I think my setup is pushing the boundaries already considering that coconut palms are not intended to survive the semi-arid climate of Southern California. In addition, IÂm not sure if a heat cable would work well in the ground, they are best when used in the confined area of a planter.

It is rare for a coconut to sprout after the husk (mesocarp) has been removed, but you can purchase a sprouted one on-line for a reasonable price.

YouÂre in good company here, we like to attempt what weÂre told wonÂt work.

Good luck.

i just read a thread on Palmtalk on this very subject. a guy sprouted one after soaking it in water over night before planting it somewhere warm then wrapping in plastic for insulation and humidity. it took a while but he posted progress pics,which was very cool to see!

No way it's going to make it through winter outside. Short of building a grenhouse around it and keeping it a steady 70 (sorry I'm not sure how that translates to celsius). Keep it indoors for the winter in the warmest sunniest location in the house. Keeping the foliage just above freezing will kill it very quickly, no matter how warm you keep the roots.

yes well unless you live in the tropics its an indoor or conservatory plant only,but as they are very slow growing they are worth a shot and everyone should try one. i live in the UK but i want to try one!

Thanks everyone. Could i wrap soil heating cables around the palm to keep the temps around 15-20 degrees C? Greenlarry, do you have the URL of that thread? One day, I will find a way!
Thanks

rhizophora, herd's the URL. I had to copy it down manually as i'm using my cell phone rather than my PC. try the link or go to palmtalk.org,click on the IPS FORUM link and then click SOILS,FERTILIZERS,PESTS &PROBLEMS;SEED GERMINATION >> COCOS NUCIFERA

Here is a link that might be useful: growing a coconut

oops the actual thread is called Germinating supermarket coconuts posted by a guy whose username is 'Tropico'

Thanks. I have found this thread to be useful. How long exactly does it take a coconut to germinate?

The article i read said about 2 to 3 months.....

well in the article by Tropico he notes germination started after 11 days,which is pretty amazing!

I guess it could it depends on how warm the seed is.. i
would imagine.....

Andy Andy will know.......

Here it is after 17 days,button just peeking out(it started after 11 days but not easy to see)

At T+85 days there was a leaf spike starting to open.
I gotta try this!

Here is a link that might be useful:

Wow !!

That's pretty impressive !

I've never actually germinated a coconut. All of mine were small seedlings when I got them. My understanding is you need at least a steady 75-80. I would think that if you could keep it a steady 85 it would really spead up the process.

It would save a lot of money to grow cocos nucifera from grocery coconuts so I may germinate them instead of buying sprouted coconuts. So I think my house could be filled with sprouting coconuts soon!

you're right there rhizo,i have noticed how expensive coconut palms can be! BTW folks,is there a way of telling,while in the store, if the 'nut' is fresh and viable or not?

In some places coconut palm seedlings were £7.99! Trebrown nurseries can sprout you a coconut and grow it for you if you ask them. Im also getting a dragonfruit tonight so I can grow the seeds.
Good luck everyone!

Here is a link that might be useful: Trebrown Nurseries

rhizo, I believe dragon fruit comes from a tropical cactus. (looks a bit like Aporocactus with thicker stems)
good luck with it

the cactus looks like an oversized schlumberga! If kept right, it should bloom in 2 years but probably 3-4 in the country. The flowers are amazing. Im also growing an amorphophallus titanum, a monstera deliciosa from a leaf cutting, papaya from seed, chaemodorea elegans, gunnera manicata (temporary houseplant) and a clementine i germinated from an orange pip.

oh monstera is one of my favourite house plants, must get another someday.
i also have an orange from a pip,they're quite slow growing tho,tend to have growth spurts then suddenly stop growing,weird. would love one of those amorphophallus too!

My Dragonfuit GERMINATED! It only took 3 days! Wow. On this website theirs took a few weeks! My papaya has had a growth spurt as well. I looked in the supermarket at the coconuts but the main germination pore was very hard when I pressed it and they had very little coconut milk. I might get my coconuts from http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog/Fresh-Coconuts.html. The nuts still have lots of husk on!
Good luck!

germinating a coconut...with the husk right?

We're trying to germinate it without the husk. It can be done! I havent got yet because they all failed the paperclip test.

Here is a link that might be useful: Proof

I think it would germinate even quicker, too!

whats the paperclip test?

Its to see if the coconut is viable for germination. If the paperclip penetrates the big germination pore easily, the coconut is viable for germination (see link). Also, I was just searching on the web and found that you can separate the embryo from the coconut and grow it seperately from the 'meat' and coconut 'milk'.
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&rls=GGLR,GGLR:2006-03,GGLR:en&sa=N&resnum=0amp;q=coconut%20embryo&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&tab=wi

Here is a link that might be useful: Diagram of coconut seed and info on germination

interesting link there!

I've bought two viable coconuts and only 1 has changed after 2 weeks. Theyre both in a propagator at a constant temp.

It can be done with supermarket dehusked coconut.. Warmth and humidity are the trick