Coconuts Tenerife (Canary Islands)

[Foxpalms]

This will be just for photos of all the amazing European coconuts on Tenerife.

[Foxpalms]

[GottmitAlex]

Keep 'em coming @Foxpalms!!!!

 

[Xerarch]

Beautiful shots, Tenerife is the same latitude as me, it's actually a hair higher.  I'm at sea level on the coast, yet the periodic freezes preclude coconuts from attaining that size here, I feel so ripped off. 

[Foxpalms]

15 minutes ago, Xerarch said:

Beautiful shots, Tenerife is the same latitude as me, it's actually a hair higher.  I'm at sea level on the coast, yet the periodic freezes preclude coconuts from attaining that size here, I feel so ripped off. 

Yes the Texas freezes must be annoying considering how far south you are. Especially when you consider there are weather stations in central London at 51n have a annual minimum temperature warmer than corpus Christi. Some areas didn't go below 34f this winter. Hopefully Texas is spared bad freezes in the future, though it's inevitable at some point one sadly will occur. I know there are lipstick palms here as well but I haven't found any yet though I will be visiting somewhere one day with them.

Edited November 1, 2022 by Foxpalms

[Xerarch]

29 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

Yes the Texas freezes must be annoying considering how far south you are. Especially when you consider there are weather stations in central London at 51n have a annual minimum temperature warmer than corpus Christi. Some areas didn't go below 34f this winter. Hopefully Texas is spared bad freezes in the future, though it's inevitable at some point one sadly will occur. I know there are lipstick palms here as well but I haven't found any yet though I will be visiting somewhere one day with them.

Many winters in my part of town don't get below freezing so there is plenty of tropical vegetation (including lots of palms etc that will handle what freezes we do get), plus winter temps are comfortable overall, with January highs being about 20 C.  London has experienced bitter cold in the past, like single digits F or - teens C, colder than it has ever been here.  Alas, you are right though, central London has been very mild of late and not subject to such wild swings as have here.  If we had a little less volatility Cocos would be a go here, as it is they will live a handful of years, maybe get up to fruiting size but aren't long term unfortunately. 

[Foxpalms]

1 hour ago, Xerarch said:

Many winters in my part of town don't get below freezing so there is plenty of tropical vegetation (including lots of palms etc that will handle what freezes we do get), plus winter temps are comfortable overall, with January highs being about 20 C.  London has experienced bitter cold in the past, like single digits F or - teens C, colder than it has ever been here.  Alas, you are right though, central London has been very mild of late and not subject to such wild swings as have here.  If we had a little less volatility Cocos would be a go here, as it is they will live a handful of years, maybe get up to fruiting size but aren't long term unfortunately. 

Unfortunately the east coast of the us has nothing to stop the cold air coming from inland and down from Canada.  I think the last time central London was very cold (below 20f may of been another) was in the 1960s, hard to tell because there is a lot of dodgy old temperature data recordings in London( record lows  taken outside of the city ect) . The warmest parts here probably haven't gone below 24-26f in the last 20 years. 2010s bad winter is the cause of that. With all of central London averaging a 9b and the most dense parts near the Thames a 10a. The good thing here is its getting warmer on average every year, you might have the odd year (2021's summer) with a not so hot summer but the 5 year averagss support that. Obviously the averages in Corpus Christi are much better though. A UK 10a means cool tolerant plants that can handle a light frost (chamedorea, archontophoenix, Rhopalostylis, Howea, monstera deliciosa, bougainvillea, livistona, Norfolk Island pines, jacaranda), unfortunately not royals, foxtails and coconuts!

Edited November 1, 2022 by Foxpalms

[gurugu]

If I´m not wrong, first pictures are taken in Lago Martiánez, Puerto de la Cruz, right? And the last two ones in Playa Martiánez,

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.4169397,-16.5411819,3a,75y,176.38h,99.64t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sDIT_8IJjIqqNSwTif4ZZ1w!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DDIT_8IJjIqqNSwTif4ZZ1w%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D190.44662%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

 

If you want to get viable coconut fruits, you have to go to the south of the island. To Playa de San Juan ( Saint John beach) and the sorroundings. Those in Puerto de la Cruz (playa jardín,

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.4123541,-16.5586988,3a,15y,335.02h,86.57t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s8rfNMl3jZyfNVA7LGn4LBQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3D8rfNMl3jZyfNVA7LGn4LBQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D181.06425%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

garden beach, and lago Martiánez) are not viable if I´m not wrong, because the north coast is cooler than the south coast.

I took this picture in Las Palmas Island last time I was there.

 

[Foxpalms]

3 hours ago, gurugu said:

If I´m not wrong, first pictures are taken in Lago Martiánez, Puerto de la Cruz, right? And the last two ones in Playa Martiánez,

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.4169397,-16.5411819,3a,75y,176.38h,99.64t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sDIT_8IJjIqqNSwTif4ZZ1w!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DDIT_8IJjIqqNSwTif4ZZ1w%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D190.44662%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

 

If you want to get viable coconut fruits, you have to go to the south of the island. To Playa de San Juan ( Saint John beach) and the sorroundings. Those in Puerto de la Cruz (playa jardín,

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.4123541,-16.5586988,3a,15y,335.02h,86.57t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s8rfNMl3jZyfNVA7LGn4LBQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3D8rfNMl3jZyfNVA7LGn4LBQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D181.06425%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

garden beach, and lago Martiánez) are not viable if I´m not wrong, because the north coast is cooler than the south coast.

I took this picture in Las Palmas Island last time I was there.

 

When I upload photos to palm talk the quality seems to go down but some of them in the photos  have coconuts on them. The north is only slightly more cool but more wet and humid than the south which is probably better for coconuts. I will try and take a better photos of them. Also some of the coconuts are on a beach with black volcanic sand and it's gets very hot. It must also radiate that heat around the coconuts so you can probably add and extra 2c to the maximum temperature per day the coconuts see there. 

 

Edited November 2, 2022 by Foxpalms

[Foxpalms]

@gurugu

[gurugu]

1 hour ago, Foxpalms said:

@gurugu

Are those the ones in Playa Jardín?

When I lived there, seeds were not that big. Those in Playa Martiánez (your last two pictures) were planted at about 2004.

On the north coast of Tenerife you can see coconut palms up to 150 mts altitude, while on the south coast, altitude is higher: about 400 mts a.s.l. But, as you say: the north is much more humid than the south. The first thing I had to buy was a dehumidifier.

The same happens with flamboyans. There´s a Delonix regia in La Orotava´s casino, which is very big and healthy, but it seldom sets flowers. While on the south coast, you can see trees in bloom at 400/500 mts altitude.

By the way. Do you know which variety those coconuts are?

Next time I go to The Canary Islands, I´ll have to lay my hands on some coco seeds.

[Foxpalms]

12 hours ago, gurugu said:

Are those the ones in Playa Jardín?

When I lived there, seeds were not that big. Those in Playa Martiánez (your last two pictures) were planted at about 2004.

On the north coast of Tenerife you can see coconut palms up to 150 mts altitude, while on the south coast, altitude is higher: about 400 mts a.s.l. But, as you say: the north is much more humid than the south. The first thing I had to buy was a dehumidifier.

The same happens with flamboyans. There´s a Delonix regia in La Orotava´s casino, which is very big and healthy, but it seldom sets flowers. While on the south coast, you can see trees in bloom at 400/500 mts altitude.

By the way. Do you know which variety those coconuts are?

Next time I go to The Canary Islands, I´ll have to lay my hands on some coco seeds.

They are not in playa jardin I'm going to upload those now. When I was in a taxi going from the south to the north somewhere in the high elevation parts of Puerto de la Cruz 400-500m, I went past 1 seeding coconut palm. Unfortunately wasn't able to take a photo but it looked viable. I'm not sure which varieties the coconuts are.

[Foxpalms]

 

Edited November 3, 2022 by Foxpalms

[Foxpalms]

[Foxpalms]

Coconuts Santa Cruz de Tenerife 

[Pargomad]

Very nice pictures! They really look a lot like the coconut trees that grow in Madeira since the climate is pretty similar, especially on the north coast. The difference is that in the Canary Islands they are much more popular and common, so they are also better treated since the local authorities are more used to taking care of them.

[Foxpalms]

1 hour ago, Pargomad said:

Very nice pictures! They really look a lot like the coconut trees that grow in Madeira since the climate is pretty similar, especially on the north coast. The difference is that in the Canary Islands they are much more popular and common, so they are also better treated since the local authorities are more used to taking care of them.

It probably also helps that the temperature is warmer year round in the Canary Islands. In London most of the canary Islands date palms here probably need more maintenance done to them to look really nice. Do the ones in maderia grow viable coconuts?

[Pargomad]

6 hours ago, Foxpalms said:

It probably also helps that the temperature is warmer year round in the Canary Islands. In London most of the canary Islands date palms here probably need more maintenance done to them to look really nice. Do the ones in maderia grow viable coconuts?

Well, it depends on the island or the region. The warmest area in Madeira (on the southwestern coast) has pretty much the same temperatures as the northern slopes of La Palma or Tenerife, where you took most of your photos (hence the similar aspects). By contrast, the southern coasts of the Canary islands, especially in Gran Canaria, are significantly warmer than Madeira island and coconut trees tend to look better and fruit more in those areas. Nevertheless, we can find coconut trees up to 200 m on the southern coast of Madeira and some of them do grow mature fruits as you can see on the photos below. The problem is that there are few mature trees on the island since it is hard to get or buy one (you won't find any in garden centers or nurseries) and most of them aren't properly taken care of (excessive trimming or lack of water). In addition, in public places, they usually remove the coconuts before they reach maturity in order to prevent any accident. 

Here are some photos retrieved from another conversation to which you can accede here: 

Edited November 12, 2022 by Pargomad

[Foxpalms]

@PargomadMost of the photos were taken in Puerto de la Cruz. The winter temperatures there are 22c with a low of 16c though the parts right next to the coast show an average low of 17c where most of the coconuts are. In the summer it's 29c in the day and 22c at night so almost the same as the south but the humidity is much higher. Funnily enough where I was staying in the north west it was warmer than the south that week. When I went to the south to go to the airport and 1 day when I was there, it was a dry heat like California whilst Puerto de la Cruz was very sticky. And because it was warmer and more humid in the north it felt much warmer than the south when I was there. It was 30c and It was around 29 28c in the south the night temperature were the same except it was much more humid in the north. Plenty of over 90% humidity nights. The maderia coconuts look good I think Bermuda at 32n probably has the best climate for its latitude below 40n because it gets all the warm water from the Carribbean and has warmer summers than the canary Islands and maderia.

Edited November 12, 2022 by Foxpalms

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 11/1/2022 at 4:20 PM, Foxpalms said:

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 11/1/2022 at 4:00 PM, Foxpalms said:

This will be just for photos of all the amazing European coconuts on Tenerife.

A few beautiful Coconut Palms with nuts on them, but the overwhelming majority of them in the pics are WAY OVERTRIMMED, EVEN BUTCHERED WITH NO NUTS ON THEM AT ALL, and some of them of even are penciling (narrowing significantly) at the top of the crown, which indicates they are not receiving enough water.  Such a shame to do such to Coconut Palms in islands where they can be grown to maturity with nuts on them!

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 11/1/2022 at 4:39 PM, Xerarch said:

Beautiful shots, Tenerife is the same latitude as me, it's actually a hair higher.  I'm at sea level on the coast, yet the periodic freezes preclude coconuts from attaining that size here, I feel so ripped off. 

Me too, Ammon.  Apparently there are places around the world at the same latitude as us here in Corpus Christi, where Coconut Palms can be grown to maturity with nuts on them quite easily.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 11/1/2022 at 4:39 PM, Xerarch said:

Beautiful shots, Tenerife is the same latitude as me, it's actually a hair higher.  I'm at sea level on the coast, yet the periodic freezes preclude coconuts from attaining that size here, I feel so ripped off. 

Just look at both coasts of Florida at the same latitude as us, and how many BIG mature Coconut Palms with lots of nuts on them that there are over there.  Prime example of how ripped off we are on this side of the Gulf of Mexico.  Having a large continental landmass north of us, really does us in here every several years, and causes us to get blasted very hard every 2 to 3 decades, like last year.

John

[Xerarch]

1 hour ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

Me too, Ammon.  Apparently there are places around the world at the same latitude as us here in Corpus Christi, where Coconut Palms can be grown to maturity with nuts on them quite easily.

John

Actually I don’t think there is anywhere in the world on the coast at this latitude where coconuts don’t reliably grow other than here.  Mexico west coast, Northern Africa, Southern Africa, Brazil, China, Australia. All of those places never get hard freezes on the coast at sub-28 degrees latitude.  

[Foxpalms]

2 hours ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

A few beautiful Coconut Palms with nuts on them, but the overwhelming majority of them in the pics are WAY OVERTRIMMED, EVEN BUTCHERED WITH NO NUTS ON THEM AT ALL, and some of them of even are penciling (narrowing significantly) at the top of the crown, which indicates they are not receiving enough water.  Such a shame to do such to Coconut Palms in islands where they can be grown to maturity with nuts on them!

John

I agree they need to prune them less and keep all the fronds on the coconut. I don't think they are irrigated, or at least I didn't see any one watering them or irrigation tubes.  

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 11/2/2022 at 8:39 PM, Foxpalms said:

They are not in playa jardin I'm going to upload those now. When I was in a taxi going from the south to the north somewhere in the high elevation parts of Puerto de la Cruz 400-500m, I went past 1 seeding coconut palm. Unfortunately wasn't able to take a photo but it looked viable. I'm not sure which varieties the coconuts are.

If I had to guess the variety of many of the Talls there, they are most likely West African Talls, which I believe is the ancestral lineage of the moderately cold hardy Jamaican Talls of the Caribbean Islands, South Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda.  This would make sense, due to the proximity of the Canary Islands to West Africa.  There also appears to be Green Malayan Dwarfs in some of the photos too.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 11/12/2022 at 7:11 AM, Pargomad said:

Very nice pictures! They really look a lot like the coconut trees that grow in Madeira since the climate is pretty similar, especially on the north coast. The difference is that in the Canary Islands they are much more popular and common, so they are also better treated since the local authorities are more used to taking care of them.

But most of them are still horribly BUTCHERED AND SCALPED, just like the ones in Madeira.  It's as if the two groups of island are full of people who HATE Coconut Palms, as is they ONLY plant them with some perverse desire to TORTURE them and BUTCHER them as often as possible!!!

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

On 11/12/2022 at 2:28 PM, Pargomad said:

Well, it depends on the island or the region. The warmest area in Madeira (on the southwestern coast) has pretty much the same temperatures as the northern slopes of La Palma or Tenerife, where you took most of your photos (hence the similar aspects). By contrast, the southern coasts of the Canary islands, especially in Gran Canaria, are significantly warmer than Madeira island and coconut trees tend to look better and fruit more in those areas. Nevertheless, we can find coconut trees up to 200 m on the southern coast of Madeira and some of them do grow mature fruits as you can see on the photos below. The problem is that there are few mature trees on the island since it is hard to get or buy one (you won't find any in garden centers or nurseries) and most of them aren't properly taken care of (excessive trimming or lack of water). In addition, in public places, they usually remove the coconuts before they reach maturity in order to prevent any accident. 

Here are some photos retrieved from another conversation to which you can accede here: 

Wow, that first pic is my house here in Flour Bluff on the east side of Corpus Christi, Texas, back in 2014 with two Green Malayan Dwarfs that I had planted in the front yard.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

1 hour ago, Xerarch said:

Actually I don’t think there is anywhere in the world on the coast at this latitude where coconuts don’t reliably grow other than here.  Mexico west coast, Northern Africa, Southern Africa, Brazil, China, Australia. All of those places never get hard freezes on the coast at sub-28 degrees latitude.  

I think you are right, but all those places, except for coastal China, do not have a large continental land mass to the north that is not at least protected by large mountain ranges as is the case on the West Coast of Mexico along the east coast of the Gulf of California, where Coconut Palms can be grown at a significantly more northern latitude than us here in Corpus Christi.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

Just now, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

I think you are right, but all those places, except for coastal China, do not have a large continental land mass to the north that is not at least protected by large mountain ranges as is the case on the West Coast of Mexico along the east coast of the Gulf of California, where Coconut Palms can be grown at a significantly more northern latitude than us here in Corpus Christi.

John

I mean even though there is the large continental landmass to the north of the West Coast of Mexico, at least they have a considerable mountain range just inland from them to protect them from any Arctic air masses heading southward in the winter, which allows them to grow Coconut Palms at a significantly higher latitude than us here in Corpus Christi.

John

[Xenon]

1 hour ago, Xerarch said:

Actually I don’t think there is anywhere in the world on the coast at this latitude where coconuts don’t reliably grow other than here.  Mexico west coast, Northern Africa, Southern Africa, Brazil, China, Australia. All of those places never get hard freezes on the coast at sub-28 degrees latitude.  

Coconuts  fail in China around 24 degrees latitude. The Siberian High makes average winter temperatures there much cooler than anywhere else at the same latitude. Even the coconuts in Hong Kong (22.3*N) look bad. So we're not the only ones 😆

[Foxpalms]

5 minutes ago, Mr. Coconut Palm said:

I mean even though there is the large continental landmass to the north of the West Coast of Mexico, at least they have a considerable mountain range just inland from them to protect them from any Arctic air masses heading southward in the winter, which allows them to grow Coconut Palms at a significantly higher latitude than us here in Corpus Christi.

John

Its a shame Texas doesn't have any islands 5-10 miles out to sea to stop/reduce hard freezes. Or just make a man made islands like Dubai!

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

16 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Coconuts  fail in China around 24 degrees latitude. The Siberian High makes average winter temperatures there much cooler than anywhere else at the same latitude. Even the coconuts in Hong Kong (22.3*N) look bad. So we're not the only ones 😆

But I have read about a Coconut Palm variety that grows as much as 30 miles inland from Hong Kong, that is probably one of the most cold hardy varieties in the World, right up there with the Indian Tall from North Central India.

John

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

18 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Coconuts  fail in China around 24 degrees latitude. The Siberian High makes average winter temperatures there much cooler than anywhere else at the same latitude. Even the coconuts in Hong Kong (22.3*N) look bad. So we're not the only ones 😆

I wish I could remember where exactly I read that.  I think it was on a post here on Palmtalk a few years ago.

[Mr. Coconut Palm]

30 minutes ago, Foxpalms said:

Its a shame Texas doesn't have any islands 5-10 miles out to sea to stop/reduce hard freezes. Or just make a man made islands like Dubai!

I have thought that for years.  If Texas had an island anywhere from 10 to 20 miles offshore from Padre or Mustang Island, it could be full of Coconut Palms, especially the more cold hardy varieties like the Mexican Tall, Jamaican Tall, Panama Tall, Maypan, and Green Malayan Dwarf.  They Talls would probably easily grow to be 30 ft. to 35 ft. tall in overall height and full of nuts, and the Green Malayans would probably easily grow to be 20 ft. to 25 ft. tall in overall height and full of nuts, if adequately watered during the hot, dry months.

John

P.S.   Maybe about 10,000 years from now, if the Earth hasn't been destroyed by then, the East and West Flower Gardens Coral Reefs 110 miles southeast of Galveston, on top of natural salt domes there, may actually reach the surface and become small islands with beaches and sufficient rainfall to support natural Coconut Palm growth there.  By the way, they are the only fully developed coral reefs in the northern Gulf of Mexico, 12 miles apart from each other, and unfortunately, the Federal "Government" has issued drilling leases to oil companies to drill within 1 mile of the reefs!!!  Any oil, or chemical spill there could devastate and destroy the reefs in just a couple of hours!!!

Edited December 9, 2022 by Mr. Coconut Palm

[Xerarch]

30 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Coconuts  fail in China around 24 degrees latitude. The Siberian High makes average winter temperatures there much cooler than anywhere else at the same latitude. Even the coconuts in Hong Kong (22.3*N) look bad. So we're not the only ones 😆

Yeah that’s true, at equal latitude their January highs are only in the mid 50’s, so even though their extreme lows are still quite a bit higher than ours, it’s actually a worse coconut climate than here due to low highs, they won’t even make it on a normal year, whereas here they’re fine/survive at least on a normal year. 
 

So yeah, lol we’re not as good as the Canary Islands (back to original post) but at least we’re not the worst or the only ones getting screwed at this latitude 😂

[dalmatiansoap]

Few happy ones, palmetum Santa Cruz, few years ago 

[gurugu]

22 hours ago, dalmatiansoap said:

Few happy ones, palmetum Santa Cruz, few years ago 

What variety is that with golden fruits on it? 

[dalmatiansoap]

I don't know but for some reason it's the only one behind the fence. Beautiful plant

[Foxpalms]

@dalmatiansoap I also saw those coconuts there. There's a swimming pool next to the Palmetum that has lots of coconuts too.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Foxpalms