Updated Photos of My Coconut Palms

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

The first two photos are of the Maymex Hybrid (I think it's a hybrid between a Golden Malayan Dwarf and Mexican Tall).  It was sprouted from a nut collected off the beach at North Padre Island, Texas in 2016, and has been in the ground for a little over a year.  The next three pics are of my big Green Malayan Dwarf.  It has been in the ground for 4 winters, and was purchased at a local palm nursery that occasionally has Coconut Palms.  The last two pics are of what I think is either a pure Mexican Tall, or a very robust Green Malayan Dwarf.  It has been in the ground for a little over a year too and was also sprouted from a nut collected off the beach at North Padre Island back in 2016.  All three of them were totally unprotected this past winter.  Overall, the whole winter was VERY MILD, but we did have two bad Arctic blasts (no freezing temps in my yard this winter, though).  The first bad cold blast was in November, when we went from the 80'sF one day to a high of about 40F the next day.  Then it happened again in December about a month later with temps going from the 80'sF one day to only a high in the 40'sF the next day.  A couple of weeks after the second cold event, all three of my in ground Coconut Palms had their new leaves collapse and break in the middle due to the shock they were thrown into.  Added to that is the fact that after the second cold event, I watered them on a day in which the high temp was only about 60F, since I hadn't watered them in about two weeks.  I should have waited for a day in the 70'sF, or at least in the upper 60'sF.  But they are all three recovering and growing again, with the big Green Malayan Dwarf growing like a weed again!  The Maymex Hybrid is growing the slowest though.  Before the two cold events, it was BEAUTIFUL with very big robust leaves.  It has a circumference at the base of its trunk of 31 inches, even though it is a few months younger than the Mexican Tall.  The Mexican Tall has a circumference of its base of 27 inches.  The big Green Malayan Dwarf has a woody trunk height of 25 inches now.  Sorry for not being able to post multiple photos in a single post.

[GottmitAlex]

Spectacular! Terrific! Wunderbar! Thank you John! 

[palmfriend]

John,

I am glad they made it through the winter pretty well - one broken leaf should not worry you, they are tough.

Now already in the mid of spring, summer is already knocking on the door - your palms growth will speed up soon! 

best regards from Okinawa -

Lars

 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 4/15/2020 at 12:01 AM, GottmitAlex said:

Spectacular! Terrific! Wunderbar! Thank you John! 

Thanks, Alex.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

15 hours ago, palmfriend said:

John,

I am glad they made it through the winter pretty well - one broken leaf should not worry you, they are tough.

Now already in the mid of spring, summer is already knocking on the door - your palms growth will speed up soon! 

best regards from Okinawa -

Lars

 

Thanks, Lars.  The big Green Malayan is growing like a weed again, followed by the Mexican Tall, but the Maymex Hybrid is the one that is only slowly growing.  I really hope it recovers well too, since it has such a fat base of the trunk, and had BIG ROBUST leaves before last winter.

John

[sandgroper]

Beautiful coconut palms mate, they look terrific!

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

17 hours ago, sandgroper said:

Beautiful coconut palms mate, they look terrific!

Thank you.  Don't you have one?

[sandgroper]

1 hour ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Thank you.  Don't you have one?

Yes mate, mine's not quite as impressive as yours but it's coming along.

[pj_orlando_z9b]

Looking good! Cheers to lots of growth this summer. 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 4/16/2020 at 11:23 PM, sandgroper said:

Yes mate, mine's not quite as impressive as yours but it's coming along.

Yours is looking good for the climate you have it growing in.  I think the only reason mine may look a little better is because we get more heat here earlier in the growing season than you do there.  We have already had some days in the upper 80'sF and low to mid 90'sF for high temps here, even though our normal high temp now is in the low 80'sF.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 4/16/2020 at 11:35 PM, pj_orlando_z9b said:

Looking good! Cheers to lots of growth this summer. 

Thanks.  I sure hope so.  I keep waiting for the first inflorescence.  I can imagine how excited you were to have your first nuts on yours.  Have you tried germinating any of the ripe nuts off your palm?  With the size and robust nature of your palm, I bet the ripe nuts would certainly be viable when they turn brown.

[Cluster]

Hello John, those are wonderful news my friend.

It seems odd the Hybrid took the biggest hit, in any case all of them are looking amazing considering the circumstances, keep us up to date, before summer:)

Hope all is safe there as well, take care.

 

Pedro

PS: I keep saying this but "robust" Malayan dwarfs coconuts are tougher than people give them credit for.

Edited May 1, 2020 by Cluster

[GottmitAlex]

1 hour ago, Cluster said:

 

PS: I keep saying this but "robust" Malayan dwarfs coconuts are tougher than people give them credit for.

I agree Pedro!

My two green malayan dwarfs didn't display nearly as much cold damage after winter as my golden ones did.

 

[Cluster]

Now I am confused Alex.

 

I thought you only had Golden Malayan dwarf and the red Tahiti as dwarfs  

 

[GottmitAlex]

9 minutes ago, Cluster said:

Now I am confused Alex.

 

I thought you only had Golden Malayan dwarf and the red Tahiti as dwarfs  

 

Golden malayan dwarf

Green malayan dwarf

B. Alfredii (which is smaller than all of these)

Green malayan dwarf

Golden supermarket-bought dehusked coco (which germinated in haus)

And the baby: Red Tahiti dwarf (only true dwarf I have planted. Which, is growing nicely!

Here's a pic

 

 

Edited May 1, 2020 by GottmitAlex

[Cluster]

Ok, will be nice to see comparisons next winter. What did you notice as cold damage in your golden ones?

[GottmitAlex]

3 minutes ago, Cluster said:

Ok, will be nice to see comparisons next winter. What did you notice as cold damage in your golden ones?

Heres a few pic of the golden's leaves vis a vis the green ones:

 

[Cluster]

Can't that be a fungus, more prominent during winter when the coconut is not as strong? I recall reading somewhere that golden Malayans were very prone to some sort of brown spotting during the early years, rainfall and wind will spread them. While there is a difference for sure I still think they both look great:)

[GottmitAlex]

Thanks Pedro!

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 4/16/2020 at 4:09 AM, sandgroper said:

Beautiful coconut palms mate, they look terrific!

Thank you.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

7 hours ago, Cluster said:

Hello John, those are wonderful news my friend.

It seems odd the Hybrid took the biggest hit, in any case all of them are looking amazing considering the circumstances, keep us up to date, before summer:)

Hope all is safe there as well, take care.

 

Pedro

PS: I keep saying this but "robust" Malayan dwarfs coconuts are tougher than people give them credit for.

Hi Pedro, 

Thanks.  Yes, I am surprised too that the Maymex hybrid took as much of a hit as it did, especially since it was so big and robust compared to my slightly older Mexican Tall ( about 2cor 3 months younger but about the same height overall, but a much thicker base of the trunk and very robust BIG leaves).  I think it may be because it appears to be a hybrid cross between a Golden Malayan and a Mexican Tall.  If it was a hybrid cross between a Green Malyan and Mexican Tall, I think it would look a lot better with a lot less cold injury.  I also think you are right about the Green Malayans being a lot tougher than most people give them credit for, but the Golden and Yellow Malayans are definitely more cold sensitive.  

I hope you and your family are staying safe.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

9 hours ago, GottmitAlex said:

Heres a few pic of the golden's leaves vis a vis the green ones:

 

Alex,

That looks like Potassium deficiency (a rather mild case of it). that Coconut Palms here on the South Texas Coast, the Rio Grande Valley, and Central and South Central Florida get in the wintertime.  It is usually much worse on our palms here and in the RGV, and presumably the ones in Central Florida too than on yours.  It occurs during the chilly months when Coconut Palms have a harder time taking up Potassium from the soil.  In mild cases like your palm appears to have, it usually goes away with the return of regular warmer weather (but the spots will remain on the older leaves that have it, with new leaves looking fine), but in severe cases can actually kill the palm.  I combat it with mine by using the MicroLife All Organic Fertilizer Ultimate 8-4-6 as a granular slow release fertilizer spread around the root zone 4 times per year, as well as MicroLife Ocean Harvest 4-2-3 as an organic foliar spray several times throughout the winter and spring time.  I think liquid seaweed can help, but the concentration of the Potassium in it is less than it is in the MicroLife fertilizers I use.

John

[GottmitAlex]

14 minutes ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Alex,

That looks like Potassium deficiency (a rather mild case of it). that Coconut Palms here on the South Texas Coast, the Rio Grande Valley, and Central and South Central Florida get in the wintertime.  It is usually much worse on our palms here and in the RGV, and presumably the ones in Central Florida too than on yours.  It occurs during the chilly months when Coconut Palms have a harder time taking up Potassium from the soil.  In mild cases like your palm appears to have, it usually goes away with the return of regular warmer weather (but the spots will remain on the older leaves that have it, with new leaves looking fine), but in severe cases can actually kill the palm.  I combat it with mine by using the MicroLife All Organic Fertilizer Ultimate 8-4-6 as a granular slow release fertilizer spread around the root zone 4 times per year, as well as MicroLife Ocean Harvest 4-2-3 as an organic foliar spray several times throughout the winter and spring time.  I think liquid seaweed can help, but the concentration of the Potassium in it is less than it is in the MicroLife fertilizers I use.

John

Thank you John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

11 minutes ago, GottmitAlex said:

Thank you John

You are welcome, Alex.