Fruiting Coconut Palm in Coastal Corpus Christi, Texas

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

Hi Everyone, 

I hope all of you are doing well.  Here are some updated photos of my big Green Malayan Dwarf Coconut Palm in my front yard in Flour Bluff, Corpus Christi, Texas.  It has been in the ground for 4 and a half years, and is finally fruiting this year.  It has 8 coconuts on it, 3 that are about 3.25" long, 3 that are slightly less than 3" long, and 2 smaller ones.  It has a 5th inflorescence that is opening now, and a 6th one that is just starting to emerge, and it has about 30" inches of woody trunk height at its base.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

[Jeff985]

Some fine looking nuts you got there, John. Keep up the good work. Very impressive. 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

30 minutes ago, Jeff985 said:

Some fine looking nuts you got there, John. Keep up the good work. Very impressive. 

Thanks, Jeff.  So far, so good.

John

[Reyes Vargas]

1 hour ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Hi Everyone, 

I hope all of you are doing well.  Here are some updated photos of my big Green Malayan Dwarf Coconut Palm in my front yard in Flour Bluff, Corpus Christi, Texas.  It has been in the ground for 4 and a half years, and is finally fruiting this year.  It has 8 coconuts on it, 3 that are about 3.25" long, 3 that are slightly less than 3" long, and 2 smaller ones.  It has a 5th inflorescence that is opening now, and a 6th one that is just starting to emerge, and it has about 30" inches of woody trunk height at its base.

John

That is so cool John.  I live about 150 miles south of you and I just bought this coconut sprout off of eBay.  Hope it does as good as yours.  How big was it when you first planted it?

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

6 minutes ago, Reyes Vargas said:

That is so cool John.  I live about 150 miles south of you and I just bought this coconut sprout off of eBay.  Hope it does as good as yours.  How big was it when you first planted it?

Hi Reyes,

Welcome to Palmtalk.  Mine was in a 15 gal. pot when I bought it from a local nursery that occasionally has them here in Flour Bluff.  It was about 10ft. tall in overall height, with about 18" of woody trunk height at its base.  It was the last one they had 4 and a half years ago, and was neglected and looked under watered, as its trunk was starting to pencil (taper too much) at the top.  I nursed it back to health after planting it in the ground, and after the first two bad winters when I had to protect it with sheets and blankets wrapped around the trunk and Christmas lights the first two winters it was in the ground when, it got down to the upper 20'sF 2 nights in a row, each of those first 2 winters, for a total of 4 nights in the upper 20'sF, it started really recovering and taking off growth wise over the last couple of years.

I am curious, where was your coconut sprout shipped from?  It looks good and healthy.

John

[Reyes Vargas]

14 minutes ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Hi Reyes,

Welcome to Palmtalk.  Mine was in a 15 gal. pot when I bought it from a local nursery that occasionally has them here in Flour Bluff.  It was about 10ft. tall in overall height, with about 18" of woody trunk height at its base.  It was the last one they had 4 and a half years ago, and was neglected and looked under watered, as its trunk was starting to pencil (taper too much) at the top.  I nursed it back to health after planting it in the ground, and after the first two bad winters when I had to protect it with sheets and blankets wrapped around the trunk and Christmas lights the first two winters it was in the ground when, it got down to the upper 20'sF 2 nights in a row, each of those first 2 winters, for a total of 4 nights in the upper 20'sF, it started really recovering and taking off growth wise over the last couple of years.

I am curious, where was your coconut sprout shipped from?  It looks good and healthy.

John

Hey John,

Thank you for welcoming me.  I like palmtalk.  There are a lot of knowledgeable people on here.  I mostly just look around reading all the good advise but sometimes I do post.  I wish they would sell coconuts in 15 gallon pots here but I have never seen any.  Maybe I'm not looking good enough.  I have even checked on craigslist.  I am going to have to wait a long time for my coconut to get to the size of yours since mine is just a little sprout.  I got that coconut from some guy from Florida that sells them on eBay.  

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

1 hour ago, Reyes Vargas said:

Hey John,

Thank you for welcoming me.  I like palmtalk.  There are a lot of knowledgeable people on here.  I mostly just look around reading all the good advise but sometimes I do post.  I wish they would sell coconuts in 15 gallon pots here but I have never seen any.  Maybe I'm not looking good enough.  I have even checked on craigslist.  I am going to have to wait a long time for my coconut to get to the size of yours since mine is just a little sprout.  I got that coconut from some guy from Florida that sells them on eBay.  

Hey Reyes,

You are welcome.  Yeah, Palmtalk is great.  I am glad I found this group years ago.  You should check out my group I started a few years ago on Facebook, Tropical Gardening of South Texas.  The RGV nurseries are REALLY dropping the ball by not supplying Coconut Palms to the local residents there.  There is a demand for them in the area, yet no nurseries there have them on a regular basis.  River's End Nursery in Bayview near Brownsville had about 50 Green Malayan Dwarf Coconut Palms, some in pots, and some larger field grown ones (about 8ft. to 10ft. tall in overall height) about 10 years or more ago, as I recall, but they no longer had any the last few times I have been there.  Do you recall which part of Florida, your sprout was shipped from?  The reason I ask is it may help me to determine what variety it is and the relative cold tolerance of it.  There are some pretty nice looking Coconut Palms of various varieties and sizes scattered throughout the RGV.  I have seen mature ones from South Padre to as far inland as just north of Edinburg.  Yours will probably grow faster than you think.  I got some sprouts not much bigger than that about a year and a half ago from a friend here that got some shipped to him from Florida, and some of them are now about 7ft. or a little over tall in overall height in the pots they are in.  I have seen them grow 3 to 5ft per year depending on the variety and growing conditions.  By the way, as far as I can tell, there are at least 15 in ground ones here in Flour Bluff and North Padre Island.  There should be at least a hundred here, and should be thousands of them planted throughout the RGV, if they were more readily available.  Remember, you can collect the ones that wash up on the beach from Mexico, and if they have at least some water sloshing in them, and are at least about 8" or more long, they can be viable and potentially sprout.  I was able to sprout 5 of them from the ones I collected off the beach here earlier this year.

John

John

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

I have no idea how my name just got posted 3 times at the end of the above comment.???

[palmfriend]

John,

 

This is great news!!

For weeks I was already on the edge to ask how your cocos nucifera is doing since it was a while

when you posted about its first inflorescence but I wasn't sure - something might had 

happened (eg. the palm had been seriously damaged during one of the hurricanes that hit your area...)

but now I am really happy about this latest piece of information - Congratulations!!!

The fruits are looking really nice and healthy, well done! Harvest time should be next summer or

so - what you are going to do with them? Growing new palms or having a nice Thai curry... 

However, let us know, how it went, I am really looking forward to it!

Btw., John, you may remember that I checked my own almost blown over Golden coconut when you

created that thread announcing the first inflorescence a while ago and allowed myself to add a few 

images at that time of my one because it produced inflorescence for the first time again after being

hit by a typhoon in August 2019...

 

Here the images I posted...

with its first inflorescence a year after the typhoon. 

Here it is now -

...curving back and had pushed four or five inflorescences. I think it still hasn't completely overcome

the shock caused by that typhoon but we got a few nice surprises, too...

All in all six nicely looking nuts and I am very happy, too!

Al right, as always no hijacking intended - let's keep the updates going! 

John, all the best to you and your palms for the next winter!

best regards from Okinawa -

Lars

 

 

[Reyes Vargas]

6 hours ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Hey Reyes,

You are welcome.  Yeah, Palmtalk is great.  I am glad I found this group years ago.  You should check out my group I started a few years ago on Facebook, Tropical Gardening of South Texas.  The RGV nurseries are REALLY dropping the ball by not supplying Coconut Palms to the local residents there.  There is a demand for them in the area, yet no nurseries there have them on a regular basis.  River's End Nursery in Bayview near Brownsville had about 50 Green Malayan Dwarf Coconut Palms, some in pots, and some larger field grown ones (about 8ft. to 10ft. tall in overall height) about 10 years or more ago, as I recall, but they no longer had any the last few times I have been there.  Do you recall which part of Florida, your sprout was shipped from?  The reason I ask is it may help me to determine what variety it is and the relative cold tolerance of it.  There are some pretty nice looking Coconut Palms of various varieties and sizes scattered throughout the RGV.  I have seen mature ones from South Padre to as far inland as just north of Edinburg.  Yours will probably grow faster than you think.  I got some sprouts not much bigger than that about a year and a half ago from a friend here that got some shipped to him from Florida, and some of them are now about 7ft. or a little over tall in overall height in the pots they are in.  I have seen them grow 3 to 5ft per year depending on the variety and growing conditions.  By the way, as far as I can tell, there are at least 15 in ground ones here in Flour Bluff and North Padre Island.  There should be at least a hundred here, and should be thousands of them planted throughout the RGV, if they were more readily available.  Remember, you can collect the ones that wash up on the beach from Mexico, and if they have at least some water sloshing in them, and are at least about 8" or more long, they can be viable and potentially sprout.  I was able to sprout 5 of them from the ones I collected off the beach here earlier this year.

John

John

John

You are right about the nurseries dropping the ball.  They just sell the usual foxtail royal and queen palms.  Don't get me wrong I like all those palms but they should think of selling some variety.  Even the Lowe's and Home Depots around here just sell queens and pygmy date palms.

I'm am a little tempted on growing some coconuts and trying to selling them.  I remember about 20-25 years ago I grew a coconut from seed that I got from Florida.  I grew it to a decent size in a pot and I sold it for about $50 and that was 25 years ago.  So there is a market for them here.  The only thing is that the nuts are very expensive to ship.

The sprout that I bought was from Pompano beach Florida.  I would love to know what variety it is if you can tell me.  The listing on eBay just said rare yellow but they probably just put that so you get interested and buy it.  I will also post update pictures as it grows, maybe you can tell better as it grows.  One question, can I plant the sprouts outside in a pot right now even though it a little cool or should I wait for spring?  I just don't want it to die.  

[Xenon]

 

10 hours ago, Reyes Vargas said:

That is so cool John.  I live about 150 miles south of you and I just bought this coconut sprout off of eBay.  Hope it does as good as yours.  How big was it when you first planted it?

Here are some young coconuts growing in Mercedes. There is also one in Weslaco that has been there since the mid 2000s. There are more in McAllen-Pharr and Brownsville-towards the coast,  areas that usually run a hair or two warmer. 

[Jeff985]

2 hours ago, Reyes Vargas said:

You are right about the nurseries dropping the ball.  They just sell the usual foxtail royal and queen palms.  Don't get me wrong I like all those palms but they should think of selling some variety.  Even the Lowe's and Home Depots around here just sell queens and pygmy date palms.

I'm am a little tempted on growing some coconuts and trying to selling them.  I remember about 20-25 years ago I grew a coconut from seed that I got from Florida.  I grew it to a decent size in a pot and I sold it for about $50 and that was 25 years ago.  So there is a market for them here.  The only thing is that the nuts are very expensive to ship.

The sprout that I bought was from Pompano beach Florida.  I would love to know what variety it is if you can tell me.  The listing on eBay just said rare yellow but they probably just put that so you get interested and buy it.  I will also post update pictures as it grows, maybe you can tell better as it grows.  One question, can I plant the sprouts outside in a pot right now even though it a little cool or should I wait for spring?  I just don't want it to die.  

Tree of life nursery in San Benito had all those, plus ptychosperma elegans, roystonea regias, and an un identified palm I suspect is archontophoenix maxima. All of those would thrive in Mercedes. 

[Cluster]

Hello John!

This is amazing news, they are much bigger now than when you showed us before! How big do you think they get when they get more mature? Are you going to sprout them?

I am really happy for you my friend!

 

Lars your golden coconut looks so good, will you try to sprout them?

 

Regards,

 

Pedro

[Reyes Vargas]

1 hour ago, Jeff985 said:

Tree of life nursery in San Benito had all those, plus ptychosperma elegans, roystonea regias, and an un identified palm I suspect is archontophoenix maxima. All of those would thrive in Mercedes. 

I have not been to the tree of life nursery in San Benito but I have been to the one in San Juan.  The only ones they had when I went was royal Foxtails queens. Don't archontophoenix maxima require a lot of water?  I need to check out the tree of life nursery in San Benito to see what they have.

[Jeff985]

@Reyes Vargas Also if you’re ever in the Houston area, there is a place in north Houston that was selling 7 gallon coconuts for $75 this summer. Don’t know if they still have any. If you never come to this area maybe I could pick one up before my next trip to SPI and bring it to you. 

[Jeff985]

1 minute ago, Reyes Vargas said:

I have not been to the tree of life nursery in San Benito but I have been to the one in San Juan.  The only ones they had when I went was royal Foxtails queens. Don't archontophoenix maxima require a lot of water?  I need to check out the tree of life nursery in San Benito to see what they have.

Yes. Archies like tons of water, but they’re worth it. They were only $50. I picked one up along with a ptychosperma when I was there in August. 

[Reyes Vargas]

1 hour ago, Xenon said:

 

Here are some young coconuts growing in Mercedes. There is also one in Weslaco that has been there since the mid 2000s. There are more in McAllen-Pharr and Brownsville-towards the coast,  areas that usually run a hair or two warmer. 

That is a nice coconut.  I've lived here all my life and have never seen that palm.  I might need to drive around more to see all the nice palms growing in my area.  Pictures like these get me more excited about growing my own coconut.

[Jeff985]

@Reyes Vargas There are several threads on here about rgv coconuts. Use the search function and check it out. There are some really nice ones in SPI, Port Isabel, Brownsville, and McAllen. 

[Reyes Vargas]

@Jeff985 thank you for the offer to buy a coconut and bringing down for me but I think I'm going to hold off on that and see how my little sprouted coconut does.  I will definitely check out the rgv coconuts threads.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 12/6/2020 at 2:51 AM, palmfriend said:

John,

 

This is great news!!

For weeks I was already on the edge to ask how your cocos nucifera is doing since it was a while

when you posted about its first inflorescence but I wasn't sure - something might had 

happened (eg. the palm had been seriously damaged during one of the hurricanes that hit your area...)

but now I am really happy about this latest piece of information - Congratulations!!!

The fruits are looking really nice and healthy, well done! Harvest time should be next summer or

so - what you are going to do with them? Growing new palms or having a nice Thai curry... 

However, let us know, how it went, I am really looking forward to it!

Btw., John, you may remember that I checked my own almost blown over Golden coconut when you

created that thread announcing the first inflorescence a while ago and allowed myself to add a few 

images at that time of my one because it produced inflorescence for the first time again after being

hit by a typhoon in August 2019...

 

Here the images I posted...

with its first inflorescence a year after the typhoon. 

Here it is now -

...curving back and had pushed four or five inflorescences. I think it still hasn't completely overcome

the shock caused by that typhoon but we got a few nice surprises, too...

All in all six nicely looking nuts and I am very happy, too!

Al right, as always no hijacking intended - let's keep the updates going! 

John, all the best to you and your palms for the next winter!

best regards from Okinawa -

Lars

 

 

Thanks, Lars.  I am very happy with it.  The hurricanes we had over the last 3 years, and a tropical storm or two, didn't really adversely affect it too much.  I would like to grow at least one of the nuts if they are viable, and maybe consume the others, or give a couple away to those who would like to grow them.  My wife wants to consume at least one or two of them.  Your palm looks really good, considering it blew over in the storm.  The nuts look good on it, and hopefully the palm will continue to recover.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 12/6/2020 at 6:24 AM, Reyes Vargas said:

You are right about the nurseries dropping the ball.  They just sell the usual foxtail royal and queen palms.  Don't get me wrong I like all those palms but they should think of selling some variety.  Even the Lowe's and Home Depots around here just sell queens and pygmy date palms.

I'm am a little tempted on growing some coconuts and trying to selling them.  I remember about 20-25 years ago I grew a coconut from seed that I got from Florida.  I grew it to a decent size in a pot and I sold it for about $50 and that was 25 years ago.  So there is a market for them here.  The only thing is that the nuts are very expensive to ship.

The sprout that I bought was from Pompano beach Florida.  I would love to know what variety it is if you can tell me.  The listing on eBay just said rare yellow but they probably just put that so you get interested and buy it.  I will also post update pictures as it grows, maybe you can tell better as it grows.  One question, can I plant the sprouts outside in a pot right now even though it a little cool or should I wait for spring?  I just don't want it to die.  

i really do wish someone would grow them and sell them on a regular basis in the RGV.  You can collect viable ones off the beach and sprout them.  Unfortunately, I only get about a 10% to 20% germination rate with the ones I collect off the beach, but others have gotten a somewhat higher germination rate.  Be careful about selling them though.  The Texas Dept. of Agriculture came after me MERCILESSLY a little over 4 years ago for selling plants without a VERY EXPENSIVE state issued nursery license.  So much for the "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave".  More like LAND OF THE FEE, HOME OF THE SLAVE!!!  And I would only clear about $400 to $500 a year after expenses of making my own potting soil, obtaining the organic fertilizer I use, and my water bill, so it wasn't like I was making thousands of dollars a month and not giving the system their cut.  Whatever you do, don't advertise them on the internet, unless you want the TDA to come after you with a vengeance too.

I think your sprout may be a Green Malayan Dwarf., but it may be a Mayjam Hybrid (cross between a Green Malayan Dwarf and a Jamaican Tall).   It is hard to tell at that age.  I would go ahead and pot it up now.  I make my own potting soil, and it seems  to work well for all my plants, including my Coconut Palms.  I use the 100% organic compost from Lowe's (I am not a fan of the Big Box stores, but it is what I can afford), the topsoil Lowe's sells in bags, and fresh sand from the gopher mounds in my backyard.  I mix it a rate of 5 handfuls of the compost, 4 handfuls of the topsoil, and 7 or 8 handfuls of sand.  The sand helps with drainage, and gives the pots some weight so my palms don't blow over so easily in our high winds we have here about 6 months out of the year.  You can leave you palm setting outside in a sunny location, but bring it in if there is any temps below 36F or 37F predicted for overnight lows, and if more than 2 or 3 days of chilly temps in the 40'sF or 50'sF are predicted.  Only water it about once every 5 or 6 days in the winter during normal weather when it is not raining.  In the warmer and hotter months, water it every 2 or 3 days when it is not raining.  I would pot it up in a used black nursery pot of either 3 gal. or 5 gal. size.

John

 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 12/6/2020 at 8:37 AM, Xenon said:

 

Here are some young coconuts growing in Mercedes. There is also one in Weslaco that has been there since the mid 2000s. There are more in McAllen-Pharr and Brownsville-towards the coast,  areas that usually run a hair or two warmer. 

Nice looking ones, Jonathan.  i really wish we could grow them like that here.  I wonder how the one ones on Red Snapper and Campeche St. at South Padre are doing?

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 12/6/2020 at 9:30 AM, Cluster said:

Hello John!

This is amazing news, they are much bigger now than when you showed us before! How big do you think they get when they get more mature? Are you going to sprout them?

I am really happy for you my friend!

 

Lars your golden coconut looks so good, will you try to sprout them?

 

Regards,

 

Pedro

Hi Pedro,

Thank you.  I think if the nuts survive the winter here and continue to grow, that they may top out at about 7 or 8 inches long in the climate here, which would make them just barely big enough to be viable.  I plan to sprout at least one or two of them, and my wife wants to consume at least one or two of them.  I may give a few away to others who may want to sprout them.

John

[Jeff985]

21 minutes ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Nice looking ones, Jonathan.  i really wish we could grow them like that here.  I wonder how the one ones on Red Snapper and Campeche St. at South Padre are doing?

John

I saw those back in August and they were looking great and had fruit on them. If you look up the zone 10 rgv thread you’ll see them. 

[Xenon]

22 minutes ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Nice looking ones, Jonathan.  i really wish we could grow them like that here.  I wonder how the one ones on Red Snapper and Campeche St. at South Padre are doing?

John

Hi John, you've actually seen those coconuts before (photo is by Richard Travis). I reposted it from Tropical Gardening in South Texas. 

And as of a few months ago, the coconut on Campeche is looking great, very robust. The front yard coconut on Red Snapper is not looking so good. The one in the side yard a few houses down looks much better and had a few nuts on it. 

[Jeff985]

@Mr. Coconut Palm Here they are. 

[HtownPalms]

Very exciting to see such healthy coconut palms just a couple hours south of me! Since that bad boy was in the ground in January of 2018 and survived that freeze i would think you have nothing to worry about going forward. 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

22 hours ago, Jeff985 said:

I saw those back in August and they were looking great and had fruit on them. If you look up the zone 10 rgv thread you’ll see them. 

Thanks, Jeff.  I am glad they are doing good.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

22 hours ago, Xenon said:

Hi John, you've actually seen those coconuts before (photo is by Richard Travis). I reposted it from Tropical Gardening in South Texas. 

And as of a few months ago, the coconut on Campeche is looking great, very robust. The front yard coconut on Red Snapper is not looking so good. The one in the side yard a few houses down looks much better and had a few nuts on it. 

Hi Jonathan,

Okay.  They do look familiar.  That one on Campeche does look great, with the exception of not seeing any nuts on it.   It has put on a LOT of trunk on it since I saw it last about a year and half or so ago.  You are right, that one in the front yard on Red Snapper does not look its best.  I remember the lady from Puerto Rico who planted it there years ago, said she had 93 coconuts on it one year, and I have personally counted 47 nuts on it about 10 years or so ago.  I think she took pretty good care of it and kept it watered, but she may not own the place any longer, or be renting it out to others, as it hasn't looked its best in recent years.  The one at the end of the street looks pretty good though.  All the South Padre ones in the photos look over trimmed though, and whoever trims them may be cutting nuts off of them before they have a chance to mature.  Coconut Palms there that are adequately watered and properly fertilized should easily have dozens of nuts on them.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

5 hours ago, HtownPalms said:

Very exciting to see such healthy coconut palms just a couple hours south of me! Since that bad boy was in the ground in January of 2018 and survived that freeze i would think you have nothing to worry about going forward. 

Harlan,

I hope you are right.  They are still considered marginal here, as where I live is the northernmost limit in Texas where you can try growing them with any possibility of them making it through the winter.   I do think Green Malayan Dwarfs have a little more cold hardiness than they are usually given credit for, and that combined with the fact that I grow mine ALL ORGANICALLY, adds some more cold hardiness to it. From the research I have done, growing tropical trees and plants ALL ORGANICALLY appears to add as much as 2F to 3F+ cold hardiness to them, so for those of us growing them in marginal locations, that can mean a world of difference in what makes it and what doesn't.   Considering how well Coconut Palms do in the Rio Grande Valley though, there should be thousands of them planted down there, especially in Cameron County.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

By the way, in case any of you are wondering why mine looks so much better and has grown so much more this year, I increased the watering of it in duration up from 30 to 35 minutes on each of the four sides of it to 40 to 45 minutes on each of the 4 sides of it during the hot dry months, and in frequency from about once ever 2 to 3 weeks to about once every 8 to 10 days in the hot dry months, which really seems to have boosted its growth rate.  Now in the wintertime though, since they don't like chilly damp roots for any length of time, I am tapering off on the watering to just 30 minutes on each of the 4 sides of it, and to only once about every 2 to 3 weeks when its not raining, and only on mild to warm days.

John

[HtownPalms]

John,  I guess I need to learn how to fertilize my palms organically?! Up here in the frozen tundra of Houston I need all the help I can get when it comes to cold hardiness. Even though I am a native Texan I have never been to the valley. Someday I need to make a trip so I can see all the amazing Coconut Palms. It still baffles me that people as far north as Corpus can have them planted in the yard! I haven't been to C. Christi since 1996 and its only 3 hours away. I need to plan a weekend getaway at the very least to see some "exotic" palm trees. 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 12/9/2020 at 12:59 PM, HtownPalms said:

John,  I guess I need to learn how to fertilize my palms organically?! Up here in the frozen tundra of Houston I need all the help I can get when it comes to cold hardiness. Even though I am a native Texan I have never been to the valley. Someday I need to make a trip so I can see all the amazing Coconut Palms. It still baffles me that people as far north as Corpus can have them planted in the yard! I haven't been to C. Christi since 1996 and its only 3 hours away. I need to plan a weekend getaway at the very least to see some "exotic" palm trees. 

Harlan,

You are welcome to come down here any time you want.  If you come on a weekend, I can show you all the Coconut Palms that I know of here (there are a total of 15 that I know of in Flour Bluff where I live and on North Padre Island), and I can show you some really nice big Cuban Royal Palms,  as well as some nice King Palms, Foxtail, and Bismarck Palms here too.  Maybe sometime we could make a trip down to the Valley, and I could show you the impressive Coconut Palms I know of there, as well as some great Cuban Royals that are huge, and the BIGGEST Royal Poinciana Tree outside of South Florida.  It is in Brownsville, and it is absolutely HUGE!

As far as the organic fertilizer is concerned, I use MicrolIfe Ultimate 8-4-6 All Organic Biological Fertilizer.  It is in granular form, and you simply spread it around the root zone of your trees and plants, work it into the top layer of soil, and water it in.   I also use MicroLife Ocean Harvest 4-2-3 as a foliar spray at the rate of 2 oz. per gal. of water, and spray the leaves several times throughout the year.  I use the granular fertilizer 4 times per year, mid February, mid May, mid August, and in mid November.  This has given me really good results.  MicroLife is widely available at Houston nurseries. 

John

[HtownPalms]

John,

Thank You for the offer. I might take you up on that sometime I the near future. Thanks for explaining the options for fertilizing organically. I will see what I can find next time I head out to the nurseries. Cornelius has a very big supply of fertilizers. I will check and see if they have microlife. 

[pj_orlando_z9b]

On 12/5/2020 at 9:03 PM, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Hi Everyone, 

I hope all of you are doing well.  Here are some updated photos of my big Green Malayan Dwarf Coconut Palm in my front yard in Flour Bluff, Corpus Christi, Texas.  It has been in the ground for 4 and a half years, and is finally fruiting this year.  It has 8 coconuts on it, 3 that are about 3.25" long, 3 that are slightly less than 3" long, and 2 smaller ones.  It has a 5th inflorescence that is opening now, and a 6th one that is just starting to emerge, and it has about 30" inches of woody trunk height at its base.

John

Great job! Let's hope for a warm winter.