what am I doing wrong with my coconuts?

14 years ago

I got a couple of nice sized coconuts in the Homestead florida area last year while on a business trip, last January. The husks were fully brown and the size of them seemed to indicate to me that they were fully developed. They "shake" good. Sloshy inside.

But I've been trying to get these things to sprout for over a year now. I've had them half buried in a large pot of promix HP. In the summer, I had them in the greenhouse, along with other plants I was growing, in the fall, I carried them in and I've been sitting the pots in a no-holes flat on top of a wire shelf 2-3" over the top of the floor register of the furnace in the bedroom. I've been keeping the potting soil fairly moist, not soggy, and the coconuts still shake good, but no sprouts.

Do I need to send them to the islands to get them to grow?

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Comments (5)

tropicalzone7
14 years ago
They are very difficult to germinate north of the tropics. They need about 6 months of temperatures in the 80s before they even start to germinate. I got my 2 coconut palms as already spouted plants and they did well since they were already growing for about a month. One of them had no roots though so it did require a good amount of heat to get the roots to establish in time for it to be brought inside in the winter.
You might have to send it down to Florida for a few months!
Good luck!
-Alex
wetsuiter
14 years ago
Next time you're in Florida, search for some wild coconut palms with lots of nuts on the ground. There are bound to be a few with small sprouts. That's what I finally resorted to after trying to sprout them before. Alex is right, its close to impossible north of the tropics, unless you have a true hot house like at arboretums.
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User
14 years ago
Would you believe that one germinated for me the first time I ever tried it. I had picked up a coconut on a street in Key Biscayne, Fl. . I brought it back, planted it in some sandy soil (half-burried), and kept it outside that summer. Then, it spend the Fall in a southern window (but with temps mostly in the mid 70's by day I would guess. It germinated in December. I don't still have that one but I would like to try it again. That was years ago and I no longer have that one--currently growing either the dwarf or semidwarf (and I have had luck with these). Coconuts are not the easiest indoors in the North but they are not the most diffiecult either in my opinion.--I've been trying to keep a Licuala alive.
tropicalzone7
14 years ago
Wow Nj, pretty impressive that you got it to germinate indoors!
Coconuts are pretty easy to grow indoors when given a sunny window. They arent as easy a other palms, but they are much easier than other plants.
Try keeping a Breadfruit alive for a week indoors! Its not easy and 50F will do damage to it outside so they can only live from early May to early October at best around here it seems. I tried one once and it saw a night of 45F and it was toast!

-Alex
User
14 years ago
Yes, breadfruit is considered a "hypertopical". It's gorgeous though. If you wanna try a bruitfruit cousin, try Jackfruit--much easier an easy too from seed.