Cocos nucifera (Coconut) in Malta

[Maltese coconut project]

This is my personal experiment of germinating and growing Cocos nucifera in Malta and succeeding in most of them surviving in winter by positioning them in South facing sunny area

[Maltese coconut project]

[Maltese coconut project]

[Maltese coconut project]

[Maltese coconut project]

[Maltese coconut project]

[Maltese coconut project]

[RedRabbit]

Good luck with your experiment! The climate should be close to being able to support them. Do you know if any coconuts have been grown successfully in Malta before?  

[Maltese coconut project]

Just now, RedRabbit said:

Good luck with your experiment! The climate should be close to being able to support them. Do you know if any coconuts have been grown successfully in Malta before?  

No no one succeeded. I am the first one on the island. And now our winter is soon finishing 

[SouthSeaNate]

Well done.  Yes Coconuts here need to be grown against a south facing wall ideally & out of cold winds. There were a few in pots outside a cafe on the seafront in Bugibba that survived the winter a couple of years back, but because of their exposed position they looked very tatty & wind burnt. I had a close look at them & they did have firm green spears, but unfortunately the cafe owner got rid of them before they could recover. These were however the stretched, force grown ones that you buy at LIDL, to have the best chance at succeeding with them you need to grow one yourself, like you have done.

[Maltese coconut project]

6 minutes ago, SouthSeaNate said:

Well done.  Yes Coconuts here need to be grown against a south facing wall ideally & out of cold winds. There were a few in pots outside a cafe on the seafront in Bugibba that survived the winter a couple of years back, but because of their exposed position they looked very tatty & wind burnt. I had a close look at them & they did have firm green spears, but unfortunately the cafe owner got rid of them before they could recover. These were however the stretched, force grown ones that you buy at LIDL, to have the best chance at succeeding with them you need to grow one yourself, like you have done.

I wasn't aware of Cocos nucifera temporarily in Bugibba. But yes those grown in Dutch greenhouses are weak and show signs of Etoilation. One has to grow a quantity themselves, then use a Darwanian approach just like I did to see who survives winter 

[Maltese coconut project]

Some update (photos taken 30th April 2021) 

[Maltese coconut project]

Transferring coconut in North facing area for the warm months since sun temperatures were exceeding 31 degrees celcius. Now they receive early morning and late evening more delicate sun 

[Maltese coconut project]

Experimenting with some Lidl purchased ready germinated husked coconuts along with my own germinated ones. Temperature is perfect nearing 29 degrees celcius in the shade 

[Maltese coconut project]

A recent update of the Maltese coconut project 

[PalmatierMeg]

Great work! Kudos to you and your project.

[Maltese coconut project]

Thanks my friend.  I will post updates from time to time and anyone can ask for hints 

[kinzyjr]

@Maltese coconut project You've definitely put in the effort to make it work!  Hope you can get them to the point where a few are actively reproducing there!

[Maltese coconut project]

I will try my best. Will keep all updated 

[Aleitalyyy]

I had not seen that you had opened a discussion of yours ... perfect I follow this and we keep up to date here!

what minimum temperatures have these plants seen?

[Aleitalyyy]

ciao cara ecco il mio cocco ligure che ormai da un mese e mezzo si gode l'estate all'aperto...cosa mi consigliate come fertilizzante liquido? usi liquido o granulare

[Maltese coconut project]

Thanks for the three big thick ones minimum around 10 degrees celcius at night and some occasional 14 degrees celcius during cloudy January day 

[Maltese coconut project]

Io usero tutti I due. Pero il liquido soltanto 1/5 potenza e diluito pero ogni 5 giorni. Diluito ma frequente. Usero anche micronutrients aparte NPK 22 12 12 usero.  I micronutrients consiste Boron, Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Zinc, Iron, Molybdenum e altre 

[Aleitalyyy]

yes I also took a liquid with a lot of nitrogen and micro elements ... I gave the granular nitroposka I don't know if it exists in mortar, it is blue or red ... now I have put a young coconut in a concrete pot together with a basjoo banana that will stay out this winter .... in alassio rental! it will be a little experiment to understand how long a young coconut lasts in our winter ...

[Aleitalyyy]

@Stelios hello dear friend stelios I have tagged you in this tread thinking you might be interested in these experiments ... since you too have a European Mediterranean coconut ...

[Maltese coconut project]

I use Midotech gold (slow release red granules ) and the Dutch agrial blue granules (slow release too) reason being that combined they have most important micronutrients 

[Maltese coconut project]

Then in the warm months I use fast release 22 12 12 NPK mineral soluble and Agrilon microcombi for micronutrients. I prefer a dilute 1/5 every 5 days instead. Frequent but dilute 

[Maltese coconut project]

How can we get more people into this discussion? Possibly people who live in borderline climates? Thanks everyone 

[pietropuccio]

Cocos nucifera and temperatures

To be taken as a single testimony, I have not documented the previous ones, with all its uncertainties and inaccuracies and without wanting to draw conclusions.
“Supermarket” plant in an open position in Palermo, Sicily, Italy.

First panoramic photo, from left to right:
photo 1) November 8, in vegetation, average of the minimum of the previous week: 13.6 ° C
photo 2) November 28, growth stops, shiny leaves, some rare spots, average of the previous week's lows: 12.8 ° C
photo 3) December 5th, shiny leaves, widespread spots, average of the previous week's lows: 12.9 ° C

Second panoramic photo, from left to right:
photo 1) December 12, opaque, discolored leaves, shriveled apexes, average of the previous week's lows: 11.2 ° C
photo 2) December 30, lamina entirely wrinkled, average of the previous week's lows: 10.9 ° C
photo 3) January 8, no comments required, average of the previous week's lows: 11.1 ° C

 

 

[Aleitalyyy]

Ciao pietro ... sì  purtroppo penso che. A palermo mancano le temperature massime che ha malta...

Poi le piante del progetto maltese sono sicuramente più   abituate e forti...

[Aleitalyyy]

2 hours ago, Maltese coconut project said:

Come possiamo coinvolgere più persone in questa discussione? Forse persone che vivono in climi limite? Grazie a tutti 

we tag more people. ...

[Maltese coconut project]

Come e la temperatura massima al sole in palerm nel inverno? 

[Stelios]

9 hours ago, Aleitalyyy said:

@Stelios hello dear friend stelios I have tagged you in this tread thinking you might be interested in these experiments ... since you too have a European Mediterranean coconut ...

Hi Alessandro. Generally here in the Mediterranean sea is very difficult to grow a coconut. The best chances are Tel Aviv and more south maybe Cairo in Egypt. Here in Cyprus or other similar areas maybe in the best microclimate it could survive but might not look its best. My palm after about 12 years (9 in the ground) only the last 3 winters doesn't get any protection and now in the summer is recovering from leaf damage. The last winter was not very rainy but it still has damage from the previous 2 rainy winters. Is very slow growing here. Maybe I should fertilize sometimes. I don't know until when it will survive but when it will die I might try a green tall variety when I will find one, to see if it has a bit more hardiness.

Even though I love coconut palms like many of us here, I would prefer to put my efforts in more easy growing palms. I don't underestimate any palm and I already feel lucky that I can grow many varieties like royals, bismarckias, kentiopsis, archontophoenix and others. Unfortunately there is not a very big variety at the nurseries here in Cyprus. For the coconut look there is also beccariophoenix alfredii but like other varieties, I have to grow it from seeds since is not available here. Kentia is one of my favorite palm with some cocos look.

Here is my palm today.

[Aleitalyyy]

8 hours ago, Maltese coconut project said:

Come e la temperatura massima al sole a palerm nel inverno? 

Non superano in gennaio i 15 gradi... ma ci sono giorni che arrivano anche a 20/21 ma raramente...

[pietropuccio]

9 hours ago, Maltese coconut project said:

Come e la temperatura massima al sole in palerm nel inverno? 

Hello,
the day and night temperature of a place also strongly depends on the surrounding conditions. In your terrace, the temperature is maximum at the corner and decreases towards the sides and will always be much higher than any unprotected point in a garden even a short distance away. The survival of the coconut does not depend on the maximum temperatures, but on the minimums that are reached in the meristem, as its temperature decreases, the reproduction speed of the cells also decreases and consequently the probability of pathogenic attacks increases. Around 11  °C the reproduction of cells stops and this is the beginning of the end. Ultimately it is quite simple to predict whether a coconut can survive or not, unless you encounter a genetically modified one.

[Maltese coconut project]

Palms are heavy feeders.  Fertilising really helps them. In summer I am using fast acting fertiliser.. I dilute it only at 1/5 strength but apply it once every 5 days in the warm months. For the cooler months I only use slow release fertiliser then 

[Maltese coconut project]

How big is your coconut palm? What is the height? 

[Maltese coconut project]

I wish to ask one more thing. What is your most common humidity level and monthly night time temperature?  Do you live in the inner part of Cyprus or fairly near coastal areas? 

[Maltese coconut project]

Very true. They like narrower ranges in temperature between day and night and surely dislike any temperatures in the one digit degrees celcius. But also depends on the size of the palm. Smaller seedlings are weaker. 

[Aleitalyyy]

16 hours ago, Maltese coconut project said:

 

 

Hello @Stelios... yes you are right there are many beautiful varieties for coastal Mediterranean climates ... but you know coconut is an exceptional palm for me, the queen of palms, with the challenge of making it grow where it shouldn't grow .. . I am growing the beccariophoenix alfredii, but it is really slow to grow .... here is a photo ... your coconut however is always beautiful and I hope it continues to grow for years ... and yes, you should fertilize that palm that sure changes its appearance for the better ....