Update of my coconut in Cyprus

[Stelios]

Yes, you are right. The RPW could be s problem. I don't know if there is anything I can do about this anymore, but I hope it will be OK. Of course I will be more upset if I start to lose palms from the RPW like my Pritchardias, Royals, Bismarckias or others that are more easy to grow here than the coconut, which is out of its climate and when every winter could be its last.

[Maltese coconut project]

I have a query. I wish to ask something to individuals living in areas with cool but non freezing winters similar to the Southern Mediterranean and California. In your experiences and opinions what is the number one killer during winter for coconut palms in those non freezing temperatures? Cool wind or having the soil too wet? What is your best advice when it comes to long cool winter's and watering during such season? Thank you in advance for answers

[Stelios]

1 hour ago, Maltese coconut project said:

I have a query. I wish to ask something to individuals living in areas with cool but non freezing winters similar to the Southern Mediterranean and California. In your experiences and opinions what is the number one killer during winter for coconut palms in those non freezing temperatures? Cool wind or having the soil too wet? What is your best advice when it comes to long cool winter's and watering during such season? Thank you in advance for answers

Depending of the palm location and the soil that is planted in, I will speak from my own experiment. Because my palm is planted in almost pure sand and facing south, it gets almost full day winter sun, so the wet soil is not the main issue. The sand drains fast.

The fronds can get damaged from the cool wind.  Again the location of the palm helps, so I mostly have cool winds from the northeast (I'm trying to fix this problem with protection from other plants). Both very wet soil and cold wind (especially if the wind is non stop) can be fatal.

But so far I see here for me the main issue is too much water in the crown. I almost lost the palm to crown rot when we had a 50 year record rainfall. Last winter I used pieces of paper and dry palm leaves to stop water going in the crown (I can't be sure how much it helps). This winter I didn't do this to see how it goes.

[Maltese coconut project]

I wish to ask one more thing and since you're from Cyprus it makes the climate so similar to that of Malta,  how often do you water the coconut palm in winter?  And do you just moisten a little the substrate just enough to avoid complete drying? 

[Stelios]

33 minutes ago, Maltese coconut project said:

I wish to ask one more thing and since you're from Cyprus it makes the climate so similar to that of Malta,  how often do you water the coconut palm in winter?  And do you just moisten a little the substrate just enough to avoid complete drying? 

If it's raining I don't water the palm. If after a week or 10 days is dry and warm, I will give it some water (the soil must look dry)

[Maltese coconut project]

Thanks.  I will try to experiment again. This winter had horrible results on my coconut palms.  

[John Max]

For example, imaginatively, this adaptation was successful, and if we count that you successfully got fruit from that palm...

Can we say that this fruit has now acquired the characteristic of a 'cool climate plant species' bearing the mediterranean climate code, germinating and growing in the mediterranean?

...The world's best sources of leonardite were discovered in the 'Elbistan' region of the Republic of Turkey. When you apply raw or its extract to the soil, leaf; It makes the plant resistant to cold, drought and root rot.

 

Edited June 23, 2022 by John Max

[Ali Hafez]

Amazing coco! Update us please!

[Stelios]

On 10/12/2022 at 1:20 AM, Ali Hafez said:

Amazing coco! Update us please!

Sorry for the late reply. I almost lost the palm due to rot after another rainy winter (usually we have more dry winters). The palm was not protected. Despite the fronds were not that bad at first, they were slowly drying from the middle and I had to cut them to clean the rot. It recovered in the summer but grew shorter fronds. In one photo you can see the only remaining long old frond. I was thinking to leave it unprotected and this winter and if is gone so be it, but my wife insists I should protect it from the rain. She loves this palm cause it reminds her Costa Rica. Now with shorter fronds it will be easier to cover it.

I wish I had a palm with at least 2-3 feet of clear trunk to see if it would survive better in the wet winter against bud rot.

 

[Palmfarmer]

Tried to plant the coconut high under the canopy of a tree to shield it from the rainy winters some? Or is it the overall humidity that perhaps kills it? 
 

I would do some coconut lookalikes as well like Majesty palm, Parajubaea, psudophoenix, kentia and perhaps mule palm. 

[Stelios]

I don't have very big trees in the yard yet so the palm would not be very protected from a strong rain. On the other hand, is better for the coconut to have as more full winter sun as possible.

I also like the coconut lookalikes. My majesty is doing OK. I love kentias but a couple of palms that I tried were killed in the summer. Too hot in the summer here for small kentias. I will try them again maybe when I will have more canopy to grow under or grow them in pots and bring them slowly in the sun to acclimate and handle the heat better.

[Palmfarmer]

2 hours ago, Stelios said:

I don't have very big trees in the yard yet so the palm would not be very protected from a strong rain. On the other hand, is better for the coconut to have as more full winter sun as possible.

I also like the coconut lookalikes. My majesty is doing OK. I love kentias but a couple of palms that I tried were killed in the summer. Too hot in the summer here for small kentias. I will try them again maybe when I will have more canopy to grow under or grow them in pots and bring them slowly in the sun to acclimate and handle the heat better.

Yeah its important the Kentias has shade when small. Plant them under the canopy of faster growing palms or use shade cloth. You got a photo of you Majesty? I love them

[Stelios]

18 hours ago, Palmfarmer said:

Yeah its important the Kentias has shade when small. Plant them under the canopy of faster growing palms or use shade cloth. You got a photo of you Majesty? I love them

This is my majesty. I couldn't take a better photo. Is close to a very well grown phoenix roebelenii and it has some competition for water and nutrients.

[Ali Hafez]

How’s your coconut doing now?

[Stelios]

17 hours ago, Ali Hafez said:

How’s your coconut doing now?

It was recovering in the summer after I almost lost it to rot. So far the weather has been very mild with warm days. Other than 2-3 days with good rainfall (yesterday was 1 of them), the winter is starting kind of dry (very important for cocos in our climate).

[gilles06]

It looks good for a european.

[Stelios]

12 hours ago, gilles06 said:

It looks good for a european.

Thanks.

[Phoenikakias]

On 11/1/2022 at 8:45 PM, Stelios said:

I don't have very big trees in the yard yet so the palm would not be very protected from a strong rain. On the other hand, is better for the coconut to have as more full winter sun as possible.

I also like the coconut lookalikes. My majesty is doing OK. I love kentias but a couple of palms that I tried were killed in the summer. Too hot in the summer here for small kentias. I will try them again maybe when I will have more canopy to grow under or grow them in pots and bring them slowly in the sun to acclimate and handle the heat better.

Your Majesty is NOT doing OK.  Trust me, I have been already there and still trying to get out.

Edited December 23, 2022 by Phoenikakias

[Stelios]

8 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

Your Majesty is NOT doing OK.  Trust me, I have been already there and still trying to get out.

Cool!!! When you ever get out please let me know!👍

[Phoenikakias]

On 4/8/2022 at 6:27 AM, Stelios said:

 

It is not the rpw,  dissolved salts in the soil is the problem.  And precipitation is even lower in your place than in mine. I would start using exclusively organics and mulching. If you think out another solution to this problem, please share it with me!

Edited December 24, 2022 by Phoenikakias

[Phoenikakias]

12 hours ago, Stelios said:

Cool!!! When you ever get out please let me know!👍

This is a Ravenea in the garden of a friend of mine in French Riviera. Summer there never or very rarely has the extreme high temps we experience in the east corner of the Mediterranean and besides air is moister.

[gilles06]

Beautiful one!

[GottmitAlex]

2 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

This is a Ravenea in the garden of a friend of mine in French Riviera. Summer there never or very rarely has the extreme high temps we experience in the east corner of the Mediterranean and besides air is moister.

Wunderbar!

[Stelios]

On 12/23/2022 at 12:14 PM, Phoenikakias said:

Your Majesty is NOT doing OK.  Trust me, I have been already there and still trying to get out.

First of all NOBODY asked your opinion or be the judge for any plants, so there is no need to compare with other palms. I never said that I have the most amazing Majesty (just doing OK). I don't say that I am some kind of expert and I know that most of the members are more experienced and better palm growers than I am. Now if you have issues with your majesty is your problem.

I bought this palm in a very bad condition.  Now, and you trust me, is DOING OK. It's getting better than before, even though I was underwatering it at the beginning.

Unfortunately I can't seem to find them at the nurseries anymore (very few they brought a few years ago) so I can't buy a better plant. Maybe because people don't know how to take care of them. The very few I saw around here they look really bad.

[Phoenikakias]

1 minute ago, Stelios said:

First of all NOBODY asked your opinion or be the judge for any plants, so there is no need to compare with other palms. I never said that I have the most amazing Majesty (just doing OK). 

And NOBODY forbade a comment in good will based on a posted picture. 

[Stelios]

8 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

And NOBODY forbade a comment in good will based on a posted picture. 

There are ways and ways to comment in this forum especially when you don't know the facts. When you comment with words in cap letters, especially when I didn't ask your opinion, this does not show good will.

[Phoenikakias]

18 hours ago, Stelios said:

Cool!!! When you ever get out please let me know!👍

 

1 minute ago, Stelios said:

There are ways and ways to comment in this forum especially when you don't know the facts. When you comment with words in cap letters, especially when I didn't ask your opinion, this does not show good will.

Before lecturing others, look yourself in to the mirror. 

[Stelios]

2 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

 

Before lecturing others, look yourself in to the mirror. 

I think now you are getting out of line. Please @PALM MOD there is no need for this kind of behaviour here on the forum.

[Phoenikakias]

23 minutes ago, Stelios said:

 

I b

Unfortunately I can't seem to find them at the nurseries anymore (very few they brought a few years ago) so I can't buy a better plant. Maybe because people don't know how to take care of them. The very few I saw around here they look really bad.

You admit directly that this palm is NOT in an acceptable condition, yes to my eyes is far far from ideal or perfect, and yet instead of making just a clarification, which would suffice,  you have made a lecture, as if this were a private discussion and I popped in! Like I said, look youself in to the mirror.

[Stelios]

10 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

You admit directly that this palm is NOT in an acceptable condition, yes to my eyes is far far from ideal or perfect, and yet instead of making just a clarification, which would suffice,  you have made a lecture, as if this were a private discussion and I popped in! Like I said, look youself in to the mirror.

You never asked for any clarification. Never had the chance to say why in your EYES is not ideal or perfect. I am sorry that I am not that experienced palm grower but you are still trying to be rude and aggressive. As I said, please @PALM MOD i don't think the forum needs thos.

[Foxpalms]

@Stelios Has anyone tried a coconut in Limassol, since that seems like one of the best places to try one in Cyprus?

[Stelios]

4 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

@Stelios Has anyone tried a coconut in Limassol, since that seems like one of the best places to try one in Cyprus?

I'm not sure if anyone tried cocos in Limassol. It has more cold nights than here in Paphos. Especially when there is snow in the higher mountains of Troodos all the cold reaches Limassol. Paphos is further away from these mountains. Paphos has the most mild winters on the island.

I think Larnaca could be a good place to try a cocos. They usually have simillar high and low temps like Paphos in the winter and hotter in the summer. The town is also away from the higher mountains. The only difference is that they have less rainfall than Paphos which is better when trying to grow coconut in our climate. 

[Phoenikakias]

5 hours ago, Stelios said:

You never asked for any clarification. Never had the chance to say why in your EYES is not ideal or perfect. I am sorry that I am not that experienced palm grower but you are still trying to be rude and aggressive. As I said, please @PALM MOD i don't think the forum needs thos.

 Rude and agressive?! Before your unprecedented replies? Name please one UNPROVOKED rude and agressive remark of mine. I can name one of yours : 'First of all NOBODY asked your opinion or be the judge for any plants, so there is no need to compare with other palms.' 

And this is the end of debate for me. You may reply as many times as you wish... 

[Aleitalyyy]

hi stelios i am extremely happy that the costarica palm has survived the winter...if i may i would like to give you some advice to combat this mold that attacks the crown every winter....have you ever tried with salt? put salt in the crown from December onwards... coarse or fine salt so that it fits and descends into the meristem and central gem... salt kills all molds, and salt is good for cocos.. there is many videos on youtube... on my coconut I use salt and sea water directly in the crown... because in winter it grows mold in the house due to the fact that the plant is in the shade... if you don't want to use salt I would buy a plant spray anti-mould... and you spray it inside the crown from December until April! however I hope that your coconut grows and congratulations with the other palm trees ... they are beautiful ...

a warm greeting from Italy and happy holidays!

[Aleitalyyy]

@Stelios I put you some videos ... you can see what benefits cocos have from salt

[Aleitalyyy]

On 1/22/2022 at 10:23 PM, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

There are some varieties that are more cold/cool weather hardy than others.  The more cold/cool weather hardy ones that I know of are (listed in order of relative cold hardiness):  1. Indian Tall from north central India around New Delhi, 2. Mexican Tall from the Gulf Coast of Mexico near and just south of Matamoros, 3. Jamaican Tall from central and south central Florida, 3.  Panama Tall from sources in south central Florida, 4. Maypan Hybrid from sources in south central Florida,  and 5. Green Variety of Hawaiian Tall from slightly higher elevations on the Hawaiian Islands than the Golden Variety of Hawaiian Tall.  There is also a variety from the area around and just inland from Hong Kong in China that is supposedly relatively cold hardy (probably comparable in cold hardiness to the Indian Talls from north central India).  I am sure there are others too, as supposedly worldwide, there are over 650 different varieties of Coconut Palms throughout the Tropics and the warmer Subtropics.  As far as the Malayan Dwarfs are concerned, out of the 3 varieties of them, Green, Golden, and Yellow. the Green is slightly more cold hardy/cool weather hardy than the Golden and Yellow varieties, of which the Yellow is the least cold/cool hardy.  I hope this helps you.  There is also a variety that I believe has been grown to maturity near Durban, South Africa that seems to be relatively cold/cool weather hardy.

John

hello dear, do you know what quality the coconut palms sold in Europe in supermarkets are? they say they come from Dutch hothouses... but I didn't understand which cultivar it is... they are all green palms....

[Stelios]

25 minutes ago, Aleitalyyy said:

hi stelios i am extremely happy that the costarica palm has survived the winter...if i may i would like to give you some advice to combat this mold that attacks the crown every winter....have you ever tried with salt? put salt in the crown from December onwards... coarse or fine salt so that it fits and descends into the meristem and central gem... salt kills all molds, and salt is good for cocos.. there is many videos on youtube... on my coconut I use salt and sea water directly in the crown... because in winter it grows mold in the house due to the fact that the plant is in the shade... if you don't want to use salt I would buy a plant spray anti-mould... and you spray it inside the crown from December until April! however I hope that your coconut grows and congratulations with the other palm trees ... they are beautiful ...

a warm greeting from Italy and happy holidays!

Hi Alessandro and happy holidays to you and everyone else here on the forum!

Thank you for your kind words. It's very difficult to grow cocos here outside unprotected. I almost lost the palm a couple of times because of rot. I agree with you when you said that in our climate wet soil with cold wind can kill the cocos first. What I noticed here with my palm is that palm fronds can have less damage if they get no cool wind and no rain even if the night temp is around 8-9 C. Of course in the day the temp has to go back to 18C or more. Like you said is good to grow the palm near walls with protected roots (I have a spot like this in the picture below) to stay more dry and warm. I wish I had done this before, but I don't want to cut a beautiful archontophoenix just to plant a palm that has small chances to survive. 

Salt I only tried a couple of summers by applying sometimes sea water on the soil only, but I don't know if it made any difference in the winter. I don't know if applying in the crown will help in our climate either. It would be good if it really helps. I will try to find more about this. Thanks for the videos! Keep us informed if you apply any salt on your coconut.

[Stelios]

58 minutes ago, Aleitalyyy said:

hello dear, do you know what quality the coconut palms sold in Europe in supermarkets are? they say they come from Dutch hothouses... but I didn't understand which cultivar it is... they are all green palms....

I'm not sure either. I also know that they grow the palms in greenhouses in Holland, but I don't know the origin. Maybe they are from different places.

[Aleitalyyy]

On 22/1/2022 at 22:23, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

 

@Stelios stelios yes, in the picture that flower bed with concrete around it would be perfect for a green coconut... an Indian coconut like the ones Jonathan grows in Malta. it would be perfect ĺi instead of the archontophoenix palm yes yes. you'd most likely have a beautiful coconut palm in no time... green is more rustic than yellow! if I were in your place I would cut the palm tree to put the coconut... but when I'm fixated on a certain thing I'm a little crazy... don't do it or do what you feel like... about salt yes it works it removes mold ... I use it .. I'll put you a picture of my palm ...

[Aleitalyyy]

here's the big baby ... I'd give you mine to try ... but unfortunately we are too far away ..