some of the pictures, I didn't think they could be planted so close to the house. I was assuming you would need more room for the fonds to grow out. I guess the point would be to force the palm to bend away and not grow straight up?

The advantage to having them very close to the house is to have wind protection during advective freezes and more radiant heat at night every night of the year.  It helps them get through some of those less than ideal winters - like this last one.  While all of the coconuts here in town are fine with various amounts of damage, when you get away from town and folks have them planted out at the border of the property with no canopy and completely exposed to the wind, they're dead.

I posted a some freeze reports on this thread where you can see some of the damage for the different varieties as well as a few coconuts I hadn't posted on this thread yet:

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/72092-january-2022-florida-freeze-report/

[kinzyjr]

A few photos of the coconuts around town after another growing season:

Glendale coconuts (2 photos):

Clubhouse Coconut:

Hallam Coconut - trunking after being defoliated in Jan. 2018

Combee Coconuts with Immature Fruit

Main St. Coconuts - unfortunately with poor lighting - Hard to believe they are only 7 years old (2 Photos)

Edgewater Beach Coconuts (2 photos):

My older Jamaican Tall:

My Maypan:

[chinandega81]

They look great, right at home. Let's hope for a mild to very warm winter.

[kinzyjr]

One of the questions about coconuts here is how large they can grow here.  When I drove on Kathleen Road, I looked forward to seeing a large coconut palm as I approached the west side of Lake Wire.

A grainy Google Street View photo of it alive and well with a full crown in December 2007.  The entire crown was above the house, and it really stood out.  This is the only photo I could find of it still alive.

My assumption that one of the 2010 cold snaps killed it proved to be true unfortunately.  This Google Street View photo from May 2011 shows the amount of clear trunk (~12 feet) it had when it passed.  If it had survived, it would likely have been in competition with the I-Drive coconut for the largest inland Central Florida coconut palm.

A few years ago, the owner opted for another.  The Google Street View from January 2019 shows it just starting to fill out at the bottom.  It is currently catching up to my Maypan. :

If they let some of the oak branches provide cover for it this time, it might just get back to the original's former glory.

[kinzyjr]

On 5/23/2023 at 9:59 PM, kinzyjr said:

If they let some of the oak branches provide cover for it this time, it might just get back to the original's former glory.

The replacement is doing well.  It's already got some trunk and came out of winter pretty well.

The microclimate of the area is edge-heat-island, not as strong of a UHI as locations half a mile east, but still benefits some from urbanization.  They have large mango trees in the area loaded with fruit.

[kinzyjr]

A few off of Combee Rd.  The smaller ones in front have been there since late 2020/early 2021, so they get credit for surviving both cold events in 2022.  The larger ones in back were recently added and have ~6-8 feet of trunk.  Google Street View can get you closer to the ones in front. You'll also notice a fourth spot where there was one that perished. on the right near the stop sign.

[kinzyjr]

A coconut with a think trunk and full crown in the Cleveland Heights area:

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

4 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

A coconut with a think trunk and full crown in the Cleveland Heights area:

Nice.  Can you tell if it's a Jamaican Tall?

John

[kinzyjr]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Nice.  Can you tell if it's a Jamaican Tall?

John

This particular coconut palm looks most like my Maypan, but to know for sure we'll probably have to wait until fall to see if it takes the classic Jamaican Tall spherical crown to rule that completely in or out.  Once it sets fruit, that will narrow it down a bit as well.  If the fruit is larger than a basketball, it's probably a Maypan.

 

[kinzyjr]

A few updates and some new additions:

Highlands: This one had nearly mature coconuts on it when it was photographed.  The trunk gives way to the crown above the roof line, so ~8ft. of gray wood.

Golfview: These were installed larger and set fruit year round.

Main St.: This triple planting is doing really well.  They do produce coconuts, but they are removed periodically.

Glendale: These have put off a few immature coconuts.  (2 photos)

North Lake Wire: This one replaced one that was killed by the 2010 freezes in January and/or December.  At the time, that coconut palm was one of the largest in town and clearly viewable from the highway.  The replacement looks like it is doing great.

Cheverly: This one is growing fast and may start producing coconuts next year.

Edgewater Beach: Before the 2010 freezes, there were some trunking coconuts here.  The peninsula juts out into Lake Parker and has a climate that resists radiational cooling well. (2 photos - each of a different palm)

Clubhouse: Not the best photo and it looked a little ratty after winter, but it does have better than 6 feet of gray wood.

Combee: This triple planting is decent, but the ones at the back of the property (no photo of these) are larger and near fruiting size.

Hallam: After a big comeback from the Jan. 2018 advective freeze, it is doing pretty well.

Campbell: The furthest north of the coconuts in this post, this is well outside of heat island influence.  They're still a little young, but up and coming considering their location.

Palmeden and Adamo: A few newer plantings.

 

Will add a few more tomorrow.

[kinzyjr]

My Maypan:

My Atlantic Tall/Jamaican Tall:

A trunking specimen on the way home with a few spent inflorescence.

Seeing a few that were hidden from view popping up over fence lines.