Cocos nucifera (Coconut) in Malta

[Maltese coconut project]

I saw similar techniques on YouTube but it will need the correct season as well. One of them looks how it's done in India with just a damp cloth rapped around the nut and put in a warm spot in the shade. I also saw another video in italian 

[Maltese coconut project]

If given heat and humidity some do germinate but one has to try with a good quantity to increase chances. Also one has to choose nuts which have a good amount of water inside, ideally with healthy looking dark "eyes" or pores. Also a non deformed shape is ideal. I also noticed that extremely huge nuts have smaller success rates I don't know why. Inspect them before buying to avoid damaged ones.  In my area husked ones aren't available so basically germinating dehusked ones is the only option for me. It has it's pros and cons like you won't know exactly the cultivar but at least I have the advantage of having the opportunity of hardening them early 

[Maltese coconut project]

These are former photos of my former coconut palms (all deceased in winter 2021-2022 due to harsher winter and some of my mistakes such as improper hardening and overwatering in winter) between December 2020 to April 2021. They compare the colour deterioration due to our winter prolonged cool non freezing temperatures. Back then I didn't use foliar fertilizer, didn't use same fertiliser techniques and I didn't even have most of the fertiliser products that I have today.  During the next 4 months (which probably is going to be a similar winter to 2020-2021) I will compare photos to see how much the colour and plant health condition will be preserved.. Also in April 2021 I saw the most deterioration in plant condition. Possibly due to depleted minerals inside plant themselves? 

Edited December 11, 2022 by Maltese coconut project

[Aleitalyyy]

jonathan in your opinion trying to graft a coconut sprout root with a syagrus root is 100% a failed experiment?

take a root of the same circumference as that of the coconut and then with grafting pliers cut the coconut root and graft the syagrus root....

in theory the coconut does not die because it still has water inside as nourishment .. but if the root of the syagrus is not dry it could work ....

I don't know why but I would try to do something like that if I had all those coconuts available... with one I would try....

[Aleitalyyy]

if I had a nut that had just sprouted I would try it... you never know and it's like winning the lottery... but sometimes things can work out...

[Maltese coconut project]

Grafting parts of palms is not possible since they're monocots and don't possess a cambium

[Aleitalyyy]

today a little sun helps the new launch to climb...

 

[Maltese coconut project]

Yesterday's photos 

[Aleitalyyy]

beautiful yellow quality even if delicate ...

I see that in malta there are always spring temperatures well well

[Maltese coconut project]

This year looks milder than last year. Hopefully the foliar fertilizer helps them bridge through winter 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 12/11/2022 at 11:34 AM, Maltese coconut project said:

These are former photos of my former coconut palms (all deceased in winter 2021-2022 due to harsher winter and some of my mistakes such as improper hardening and overwatering in winter) between December 2020 to April 2021. They compare the colour deterioration due to our winter prolonged cool non freezing temperatures. Back then I didn't use foliar fertilizer, didn't use same fertiliser techniques and I didn't even have most of the fertiliser products that I have today.  During the next 4 months (which probably is going to be a similar winter to 2020-2021) I will compare photos to see how much the colour and plant health condition will be preserved.. Also in April 2021 I saw the most deterioration in plant condition. Possibly due to depleted minerals inside plant themselves? 

Jonathan,

I recall you had some even bigger than these, just a couple of years ago, some that appeared to be about 6.ft. to 7 ft. tall in overall height with more mature leaves, where the leaflets have split apart.  Did the larger ones I just mentioned also die too?  Did you ever try planting one of them in the ground?

John 

[Maltese coconut project]

They're dead. But partially it's my fault. I put them North facing on the 20th May 2021 till 10th October 2021. I have to admit they grow really fast in summer when they receive sunrise and sunset sun only without the drought stress of being in the midday sun during summer but the leaves grow large, darker with thinner waxy cuticle and fewer larger stomata. Also they won't produce abscisic acid to deal with environmental stress. Come winter time the chill winds burnt them out. Also I overwatered last winter. Last summer I left everything south facing to harden them for environmental stress and removed underplates in beginning November. Also I changed fertilisation techniques. Hopefully this will work even better than winter 2020-2021. 

 

[Maltese coconut project]

This was roughly end of 2021. These are dead 

[Maltese coconut project]

Basically they are the same specimens I posted about last Sunday but just after summer 2021.. Yes they grew that fast but not hard 

[Aleitalyyy]

I have never given foliar fertilizer but only water in the summer or water and salt...

Do you advise me as soon as I put it back out to fertilize with foliar too? or in mine, by now it doesn't need that much... because the fertilizer I have is written for foliar as well...

 

[Maltese coconut project]

Ideally foliar fertilizer is used below 25 degrees celcius/77 degrees Fahrenheit since the leaves might experience some leaf burn in some plants and in warm season you don't really need it since root function is restored.  In warm season it's only useful in cases to quickly treat deficiencies 

 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Maltese coconut project

[Aleitalyyy]

 

what a show lanzarote

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

13 hours ago, Maltese coconut project said:

They're dead. But partially it's my fault. I put them North facing on the 20th May 2021 till 10th October 2021. I have to admit they grow really fast in summer when they receive sunrise and sunset sun only without the drought stress of being in the midday sun during summer but the leaves grow large, darker with thinner waxy cuticle and fewer larger stomata. Also they won't produce abscisic acid to deal with environmental stress. Come winter time the chill winds burnt them out. Also I overwatered last winter. Last summer I left everything south facing to harden them for environmental stress and removed underplates in beginning November. Also I changed fertilisation techniques. Hopefully this will work even better than winter 2020-2021. 

 

Coconut Palms are tropical and used to intense tropical sun, so putting them in shade at any time of year, only weakens them, which is why no one should ever buy any that are shade, or semi shade grown, as the leaves will be longer and weak, and the trunks will be thin and weak.  They do so much better when grown in all day full sun, and are much more robust when grown under such conditions.  Even though I grow mine in full intense South Texas sun and heat in the summer, I do not need to water them more than once every two days in 95F heat!!!  And in the wintertime, I only water them once every 5 to 6 days, occasionally a little sooner if we have 80F + days in a row, like we have had lately, and occasionally a little longer, if we have extended cool periods, or some rain in between watering times.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

13 hours ago, Maltese coconut project said:

Basically they are the same specimens I posted about last Sunday but just after summer 2021.. Yes they grew that fast but not hard 

Sorry, you lost them, but they NEED to be grown in full all day sun year round, even in summer, to be healthy, strong, and robust!!!  Remember, they ARE Tropical Palms accustomed to intense Tropical Sun and Heat!!!  Growing them in shade, or partial shade only weakens them and makes them a lot less robust!!!

John

[Maltese coconut project]

Exactly. The only environment that they can thrive in such occasions is in true tropical climate. But for us in the subtropics and pushing zones,  they absolutely need maximum sun even though they don't utilise more than 70,000 lux of light. It's because they need it as a preparation for winter. To build enough abscisic acid to combat environmental stresses and to build maximum amount of glucose to survive the cooler period 

[Maltese coconut project]

Early morning temperatures 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

1 hour ago, Maltese coconut project said:

Early morning temperatures 

Celcius?

 

[Maltese coconut project]

Yes, 18.5c/65.3 Fahrenheit before 7am. Freezing temperatures don't exist in Malta, neither does snow. It's just the wall is white. 

Edited December 14, 2022 by Maltese coconut project

[Maltese coconut project]

Today, daytime shade temperature 21 degrees celcius/70 Fahrenheit and 25 degrees celcius in the sun/77 Fahrenheit 

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

14 hours ago, Maltese coconut project said:

Today, daytime shade temperature 21 degrees celcius/70 Fahrenheit and 25 degrees celcius in the sun/77 Fahrenheit 

I wonder what variety that one is in the 3rd pic on the left?  It seems like it will grow into a very robust large variety if it survives, since it is so much larger and taller than many of the the others in the pics, and hasn't even had a single leaf open up yet!!!

John

[Maltese coconut project]

They are two specimens exactly aligned with each other and look like one taller specimen.. Observe them in second photo instead of the third photo 

Edited December 15, 2022 by Maltese coconut project

[Than]

I am in Lucknow, north India, and I saw coconut trees here but without fruits. Same latitude as the Canary islands but thousands of kilometres from the sea. I'll keep searching for fruits. 

 

 

[Maltese coconut project]

Today 15th December 2022. 22 degrees celcius/ 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, 30 degrees celcius/86 degrees in the sun. 

[Aleitalyyy]

sicily palermo an italian forum member will leave out the coconut as an experiment

[Maltese coconut project]

11pm, still relatively warm 

[Aleitalyyy]

Malta is fantastic ! Davvero.

[Maltese coconut project]

For now I will still contribute those temperatures to luck. At least we're not experiencing the same we did a year ago. But apart from that, now we're experimenting what difference foliar fertilizer might do in cool non freezing winters. Also our cool temperatures here are fairly late from January to April because the sea influences the small islands temperature due to the sea cooling down slower. But it also warms up slowly... 

[Maltese coconut project]

This morning,  warmest December I have ever experienced 

[Maltese coconut project]

This noon 

[Maltese coconut project]

Also down in the garden, Chamaedorea elegans (Parlour palm) both flowering. The garden downstairs is even warmer 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Maltese coconut project

[Aleitalyyy]

you had to plant coconut trees in the garden... that's the big mistake....

 

[Maltese coconut project]

They are too small to plant in the garden at the moment.. They won't receive enough light there.. Sun comes only between 11am to 2 pm at the lower parts of the garden 

[Maltese coconut project]

Today's update 

[Maltese coconut project]

Temperatures are starting to lower further as winter approaches.  Till now the coconut palms retained most of the green colour. Will foliar fertilizer and pre winter fertilising techniques prevent health issues and yellowing? 

[Aleitalyyy]

hello dear, i read somewhere last night that phyto sterols and plant hormones may in some world be a booster for coconut... so i ordered saw palmetto ( Serenoa repens) in liquid form as a human medication for prostatitis and hair!!! I will use it diluted in the watering together with the potassium fertilizer!!!

I update you....