Cocos nucifera (Coconut) in Malta

[Aleitalyyy]

now we have more or less the same climate and the same temperatures...

now all those elements of cold are mixed, damp roots, cool rain and cool temperatures that kill the coconut... don't you have a canopy to shelter them from the rain?

[Maltese coconut project]

No I don't have. But then how are we going to discover whether foliar fertilizer truly bridges their survival or not if I cover them? The experiment shouldn't have any other variables from previous practice except the foliar fertilizer use, higher potassium, Magnesium, sulphur, silicon, calcium, manganese, Zinc, soil biota, lower Nitrogen, removal of underplate in November and the all summer south facing hardening 

Edited January 23, 2023 by Maltese coconut project

[Aleitalyyy]

yes, unfortunately I think that the foliar fertilizer cannot make a big difference on the mix (rain, wind, cold, vase) lethal for coconut.

I would worry more about mitigating the problems associated with that combination of natural elements unfavorable to tropical palms. surely the fertilizer hardens and helps ... I'll tell you what my thoughts are! I also think that the most unpleasant thing for your cocos is the freshness combined with the roots in a vase ... everything gets cold and cold roots with rain cause problems ...

surely a winning combination for you is certainly a 2/3 year old palm, planted in the ground, sheltered from the wind, and foliar fertilizer!

[Aleitalyyy]

I am giving the saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) together with the liquid fertilizer but I don't know if it can give a positive ... I noticed some more intense green leaves ...

[Maltese coconut project]

If it doesn't work probably I will have to retire from my coconut experiments.. I don't want an indoor plant 

[Aleitalyyy]

it will work only planted in the garden... as Alex is doing in Tajiuana...

these days it has lows of 4 degrees celsius in tajiuana

[Palermogreen]

57 minutes ago, Aleitalyyy said:

it will work only planted in the garden... as Alex is doing in Tajiuana...

these days it has lows of 4 degrees celsius in tajiuana

The problem is not the minimum temperatures but the maximum ones.  The coconut bears minimum temperatures of a few degrees above zero without excessive damage if the daytime maximum remain around 20 degrees.  Compared to the coastal areas of the Mediterranean basin, the climate of Southern California has greater temperature ranges and the temperatures of the central hours of the day are a bit higher, which makes it possible for some coconut plants to survive in favorable microclimates (such as that of Corona, that of La Quinta and the famous one of Huntington Beach): the slightly lower latitude provides further help because the solar radiation and the duration of the hours of light are greater.

My coconut plant is now showing extensive signs of leaf distress and I don't think it has much chance of making it. Apparently in Palermo the coconut can stay outside for 10 months of the year but January and February are too cold and rigid for it to spend the winter outdoors.

N.B.: this week in Palermo we had minimum temperature peaks of 7°, therefore 3° more than Tijuana. Unfortunately the maximum temperatures did not go beyond 12-13°...

Edited January 23, 2023 by Palermogreen

[Aleitalyyy]

yes. but malta has an excellent, very favorable climate and better than palermo and the rest of sicily... i've been there... but a coconut planted in the ground makes a lot of difference from a coconut planted in a pot out in the wind, rain and cold. .. not to mention that the bigger and bigger it is, the more resistant it is... even a classic potted lemon plant suffers or dies from frosts.... while in the open ground it has no problems...

[pietropuccio]

Hello,

the coconut grows at the maximum speed in the temperature range that occurs in the tropics at sea level, the further one moves away from the tropics the more the temperatures, absolute and average, decrease and with them the speed of growth and the resistance to diseases. The absolute lows and the averages can act both individually and jointly, depending on the duration with which they occur. Taking the concept to extremes, if the temperature decreases to the point of freezing the vegetative apex, the plant dies regardless of the temperatures preceding (and following) the cold impulse. But it can also die if the absolute lows are much higher than the freezing point, but the average lows remain low for a long time. It seems to me that we can say that the survival of the coconut depends on the absolute minimum and/or average temperatures, or if you like, on these insufficiently high temperatures, but the concept is the same.

In an extremely simplified way, palms have a single point of growth, the meristem, in which the cells reproduce at a very high speed, greater than any pathogen, and which is the "engine" that makes the plant grow. All other conditions being equal, the speed of cellular reproduction depends on the temperature, the lower than the optimal one, the lower the growth and the resistance to diseases and environmental stresses. For coconut, cellular reproduction stops in a range between 10 and 13 °C and if it continues for a certain time, the plant has a very high probability of dying. The greater resistance of an adult plant compared to a very young one is largely due to a simple problem of heat transmission. The meristem is located almost in the center of the crown, it is therefore protected by the leaf bases, therefore it takes a certain time for its temperature to equal the external one. If the ambient temperature has few oscillations and is high enough, the temperature at the level of the meristem equals the average ambient temperature. If the air temperature drops suddenly due to a cold impulse of short duration, it takes several hours for the temperature of the meristem to equal the external one, being protected by a mass of vegetable matter, therefore it does not have time to reach critical temperatures, the younger it is the plant, and therefore the protective thickness, less this time. But even in the absence of a severe cold impulse, if the average temperatures fall for a sufficiently long time in the critical range, the coconut stops growing, the sap no longer circulates in the leaves, and it dies because its defenses have been reduced to zero.

Excuse the prolixity.

 

[Maltese coconut project]

Our climate in Malta falls within the "absolute low is higher than freezing point but averages are low for a long time". This is a vulnerable time for them because roots don't absorb nutrients properly. I already experienced such winters with previous coconut specimens without using foliar fertilizer. The big question is "will foliar fertilizer bypass this problem enough and increases survival rates significantly?" or are there other factors apart from the lack of nutrient absorption from roots at lower temperatures which significantly impact survival rates? We will have an answer when April 2023 finishes 

[Palermogreen]

Update as of 01/27/2023:
At the moment the Cocos continues to resist.  The leaves show extensive cold burn which does not bode well, but the sprout and the base of the innermost leaves still appears to be vital.
Outside temperatures are around 10 degrees Celsius, typical of this period of the year in my area.  I'm trying to "help" the plant with weekly waterings of warm water with foliar fertiliser.
However, I wouldn't have bet a penny on the fact that the plant would still be alive at the end of January: let's say that however it goes, it will have been a success...

 

[Maltese coconut project]

Acclimatising them before winter makes significant difference. In summer 2021 I put mine North facing to avoid the harshest sun and they grew big but leaves had thinner waxy cuticle and fewer larger stomata resulting in leaves which are less resistant to abiotic stress. In winter 2021-2022 I had a disaster. Last summer I left everything south facing. Keeping them in the hot sun makes the plant produce more abscisic acid which helps it's immune system and defense against both biotic and abiotic stress.  I also read that adapting plants to the outside might even have an effect on the gene expression for cold adaptation, that's why I don't want to protect the plants too much as I used to do before. The aim is to possibly have a few specimens that can survive our winter. They also will have the ability to "remember" such climatic conditions 

[Palermogreen]

Mine was exposed southwards all summer long...

Lamarck had theorized the possibility of modifying the genetic heritage of a species by exposing it to certain conditions, but his theories are now considered wrong: the only possibility of selecting a cocos more resistant to cold in my opinion it would be either to cross specimens of some variety coming from some climatically borderline zone or to use genetic engineering.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Palermogreen

[Maltese coconut project]

There are some facts in his theory. Have a look at this study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5534019/

[Maltese coconut project]

27th January update. Still there is some slow growth. 

[Aleitalyyy]

On 1/27/2023 at 9:41 AM, Palermogreen said:

Mine was exposed southwards all summer long...

Lamarck had theorized the possibility of modifying the genetic heritage of a species by exposing it to certain conditions, but his theories are now considered wrong: the only possibility of selecting a cocos more resistant to cold in my opinion it would be either to cross specimens of some variety coming from some climatically borderline zone or to use genetic engineering.

hi bro, as I told you on the Italian forum you're doing it right... I'm glad your coconut is still alive, this is a wonderful experiment for Italy where no one has ever succeeded... moreover, it's a Dutch coconut (like mine) who are usually weak... well let's hope for the best! now I'm also fertilizing with saw palmetta to increase plant hormones, but this is my personal experiment ... I don't know how useful it is!

[Aleitalyyy]

On 1/27/2023 at 9:41 AM, Palermogreen said:

Mine was exposed southwards all summer long...

Lamarck had theorized the possibility of modifying the genetic heritage of a species by exposing it to certain conditions, but his theories are now considered wrong: the only possibility of selecting a cocos more resistant to cold in my opinion it would be either to cross specimens of some variety coming from some climatically borderline zone or to use genetic engineering.

I think the cocos of Madeira Islad are the most suitable from which to take nuts and grow new specimens.

[Aleitalyyy]

I have also read studies where they say that cocos germinated in vitro are more resistant to diseases such as lethal yellowing, drought and cold

Edited January 29, 2023 by Aleitalyyy

[Maltese coconut project]

South Nepal coconut and Hainan island coconut trees are also in somewhat borderline climatic conditions.  Personally I will keep trying, someday I might have the right specimens and technique

[pietropuccio]

13 hours ago, Aleitalyyy said:

I have also read studies where they say that cocos germinated in vitro are more resistant to diseases such as lethal yellowing, drought and cold

Hello,
the reason why plants reproduced by meristem in vitro are free from disease is given above, meristematic cells reproduce faster than any pathogen, so starting from this we obtain initially healthy plants, but once introduced into the environment they are exposed to all diseases if not properly cultivated. Returning to the coconut, if it is exposed to temperatures such as to significantly reduce the speed of reproduction of the cells, the fact that it was reproduced by meristem and not by seed does not save the plant.

[Maltese coconut project]

Finally some sunshine after almost two consecutive weeks of rain and dull weather. Light hours are increasing significantly and the difference between temperatures in direct sun and in the shade is bigger 

Edited January 30, 2023 by Maltese coconut project

[Aleitalyyy]

Am I wrong or even the Bermuda Islands have marginal coconut trees?

[Maltese coconut project]

Yes they have. Their winter there is warmer than the Mediterranean. Their latitude is very similar to Funchal in Madeira and their climate is even warmer 

Edited February 1, 2023 by Maltese coconut project

[Palermogreen]

43 minutes ago, Aleitalyyy said:

Am I wrong or even the Bermuda Islands have marginal coconut trees?

Bermuda has a tropical climate because it is reached by the Gulf Stream: in its waters there is the northernmost coral reef on the planet.  Cocos Nucifera grow without problems there, even if they don't vegetate optimally as happens, for example, in the Bahamas, located further south.

 

[GottmitAlex]

18 minutes ago, Palermogreen said:

Bermuda has a tropical climate because it is reached by the Gulf Stream: in its waters there is the northernmost coral reef on the planet.  Cocos Nucifera grow without problems there, even if they don't vegetate optimally as happens, for example, in the Bahamas, located further south.

 

From what I have read, coconuts brought into Bermuda do not fruit. 

 

[Maltese coconut project]

I never understood why when both in Funchal, Tenerife and other subtropical areas have experienced some degree of fruiting coconut palms 

[Palermogreen]

7 minutes ago, Maltese coconut project said:

I never understood why when both in Funchal, Tenerife and other subtropical areas have experienced some degree of fruiting coconut palms 

... and also in Eilat (Israel, on the Red Sea coast)!

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/43890-coconut-madness-in-israel/?do=findComment&comment=870533

[Maltese coconut project]

Yes I read that post too. It's strange. Bermuda has good rainfall for coconut trees too.. Even some areas of Texas and Okinawa. Then why not Bermuda? What would be the factors that are inhibiting Bermuda coconut palms not to fruit? 

 

[Maltese coconut project]

Could it be just some kind of nutritional deficiency in the soil regarding Bermuda Coconut not fruiting? Comparing with other subtropical areas where thru successfully fruited I would say that temperature is out of question 

[Palermogreen]

02/01/2023: still alive and kicking💪

 

[Maltese coconut project]

That's some really low relative humidity you have there.  Here it's been months in the above 90% range on the rooftop 

[Palermogreen]

3 minutes ago, Maltese coconut project said:

That's some really low relative humidity you have there.  Here it's been months in the above 90% range on the rooftop 

I believe that a low level of humidity greatly helps the growth of cocos in borderline climates like ours, because one of the greatest risks is root rot.

This could also explain the survival of some specimens in Southern California, which has a climate with lower rainfall rates than the Mediterranean basin.

Edited February 1, 2023 by Palermogreen

[Maltese coconut project]

These are the photos today 1st February 2023. Sun temperatures are in the 20s degrees celsius and shade temperature 16 degrees celcius. 

[Aleitalyyy]

5 hours ago, Maltese coconut project said:

Could it be just some kind of nutritional deficiency in the soil regarding Bermuda Coconut not fruiting? Comparing with other subtropical areas where thru successfully fruited I would say that temperature is out of question 

i think the climate is cooler in bermuda compared to the canaries.... i think it's marginal coco there... in the north it has cold america currents

[Maltese coconut project]

The averages look quite good and even slightly higher than Funchal for example 

[GottmitAlex]

No to temptation!

 

[Maltese coconut project]

You can try some if you have a storage box, aquarium heating cable etc. It's a very fun experiment to do 

[GottmitAlex]

14 minutes ago, Maltese coconut project said:

You can try some if you have a storage box, aquarium heating cable etc. It's a very fun experiment to do 

That's how my golden Pacific tall germinated!

 

https://www.palmtalk.org/forum/topic/53340-i-germinated-a-supermarket-coconut/?do=findComment&comment=806105

[Maltese coconut project]

Are the food coconuts labelled by cultivar there? Or just the country of origin? 

[GottmitAlex]

They only state country and stateof origin.

In our case: Product of Jal, Mexico

Jal=State of Jalisco (their commercial coconuts are all pacific talls)

Mexico, well, Mexico 

I got lucky with a golden variety 

I bought these in San Diego, California