Update of my coconut in Cyprus

[Stelios]

18 hours ago, Stelios A said:

Hello Stelio, how is your experiment going? I see your coconut is still alive after 5 years or so which is very impressive.
I am also looking to grow a coconut in Larnaca which has the same climate as Paphos (maybe a little less humidity and hotter summers). Do you reckon it will ever be able to produce fruit?

Hi Stelio! I'm very happy to hear from another Palmtalker from here in Cyprus. My coconut grew better this summer and hopefully the winter will be milder.

I always thought that Larnaca could have a good chance to try a coconut. We have similar climate and with the correct planting (very well draining sandy soil is important), in the right microclimate it could be possible. It will be great if you try, so we can see if you have better chances there. After I saw these 2 coconuts near the Paphos mall, I believe is all about to find the right microclimate.

How far is your location from the beach? These 2 are about half a mile from the coast and my palm is about 3 miles. It souldn't be right on the beach either cause the constant cool winter winds will kill it. Even if you manage to grow the palm, I don't believe coconuts can produce fruits here in Cyprus unless you can cover them in a big greenhouse in the winter (I hope I'm wrong!!).

Of course for me trying a coconut is only as an experiment. I also have Royals, Bismarckias, Sabal palmetto, Veitchia arecina, Pritchardia hillebrandii and a few more that have more chances to grow in our climate. I want try mostly palms that will not look bad most of the year. I also try to grow a few tropical fruits. Our climate here in Cyprus has a lot of potential to try different varieties, that is not important to try the ultra tropical stuff to create a tropical looking garden. Unfortunately as you see not many people or local authorities here are bothered to try some nice landscaping and the availability of palms in nursuries is limited.

[Stelios A]

On 10/29/2023 at 8:28 AM, Stelios said:

Hi Stelio! I'm very happy to hear from another Palmtalker from here in Cyprus. My coconut grew better this summer and hopefully the winter will be milder.

I always thought that Larnaca could have a good chance to try a coconut. We have similar climate and with the correct planting (very well draining sandy soil is important), in the right microclimate it could be possible. It will be great if you try, so we can see if you have better chances there. After I saw these 2 coconuts near the Paphos mall, I believe is all about to find the right microclimate.

How far is your location from the beach? These 2 are about half a mile from the coast and my palm is about 3 miles. It souldn't be right on the beach either cause the constant cool winter winds will kill it. Even if you manage to grow the palm, I don't believe coconuts can produce fruits here in Cyprus unless you can cover them in a big greenhouse in the winter (I hope I'm wrong!!).

Of course for me trying a coconut is only as an experiment. I also have Royals, Bismarckias, Sabal palmetto, Veitchia arecina, Pritchardia hillebrandii and a few more that have more chances to grow in our climate. I want try mostly palms that will not look bad most of the year. I also try to grow a few tropical fruits. Our climate here in Cyprus has a lot of potential to try different varieties, that is not important to try the ultra tropical stuff to create a tropical looking garden. Unfortunately as you see not many people or local authorities here are bothered to try some nice landscaping and the availability of palms in nursuries is limited.

Yes, I totally agree with your point. Im very new to gardening but I am very surprised how the locals here could grow almost anything but grow the most typical stuff. From what I understand it would be smarter  for growers here to try and adapt some tropical stuff because of climate change. I can notice the change with our stone fruit trees as they struggle each year more with producing fruit as winters get warmer.

 

I have an orchard that is about 1-2 miles from the nearest coast and that's where I plan to plant the coconuts. I am also growing avocados, bananas, cherimoya, papaya, white sapote etc. Next season I am going to try coffee, soursop, black sapote, surinam cherry, rose apple, jackfruit and ice cream bean. I know people have been growing mangos in Paphos for years but it's not typical here in Larnaca. I tried growing some from the nursery and some from seed but they got some fungus disease and bow they are stunted. I will try to salvage them and plant more next season.

 

Where did you get your palm tree from? I haven't seen anyone selling them.

[Stelios]

On 11/3/2023 at 1:48 AM, Stelios A said:

Yes, I totally agree with your point. Im very new to gardening but I am very surprised how the locals here could grow almost anything but grow the most typical stuff. From what I understand it would be smarter  for growers here to try and adapt some tropical stuff because of climate change. I can notice the change with our stone fruit trees as they struggle each year more with producing fruit as winters get warmer.

 

I have an orchard that is about 1-2 miles from the nearest coast and that's where I plan to plant the coconuts. I am also growing avocados, bananas, cherimoya, papaya, white sapote etc. Next season I am going to try coffee, soursop, black sapote, surinam cherry, rose apple, jackfruit and ice cream bean. I know people have been growing mangos in Paphos for years but it's not typical here in Larnaca. I tried growing some from the nursery and some from seed but they got some fungus disease and bow they are stunted. I will try to salvage them and plant more next season.

 

Where did you get your palm tree from? I haven't seen anyone selling them.

That's a great variety you have at the orchard! That means you have a frost free area like in Paphos, to grow these. You should try lychee and longan too.

A lot of people here don't know that we can grow different fruits in Cyprus, not only the common once.  Only recently they stared to increase the production of tropicals. It used to be moslty bananas, avocado and some passion fruit, mango guava and papaya. Now there is a good production of pitaya and more recently they are planting more lychee trees.

At the moment I have lychee, longan, pitaya (white and red), passion fruit (the common and a yellow big variety), mango, papaya, cherimoya, banana, loquat and avocado. All exept of the banana I grew them from seeds. The longan fruited this year for the first time and it produced a lot of fruits. I tried jackfruit from seeds one time but the seedlings survived in the winter and died in the summer (maybe it was my fault). I will try again or find a bigger plant from a garden center. Somebody told me there is a big jackfruit tree growing here in Paphos.

For palms I managed to find some less common  from time to time at different garden centers like royals, bismarckias and ravenea, but I grew a lot of my palms from seeds. Even common palms like queens or triangles. Recently there are not a lot varieties available.

Now I'm trying again new seeds. These varieties I can only find online. One of the best sources is Rarepalmseeds. In this photo I have chrysalidocarpus leptocheilos, pinanga sylvestris, ptychosperma elegans, revenea glauca and euterpe edulis orange crownshaft. Hopefully they will grow bigger to see how they will be outside.

I also have some salak palms. They are too tropical for us, but after we ate some fruits I decided to germinate the seeds for experiment. They are the fastest palm seeds I ever germinated. After only 24 hours in the plastic container, most of them germinated. These are 14 months plants.

Another thing to keep in mind is that is good to have a good tree canopy in the garden. Not only there are palms that are too tropical here. There are also palms that hate our strong summer sun. I lost kentias before and this summer I lost my only small chambeyronia macrocarpa. Still a lot to learn.

I hope will have a good success with your palms and fruits and post some photos of your updates.

[Stelios A]

23 hours ago, Stelios said:

That's a great variety you have at the orchard! That means you have a frost free area like in Paphos, to grow these. You should try lychee and longan too.

A lot of people here don't know that we can grow different fruits in Cyprus, not only the common once.  Only recently they stared to increase the production of tropicals. It used to be moslty bananas, avocado and some passion fruit, mango guava and papaya. Now there is a good production of pitaya and more recently they are planting more lychee trees.

At the moment I have lychee, longan, pitaya (white and red), passion fruit (the common and a yellow big variety), mango, papaya, cherimoya, banana, loquat and avocado. All exept of the banana I grew them from seeds. The longan fruited this year for the first time and it produced a lot of fruits. I tried jackfruit from seeds one time but the seedlings survived in the winter and died in the summer (maybe it was my fault). I will try again or find a bigger plant from a garden center. Somebody told me there is a big jackfruit tree growing here in Paphos.

For palms I managed to find some less common  from time to time at different garden centers like royals, bismarckias and ravenea, but I grew a lot of my palms from seeds. Even common palms like queens or triangles. Recently there are not a lot varieties available.

Now I'm trying again new seeds. These varieties I can only find online. One of the best sources is Rarepalmseeds. In this photo I have chrysalidocarpus leptocheilos, pinanga sylvestris, ptychosperma elegans, revenea glauca and euterpe edulis orange crownshaft. Hopefully they will grow bigger to see how they will be outside.

I also have some salak palms. They are too tropical for us, but after we ate some fruits I decided to germinate the seeds for experiment. They are the fastest palm seeds I ever germinated. After only 24 hours in the plastic container, most of them germinated. These are 14 months plants.

Another thing to keep in mind is that is good to have a good tree canopy in the garden. Not only there are palms that are too tropical here. There are also palms that hate our strong summer sun. I lost kentias before and this summer I lost my only small chambeyronia macrocarpa. Still a lot to learn.

I hope will have a good success with your palms and fruits and post some photos of your updates.

Crazy coincidence I am growing some salak from seed too but it's not looking very good they are only growing in super tropical regions like thailand and costa rica. I planted the seeds in April, they started growing very fast but then they slowed down and the leaves started browning.

 

I also grow dragon fruit and I even have a yellow variety, I can send you some if you want.

How old are your lychee trees? I started growing one from seed last spring and it hasn't grown much. I also heard that some people tried growing it here with not much success, I called a nursery recently to get a tree and they told me all of their lychee trees died. I think Cyprus temps are good for lychee but they need wet summers and dry winters which is the opposite of Cyprus' climate. Also do you find longan easier to grow than lychee?

Im very interested to hear about your experience with mangos because it's my favorite fruit and the one I'm more interested in growing. How are the fruit you grown from seed? Online people say that if you grow mango from seed it will most likely not taste good. Also how much do you water them? I think I killed a few seedlings from watering them too much.

There is indeed jackfruit growing in Paphos, I bought some fruit a few weeks ago and it tasted amazing, I planted the seeds and I am waiting for them to germinate.

[Stelios]

On 11/6/2023 at 11:41 AM, Stelios A said:

Crazy coincidence I am growing some salak from seed too but it's not looking very good they are only growing in super tropical regions like thailand and costa rica. I planted the seeds in April, they started growing very fast but then they slowed down and the leaves started browning.

 

I also grow dragon fruit and I even have a yellow variety, I can send you some if you want.

How old are your lychee trees? I started growing one from seed last spring and it hasn't grown much. I also heard that some people tried growing it here with not much success, I called a nursery recently to get a tree and they told me all of their lychee trees died. I think Cyprus temps are good for lychee but they need wet summers and dry winters which is the opposite of Cyprus' climate. Also do you find longan easier to grow than lychee?

Im very interested to hear about your experience with mangos because it's my favorite fruit and the one I'm more interested in growing. How are the fruit you grown from seed? Online people say that if you grow mango from seed it will most likely not taste good. Also how much do you water them? I think I killed a few seedlings from watering them too much.

There is indeed jackfruit growing in Paphos, I bought some fruit a few weeks ago and it tasted amazing, I planted the seeds and I am waiting for them to germinate.

Stelio, it's difficult to say. I also lost most of them at early stage, but my 3 remaining are growing ok. The others I lost them from some fungus, maybe I was overwatering them. Maybe your salak seedlings have been suffering from the summer heat. I learned from experience here that many palms and plants are better to grow them protected from the direct summer sun especially when they are small. Not that the salak has any chances in Cyprus to grow outside! 

Most of my fruit trees are still small. I was trying to put my efforts mostly on the palm trees, but recently I decided to try some more fruit trees. For example I had a big seed grown papaya with nice fruits before but it was getting too tall so I cut it down and now I'm growing 2 from seeds. They are very fast. Seeds germinated in April and now in November they flowered for 2nd time (too small from fruits yet).

Thanks for the offer on the yellow dracon fruit. As soon as I will decide where to plant the others that are in the pots I will let you know. I don't even water them in the summer. They are still alive, but not grown enough to give fruits yet (also seed grown). 

As for the mango, I think is true about what they say for seed grown mango fruit. You might be lucky and get a tasty fruit, but good chances that the fruit is not nice. A friend of mine told me once that he ate a fruit from a seed grown mango and he said it was very sweet but full of fibers. My biggest seedling is about 5 feet tall and had a few flowers this summer but no fruits yet. If you want to buy from a nursery better to ask them if is grafted and not seed grown.

My longan is about 10 years old

The lychee is about 7 years old.

The lychee seems that is growing a bit faster than the longan. I think the longan is bit more cold sensitive, but not by much. I saw a few big  lychee trees here in Paphos before, so there must be some longan too. They both like as much water as you can give them in the summer. This summer I increased the watering, and they both grew a lot (I recently trimmed a few branches on both trees that were hanging on the ground). The same mistake I was doing with the palm trees, especially underwatering the water loving palms. Now I'm watering the palms more too.

[Stelios A]

On 11/8/2023 at 8:19 AM, Stelios said:

Stelio, it's difficult to say. I also lost most of them at early stage, but my 3 remaining are growing ok. The others I lost them from some fungus, maybe I was overwatering them. Maybe your salak seedlings have been suffering from the summer heat. I learned from experience here that many palms and plants are better to grow them protected from the direct summer sun especially when they are small. Not that the salak has any chances in Cyprus to grow outside! 

Most of my fruit trees are still small. I was trying to put my efforts mostly on the palm trees, but recently I decided to try some more fruit trees. For example I had a big seed grown papaya with nice fruits before but it was getting too tall so I cut it down and now I'm growing 2 from seeds. They are very fast. Seeds germinated in April and now in November they flowered for 2nd time (too small from fruits yet).

Thanks for the offer on the yellow dracon fruit. As soon as I will decide where to plant the others that are in the pots I will let you know. I don't even water them in the summer. They are still alive, but not grown enough to give fruits yet (also seed grown). 

As for the mango, I think is true about what they say for seed grown mango fruit. You might be lucky and get a tasty fruit, but good chances that the fruit is not nice. A friend of mine told me once that he ate a fruit from a seed grown mango and he said it was very sweet but full of fibers. My biggest seedling is about 5 feet tall and had a few flowers this summer but no fruits yet. If you want to buy from a nursery better to ask them if is grafted and not seed grown.

My longan is about 10 years old

The lychee is about 7 years old.

The lychee seems that is growing a bit faster than the longan. I think the longan is bit more cold sensitive, but not by much. I saw a few big  lychee trees here in Paphos before, so there must be some longan too. They both like as much water as you can give them in the summer. This summer I increased the watering, and they both grew a lot (I recently trimmed a few branches on both trees that were hanging on the ground). The same mistake I was doing with the palm trees, especially underwatering the water loving palms. Now I'm watering the palms more too.

Stelio your longan is huge, I never saw anyone in Cyprus grow these kind of stuff, especially in Larnaca. I hope you have great success with them and the fruit tastes amazing.

Do you know how similar the climate of Paphos and Larnaca are? I get mixed answers from locals some say it's the same, some say Paphos is more tropical etc. Historic data online doesn't have much and is pretty inaccurate. I started getting into growing stuff last spring and so far I observed the summers here are hotter (which as you mentioned makes some things to grow more of a challenge) I had 2 avocado trees get severe burns last summer and I saw that some farmers in Paphos had issues with their yields from the heat their avocados dropped their fruit. I am very surprised on how your dragon fruit is still alive after this past summer with no water haha.

Also have you ever ordered anything from the site canarius? They ship in all europe, is quite pricey but they sell the panama tall variety of coconut which some people claim is the most hardy, it's also been grown in parts of florida where temps get colder than Cyprus (though their climate is more tropical overall) so I am thinking of giving it a try.

[Stelios]

On 11/11/2023 at 11:52 PM, Stelios A said:

Stelio your longan is huge, I never saw anyone in Cyprus grow these kind of stuff, especially in Larnaca. I hope you have great success with them and the fruit tastes amazing.

Do you know how similar the climate of Paphos and Larnaca are? I get mixed answers from locals some say it's the same, some say Paphos is more tropical etc. Historic data online doesn't have much and is pretty inaccurate. I started getting into growing stuff last spring and so far I observed the summers here are hotter (which as you mentioned makes some things to grow more of a challenge) I had 2 avocado trees get severe burns last summer and I saw that some farmers in Paphos had issues with their yields from the heat their avocados dropped their fruit. I am very surprised on how your dragon fruit is still alive after this past summer with no water haha.

Also have you ever ordered anything from the site canarius? They ship in all europe, is quite pricey but they sell the panama tall variety of coconut which some people claim is the most hardy, it's also been grown in parts of florida where temps get colder than Cyprus (though their climate is more tropical overall) so I am thinking of giving it a try.

Thank you Stelio. The longan is about 4 meters to the highest branch. The fruits were tasty considering it fruited for first time but were a bit smaller than I expected. Maybe next year, and as the tree matures more, the fruits will be bigger.

Maybe on average Paphos has a bit warmer winter nights but generally Larnaca has similar winter lows. Of course you know your climate better. Maybe your area has the same lows as mine. You shouldn't only see the temps on different sites. For example you could have better microclimate and your low temps could be higher than Larnaca airport weather station. If you have a good thermometer you could check and compare the winter nights. For sure I know you have hotter summer days than here in Paphos.

The summer heat could be also a problem. I also had issues or lost palms from the heat. The dragon though so far is surviving only from the winter rain!

I also saw the site Canarius but I never ordered from them before. It's a bit pricey, but if you really want to buy more exotic palms, is one of the few options for us here in Cyprus. I want to grow more mature garden with more canopy (for better protection from heat or cold) and if in the future I want some specific palms, I could order from them. I would also recomment you to try beccariophoenix alfredii if you find. It's a great coconut look-alike.

[Than]

On 11/6/2023 at 11:41 AM, Stelios A said:

Crazy coincidence I am growing some salak from seed too but it's not looking very good they are only growing in super tropical regions like thailand and costa rica. I planted the seeds in April, they started growing very fast but then they slowed down and the leaves started browning.

 

I also grow dragon fruit and I even have a yellow variety, I can send you some if you want.

How old are your lychee trees? I started growing one from seed last spring and it hasn't grown much. I also heard that some people tried growing it here with not much success, I called a nursery recently to get a tree and they told me all of their lychee trees died. I think Cyprus temps are good for lychee but they need wet summers and dry winters which is the opposite of Cyprus' climate. Also do you find longan easier to grow than lychee?

Im very interested to hear about your experience with mangos because it's my favorite fruit and the one I'm more interested in growing. How are the fruit you grown from seed? Online people say that if you grow mango from seed it will most likely not taste good. Also how much do you water them? I think I killed a few seedlings from watering them too much.

There is indeed jackfruit growing in Paphos, I bought some fruit a few weeks ago and it tasted amazing, I planted the seeds and I am waiting for them to germinate.

Are these salak palms under the sun in the afternoon? I guess Larnaca's sun is too intense for small seedlings. I'd only give them morning sun. 

Btw I think I am the only person in the world who doesn't like the taste of salak. Everyone swears by them, to me they are so boring 😄

Cyprus has perfect climate for so many tropical species. You guys are lucky. I still remember the crazy humidity in Larnaca and Limassol. Hard on humans but I am sure tropical plants love it.

[Stelios]

On 11/23/2023 at 9:17 PM, ego said:

Are these salak palms under the sun in the afternoon? I guess Larnaca's sun is too intense for small seedlings. I'd only give them morning sun. 

Btw I think I am the only person in the world who doesn't like the taste of salak. Everyone swears by them, to me they are so boring 😄

Cyprus has perfect climate for so many tropical species. You guys are lucky. I still remember the crazy humidity in Larnaca and Limassol. Hard on humans but I am sure tropical plants love it.

We have a good climate here in Cyprus. I wish we had available more varieties of palms to try like they have in south California or south Spain. Not only palms but other plants and fruit trees too. Here are some nice big banana trees in Paphos.

[Than]

22 hours ago, Stelios said:

We have a good climate here in Cyprus. I wish we had available more varieties of palms to try like they have in south California or south Spain. Not only palms but other plants and fruit trees too. Here are some nice big banana trees in Paphos.

I bet you have big ficus lyrata outdoors there! I saw a big tree on the south coast of Crete this year. The owner told me it never drops all its leaves. I was so jealous!

[Stelios]

13 hours ago, ego said:

I bet you have big ficus lyrata outdoors there! I saw a big tree on the south coast of Crete this year. The owner told me it never drops all its leaves. I was so jealous!

There are some big ficus lyrata and they grow without issues. They are also sold as house plants and sometimes people plant them in the ground. But they are more under used comparing with other ficus.

Here is also a big ficus elastica near the Paphos harbour.

Chrysalidocarpus lutescens is also a very under used plant. They are mostly sold as indoor palms but when they grow taller, people leave them in the pots outside. They survive just fine, but in pots they have less minerals and their roots suffer more ( and they are more yellow). Lately I see more people started to plant them in the ground. Here are some photos. With more care they can look even better.

[Stelios A]

On 11/23/2023 at 9:17 PM, ego said:

Are these salak palms under the sun in the afternoon? I guess Larnaca's sun is too intense for small seedlings. I'd only give them morning sun. 

Btw I think I am the only person in the world who doesn't like the taste of salak. Everyone swears by them, to me they are so boring 😄

Cyprus has perfect climate for so many tropical species. You guys are lucky. I still remember the crazy humidity in Larnaca and Limassol. Hard on humans but I am sure tropical plants love it.

Not really, I provided afternoon shade. I think I might have over watered them but I don't think they can survive the winter anyway. The taste was okay to me very similar to pears but I bet it would taste amazing if we could try it fresh tree ripened 😋

[Than]

8 hours ago, Stelios A said:

Not really, I provided afternoon shade. I think I might have over watered them but I don't think they can survive the winter anyway. The taste was okay to me very similar to pears but I bet it would taste amazing if we could try it fresh tree ripened 😋

I'd provide shade after 10am in the summer.

I used to live in Indonesia and had fresh salak from the tree few times... yuck! 😄

[mlovecan]

On 11/11/2023 at 11:52 PM, Stelios A said:

Also have you ever ordered anything from the site canarius? They ship in all europe, is quite pricey but they sell the panama tall variety of coconut which some people claim is the most hardy, it's also been grown in parts of florida where temps get colder than Cyprus (though their climate is more tropical overall) so I am thinking of giving it a try.

I've ordered a few things from Canarius including my mango tree. They are a bit slow to ship as they are outise the Eu despite being a part of Spain. They only do phytosanitary certificates about every two weeks, so you must wait for that first and, of course, they need to go through customs.

The coconut spouts that are germinated in Holland and sold all over Europe are "Phillipine Green" from Costa Rica, according to the owner of the business. From what I've read, that means they are Green Malayan dwarfs, also known for their hardiness.

We've only had these Holland coconuts available here in Rhodes since 2017, I'm not sure you can get them in Cyprus. If not, and you are interested in trying one of those (they cost 20 Eur), I could organize a package to Cyprus.   

[Stelios A]

6 hours ago, mlovecan said:

I've ordered a few things from Canarius including my mango tree. They are a bit slow to ship as they are outise the Eu despite being a part of Spain. They only do phytosanitary certificates about every two weeks, so you must wait for that first and, of course, they need to go through customs.

The coconut spouts that are germinated in Holland and sold all over Europe are "Phillipine Green" from Costa Rica, according to the owner of the business. From what I've read, that means they are Green Malayan dwarfs, also known for their hardiness.

We've only had these Holland coconuts available here in Rhodes since 2017, I'm not sure you can get them in Cyprus. If not, and you are interested in trying one of those (they cost 20 Eur), I could organize a package to Cyprus.   

Thank you very much for the offer, how is the company called? I could try and order from them maybe, even though I found them in a few places here in Cyprus even though they don't disclose varieties.

 

I am also thinking about getting a large mango variety of species from Canarius as it's the only place that seems to have such variety in Europe at least. How was the tree you received and how is it now? Do you think that different varieties have different cold hardiness? They pride on grafting their trees on a cold hardy rootstock but from what I have seen online all mangoes have the same cold hardiness.

[Stelios A]

@Stelios Hello Stelio how are you and your coconut doing? This winter has been incredibly warm, most days 20C and above especially in december with minimal rainfall. Your coconut must be doing great considering this.

 

I have decided to try growing one myself here in Larnaca (specifically in the Larnaca to Limassol coastline) and I would like for you to give me a few tips. In my property I have very sandy soil especially in some spots as it is between the sea and a river and the river sometimes brings sand to the property so this box is checked.

What about watering and protection? Also I found a coconut palm at Solomou a few months ago when I was there but it was looking extremely sad (they had it in full shade and the place gets pretty cold im guessing as it's in Nicosia). I might go again and check them out if they brought any new ones, I also found out that IKEA of all places sells them https://www.ikea.com.cy/en/products/decoration-candles-plants/plants-pots-stands/plants/cocos-nucifera-potted-plant-19-cm-coconut-palm/20167485 but they do not specify variety or other info. What do you think?

 

Also at my girlfriend's job in the Larnaca region they grow a coconut that someone gifted to them.

 

[mlovecan]

33 minutes ago, Stelios A said:

Thank you very much for the offer, how is the company called? I could try and order from them maybe, even though I found them in a few places here in Cyprus even though they don't disclose varieties.

 

I am also thinking about getting a large mango variety of species from Canarius as it's the only place that seems to have such variety in Europe at least. How was the tree you received and how is it now? Do you think that different varieties have different cold hardiness? 

The company is called Praktiker (they're a German hardware chain). Unfortunately, their trees are pickup only:

https://www.praktiker.gr/p/kokofoinikas-cocos-nucifera-80-100cm-se-glastra-127929

Interesting they are encouraging their customers to plant them outside in the right microclimate (mentioned on the above link).

If you can source the Dutch cocos locally, I encourage you to try them. I have lost maybe 20 over the years and thought they were a lost cause (since they are grown under lights / weak Dutch sun in Holland). If you put them under shaded glass, for the first 8 months, they seem to be pretty strong. In fact, the store in Rhodes has gone and left young ones outdoors in the shade since Christmas. They still look great.

As for the mango tree, I bought the only variety they had about 8 years ago - "Gomera 1". Now they have a Gomera2 and Gomera 3. They're a bit small but super sweet and juicy - alot like the Pakistani mangos. I got over 200 mangos from the tree this year - more than I could eat or give away to neighbors. 

Edited February 25 by mlovecan

[mlovecan]

32 minutes ago, Stelios A said:

I also found out that IKEA of all places sells them https://www.ikea.com.cy/en/products/decoration-candles-plants/plants-pots-stands/plants/cocos-nucifera-potted-plant-19-cm-coconut-palm/20167485 but they do not specify variety or other info. What do you think?

The ones Ikea sells are also from Holland. They are also the "Phillipine Greens" brought in from Costa Rica and then germinated in a massive greenhouse facility in Holland. 

You might want to tell whoever is growning that one in Larnaca the nut should be deeper n the soli - about halfway - I read that somewhere and found it makes a big difference in the summer heat!

Edited February 25 by mlovecan
additional comment

[Than]

1 hour ago, mlovecan said:

The ones Ikea sells are also from Holland. They are also the "Phillipine Greens" brought in from Costa Rica and then germinated in a massive greenhouse facility in Holland. 

You might want to tell whoever is growning that one in Larnaca the nut should be deeper n the soli - about halfway - I read that somewhere and found it makes a big difference in the summer heat!

I've heard that those coconuts from the NL are raised inside greenhouses, pumped with chemicals and antibiotics or whatever, and therefore they are quite weak... 

[mlovecan]

2 hours ago, Than said:

I've heard that those coconuts from the NL are raised inside greenhouses, pumped with chemicals and antibiotics or whatever, and therefore they are quite weak... 

100% true. They have been available in Northern Europe for more than 20 years and have a life expectancy of only a 2 or 3 months up there. 

I discussed the very same issue with a director of the Palmetum in Teneriffe who told me they have zero success with them even in their climate if they just put them outside straight away. However, he told me after some time in a shade house, they do adjust.

I made some primitive shadehouse attempts using plastic piping, the good greenhouse plastic and some shade cloth but couldn't get past mid March.  Then, 2 years ago, I put sliding glass panels under my 3x4m balcony and tried one of the things in deep shade. To my surprise, it grew well all summer and winter.  I slowly moved it towards the sun in April or May and it adjusted well.  It took some really intense sun with little burning despite a really hot summer and lots of smoke when 1/3 of the island was on fire. 

I have that one outside now and two more behind glass and they're doing well - one indoor is now in the sun and the other (which I grabbed from Praktiker a couple weeks ago after they made it through January outside despite a quite rainy cold spell - some were close to death but others were prestine) is still in deep shade. 

They do toughen up pretty good. It takes some time, but it is worth it, IMO.  I have lots of quite tropical looking palms including a real nicely developing Beccariophoenix which is pretty much identical to a coconut at this stage. But it's not a coconut.

[Foxpalms]

3 hours ago, mlovecan said:

The company is called Praktiker (they're a German hardware chain). Unfortunately, their trees are pickup only:

https://www.praktiker.gr/p/kokofoinikas-cocos-nucifera-80-100cm-se-glastra-127929

Interesting they are encouraging their customers to plant them outside in the right microclimate (mentioned on the above link).

If you can source the Dutch cocos locally, I encourage you to try them. I have lost maybe 20 over the years and thought they were a lost cause (since they are grown under lights / weak Dutch sun in Holland). If you put them under shaded glass, for the first 8 months, they seem to be pretty strong. In fact, the store in Rhodes has gone and left young ones outdoors in the shade since Christmas. They still look great.. 

Even at 51N the sun here damages the Dutch coconuts even after a month of acclimation during the summer months. In my opinion they are also less cold hardy.

[Stelios A]

15 hours ago, mlovecan said:

The ones Ikea sells are also from Holland. They are also the "Phillipine Greens" brought in from Costa Rica and then germinated in a massive greenhouse facility in Holland. 

You might want to tell whoever is growning that one in Larnaca the nut should be deeper n the soli - about halfway - I read that somewhere and found it makes a big difference in the summer heat!

Thank you very much for the info on the ikea one, it's quite expensive at 30€ but I will try growing one from them if I don't find any from a reliable nursery

[iko.]

On 2/25/2024 at 10:34 AM, mlovecan said:

The coconut spouts that are germinated in Holland and sold all over Europe are "Phillipine Green" from Costa Rica, according to the owner of the business. From what I've read, that means they are Green Malayan dwarfs, also known for their hardiness.

Hi, I don't want to hijack this thread of @Stelios, which I actually find very interesting and bring us hope to the ones trying with coconuts, but I wanted to add some semi-unrelated findings. 

- I thought Green, Yellow, Golden and Red Malayan dwarfs were actually less hardy than taller varieties. Although the University of Florida once published a three page report indicating SoCal as a potential growing area (see map here).

- About the nursery producing coconuts in Holland, some time ago I found this link in Reddit and looking at that producer of coconuts in the Netherlands, I can see they have the Dwarf Golden Malayan in their catalogue, see here. They also produce for Lidl. Probably this is the only nursery growing coconuts in all the EU. 

 

On 2/25/2024 at 10:34 AM, mlovecan said:

I've ordered a few things from Canarius including my mango tree. They are a bit slow to ship as they are outise the Eu despite being a part of Spain. They only do phytosanitary certificates about every two weeks, so you must wait for that first and, of course, they need to go through customs.

 @mlovecan and @Stelios A, Canarius is expensive! Same as in palms, try ordering from nurseries in south or eastern Spain to avoid paying for extra certificates. Generally, they put problems to ship to islands in the Mediterranean (Crete, Cyprus and even the Balearics) but you can send an email asking. Often, mangoes produced by those nurseries are grafted onto Gomera types and are easy in our Mediterranean climate. Kensington, Osteen and Sensation are some of my favourites for quality of the fruit and harvesting time. 

[mlovecan]

@iko - Very interesting that Caiway is now growing other varieties now. I last communicated with them in 2009:

Maybe they are aware of some successes in actually growing these things somewhere in Europe and have diversified their offering as a result. 

In terms of hardiness, you will find a few postings on this forum of green maypens working in marginal zones.

Also, I am sorry to hijack Stelios very intriguing thread, but, to be honest, his success (and the work of Jonathan in Malta) that has prompted me to revisit coconuts. And, it's really encouraging to see others attracted to this thread (in similar climates to mine) are thinking along the same lines!

Edited February 26 by mlovecan

[Cluster]

I am still confused what is a Philippines green?:) They have so many varieties in Philippines, if we agree it is a dwarf then it could be one of these from the Philippines coconut authority:

VI OPV Dwarf.pdf - Google Drive 

[mlovecan]

13 hours ago, Cluster said:

I am still confused what is a Philippines green?:) They have so many varieties in Philippines, if we agree it is a dwarf then it could be one of these from the Philippines coconut authority:

VI OPV Dwarf.pdf - Google Drive 

The best I can tell from my research on what coconuts are grown in Costa Rica is they mean Malayan Green Dwarf.  I have bought fresh nuts at the big London Fruit Market near the airport and they were also Malayan Greens. 

I can contact the Mr. Verkade again and see if he can clarify.

[mlovecan]

Again, very sorry for hijacking this thread but I see more than a couple people are interested in the facts on the Dutch cocos. I just spoke with Mr. Kerkade and he tells me the coconuts are in fact Malayan Green Dwarfs (although his supplier refers to them as Phillipine Green).

He told me they are put chalk on their glass and also use shade cloths. Additionally he tells me they monitor the root temperature very carefully and they find that more important than the air temperatures. In summer, they run 28 degrees air and 26 degrees root temperature.

He tells me he will gladly answer any further questions via email His email address is kgv@caiway.nl 

[Cluster]

1 hour ago, mlovecan said:

Again, very sorry for hijacking this thread but I see more than a couple people are interested in the facts on the Dutch cocos. I just spoke with Mr. Kerkade and he tells me the coconuts are in fact Malayan Green Dwarfs (although his supplier refers to them as Phillipine Green).

He told me they are put chalk on their glass and also use shade cloths. Additionally he tells me they monitor the root temperature very carefully and they find that more important than the air temperatures. In summer, they run 28 degrees air and 26 degrees root temperature.

He tells me he will gladly answer any further questions via email His email address is kgv@caiway.nl 

Those are good news, they are known to be relatively tough for a dwarf and the quantity and quality of their water is also very good.

[southathens]

On 2/26/2024 at 7:08 PM, mlovecan said:

@iko - Very interesting that Caiway is now growing other varieties now. I last communicated with them in 2009:

Maybe they are aware of some successes in actually growing these things somewhere in Europe and have diversified their offering as a result. 

In terms of hardiness, you will find a few postings on this forum of green maypens working in marginal zones.

Also, I am sorry to hijack Stelios very intriguing thread, but, to be honest, his success (and the work of Jonathan in Malta) that has prompted me to revisit coconuts. And, it's really encouraging to see others attracted to this thread (in similar climates to mine) are thinking along the same lines!

Please keep us posted on your outdoor coco in Rhodes. Currently its the only one surviving outdoors in Greece . Unless those others in Rhodes Praktiker have also survived. 

Edited March 2 by Manos33

[mlovecan]

2 hours ago, Manos33 said:

Please keep us posted on your outdoor coco in Rhodes. Currently its the only one surviving outdoors in Greece . Unless those others in Rhodes Praktiker have also survived. 

I was there on Wednesday and there were still six of them sitting there, outside, still perfectly green.  

[mirandamavrogianni]

On 10/29/2023 at 8:28 AM, Stelios said:

Hi Stelio! I'm very happy to hear from another Palmtalker from here in Cyprus. My coconut grew better this summer and hopefully the winter will be milder.

I always thought that Larnaca could have a good chance to try a coconut. We have similar climate and with the correct planting (very well draining sandy soil is important), in the right microclimate it could be possible. It will be great if you try, so we can see if you have better chances there. After I saw these 2 coconuts near the Paphos mall, I believe is all about to find the right microclimate.

How far is your location from the beach? These 2 are about half a mile from the coast and my palm is about 3 miles. It souldn't be right on the beach either cause the constant cool winter winds will kill it. Even if you manage to grow the palm, I don't believe coconuts can produce fruits here in Cyprus unless you can cover them in a big greenhouse in the winter (I hope I'm wrong!!).

Of course for me trying a coconut is only as an experiment. I also have Royals, Bismarckias, Sabal palmetto, Veitchia arecina, Pritchardia hillebrandii and a few more that have more chances to grow in our climate. I want try mostly palms that will not look bad most of the year. I also try to grow a few tropical fruits. Our climate here in Cyprus has a lot of potential to try different varieties, that is not important to try the ultra tropical stuff to create a tropical looking garden. Unfortunately as you see not many people or local authorities here are bothered to try some nice landscaping and the availability of palms in nursuries is limited.

wow! i think this is the biggest coconut i’ve found growing in our region!! i’m wondering if it has produced coconuts?? 

 

also, i know it may take some time but considering you are one of the few people who have successfully grown coconuts sprouts in greece I am wondering if you are willing to put together a little guide on how someone else can get started and avoid the many mistakes? i am from hawaii, i truly miss my coconuts and i definitely want to pursue growing them but unfortunately i don’t have the means or resources to make sooo many mistakes, i’m confident that if i follow a proven system to do it successfully i can grow them. 

 

i truly appreciate your guidance!! 

[mirandamavrogianni]

On 11/8/2023 at 8:19 AM, Stelios said:

Stelio, it's difficult to say. I also lost most of them at early stage, but my 3 remaining are growing ok. The others I lost them from some fungus, maybe I was overwatering them. Maybe your salak seedlings have been suffering from the summer heat. I learned from experience here that many palms and plants are better to grow them protected from the direct summer sun especially when they are small. Not that the salak has any chances in Cyprus to grow outside! 

Most of my fruit trees are still small. I was trying to put my efforts mostly on the palm trees, but recently I decided to try some more fruit trees. For example I had a big seed grown papaya with nice fruits before but it was getting too tall so I cut it down and now I'm growing 2 from seeds. They are very fast. Seeds germinated in April and now in November they flowered for 2nd time (too small from fruits yet).

Thanks for the offer on the yellow dracon fruit. As soon as I will decide where to plant the others that are in the pots I will let you know. I don't even water them in the summer. They are still alive, but not grown enough to give fruits yet (also seed grown). 

As for the mango, I think is true about what they say for seed grown mango fruit. You might be lucky and get a tasty fruit, but good chances that the fruit is not nice. A friend of mine told me once that he ate a fruit from a seed grown mango and he said it was very sweet but full of fibers. My biggest seedling is about 5 feet tall and had a few flowers this summer but no fruits yet. If you want to buy from a nursery better to ask them if is grafted and not seed grown.

My longan is about 10 years old

The lychee is about 7 years old.

The lychee seems that is growing a bit faster than the longan. I think the longan is bit more cold sensitive, but not by much. I saw a few big  lychee trees here in Paphos before, so there must be some longan too. They both like as much water as you can give them in the summer. This summer I increased the watering, and they both grew a lot (I recently trimmed a few branches on both trees that were hanging on the ground). The same mistake I was doing with the palm trees, especially underwatering the water loving palms. Now I'm watering the palms more too.

yes, most of the tropical fruits love water. i come from hawaii, just moved to mílos because my husband is greek and i am a bit nervous about my ability to grow my beloved tropical fruits because of the lack of rain.  

 

i am wondering if any of your tropical fruits have flowered and produced fruits besides the papaya? 

[southathens]

4 hours ago, mlovecan said:

I was there on Wednesday and there were still six of them sitting there, outside, still perfectly green.  

wow that's amazing

[Axel Amsterdam]

On 10/29/2023 at 7:28 AM, Stelios said:

Hi Stelio! I'm very happy to hear from another Palmtalker from here in Cyprus. My coconut grew better this summer and hopefully the winter will be milder.

I always thought that Larnaca could have a good chance to try a coconut. We have similar climate and with the correct planting (very well draining sandy soil is important), in the right microclimate it could be possible. It will be great if you try, so we can see if you have better chances there. After I saw these 2 coconuts near the Paphos mall, I believe is all about to find the right microclimate.

How far is your location from the beach? These 2 are about half a mile from the coast and my palm is about 3 miles. It souldn't be right on the beach either cause the constant cool winter winds will kill it. Even if you manage to grow the palm, I don't believe coconuts can produce fruits here in Cyprus unless you can cover them in a big greenhouse in the winter (I hope I'm wrong!!).

Of course for me trying a coconut is only as an experiment. I also have Royals, Bismarckias, Sabal palmetto, Veitchia arecina, Pritchardia hillebrandii and a few more that have more chances to grow in our climate. I want try mostly palms that will not look bad most of the year. I also try to grow a few tropical fruits. Our climate here in Cyprus has a lot of potential to try different varieties, that is not important to try the ultra tropical stuff to create a tropical looking garden. Unfortunately as you see not many people or local authorities here are bothered to try some nice landscaping and the availability of palms in nursuries is limited.

How is your cocos doing Stelios?