It looks a lot like mine,which was tagged green malay.

Might I ask how much you paid for it?
Alto I think yours might me a golden malay,by the color of the
stems.

I paid $9.97 for the plant. Do you have a picture of
yours? I see you're in z6, so yours must be an indoor
plant?

Dbrya1,

How did you attach the picture into the message? I've been trying different things, but didn't get it to work.
Thanks.

Your palm is definitely a Malayan Dwarf Coconut.

As mentioned in the other thread, "dwarf" does not mean the palm stays small, only that it generally will fruit at a younger age and a smaller size.

Bananafan-
What state do you live in?
Spock-
Is there any chance it is a Maypan which I believe have "tall" characteristics. I have a green Malayan dwarf and it pushes out more fronds than my tall but the fronds aren't as tall as the ones on my talls (pardon the pun). That picture looks much more like my Pacific talls than my dwarf.

I live in FL. I have a spot along my fence for the coconut tree. Is that a good idea? What I'm concerned is whether the fruit will start dropping into my neighbor's yard and hurt them (IF it grows to produce fruit that is .. ha ha.) I planted one I bought from Home Depot and it died, so I don't know if the weather here is too cold for it.

AndyAndy-

I have a pair of Maypans and they are far larger than the palm pictured above in the same overall plant size (i.e. a sprouted nut). The Maypans are over 7 ft tall and are just starting to have non-strap leaves. None of my Malayans have ever gotten that tall before starting to develop pinnate fronds.

I also think that the Maypans are the best looking ones as well. They are certainly more robust growers and can develop massive trunks and leaves when mature. But, they are definitely harder to find in big box stores (which seem to 99.9% of the time sell only Malayans around here anyway).

Bananafan-
Now I have to get more specific, where are you in Florida? You list yourselelf as "9B" which is very borderline for any type of coconut. If you have seen consistant nights in the 30s then growing a coconut outside may not be in the cards.
Spock-
I find it interesting that your Mypans don't split their fronds until 7 plus feet tall. My tall produced it's first pinnate frond last spring. It stands a little less than seven feet right now (that is including the pot which is about a foot tall). Of course It's hard to compare my coconut palms to others like yours as mine are in pots. The oldest one I aquired in April 2005 (which is the one I am taliking about). My green dwarf was a little seedling with one little shoot that I brought back from Florida last February. I'll try and post some updated pictures this weekend.

Here's a pic from last summer,about 4 ft tall,it's about 5 ft now

Good looking palm Daryl. I'm going to try and post some updated picture this weekend.

Hello,

I was wondering how all of you have been able to imbed pictures into your posts? I want to post a picture of a couple of palms too in hopes of IDing them but I haven't been able to post the pictures.

Thank you for your help.

Open an account with photobucket (it's free). Yourcan import your pictures from your hard drive (or cd drive). have two links open, one to photobucket and one here. Copy the "URL" tag from the photobucket site and paste it into the "optional Link URL" you see below in the message preview page. I have not mastered posting the picture itself but when people click on the url tag the picture will open

1blossom: I've been figuring that out myself for quite some time too until I accidentally stumbled on some info in this forum on how to post pix. What I did to post the picture here was I first signed up with photobucket.com and then loaded up my pictures. After that I clicked on the HTML tag (when you click on the HTML tag, the link is automatically copied). Then I pasted the link inside the message box itself. I did a preview and there they were--the picture and the message! Unfortunately when I tried clicking on the other links, they didn't seem to work for me. Perhaps there are other ways of doing it--just got to play around with it more. In any case, try pasting the HTML tag into your message box and see what happens. Hope you'll be able to post some pix soon.

dbrya1: The fronds on your coconut tree look very healthy. So, how old is your plant? I'm wondering how long can a young plant be kept that way--that is with its kernel above the ground level? I'm thinking of keeping mine in the pot for a while and am wondering if I should repot it in a larger pot and bury it's kernel into the dirt. Any advice?

Bananafan-
Do not bury the nut, leave it as it is. They are only supposed to be burried 1/3 to 1/2 of the way.

Thanks AndyAndy. My first coconut plant died after I planted it in the ground for six months or so. Now it starts me wondering if burying the kernel in the ground had killed it. If I plant this second plant in the ground, do you think it will survive here in FL (z9b)?

Bananfan-
How far from the ocean are you? One or two frosts may not be terminal to a coconut but numerous ones are. The closer you are to the water the less likely a frost is. 9b only tells me part of the story. The key to figureing out the likelyhood is figureing out what the soil temperature is for your area in the dead of winter. Coconuts really do not like a sustainend soil temp of below the low 60s. The soil temperature is right about the same as the average air temperature. Example if you have a few days in a row where it is 59-42, 55-39, 60-44, the soil temperature in your area will be in the low 50s and your coconut palms will not like that. All 3 of my coconuts are in pots seeing as I'm in Michigan. I have kept my house set @ 65 all winter. That being the case the soil temp for my palms have been in the low 60s ( except on sunny days when the pots absorb the sun and really warm up. in addition I recently I put x-mas lights around the pots and covered them with towels, it has raised the soil temps to the low 70s. I wish I had done it 6 months ago) . They all have done fine but last week we lost power for about 11 hours. It fell to about 55 in my house before it came back on. There is now some browning in some of the fronds on all of my coconuts because of just a few hours in the 50s. It just may not be in the cards to grow coconuts in the ground where you live (unless you protect them with some covering and artificial heat on the coldest days. The closer to the water you are the better your chances. Best of luck in whatever you decide. If you put something in the ground try and wait until the soil temps are in the 70s to stay.

AndyAndy,

From what you wrote, looks like coconuts have no luck here. We're about 20 miles from the ocean and there's no way that the soil temperature maintains in the 60's. The lowest this cold season was in the the mid 30's. Even so, many of my bananas were quite badly beaten up. So, I'll have to accept that it belongs in the pot unless there's a future major global warming :) Question is, will it bear fruit in a pot? Also what size pot and kind of soil is good for its growth indoor? By the way, how big is your plant now (do you have a picture to post?) Thanks so much for the tips.

I'm in San Francisco, CA and I have a 14 month old coconut growing in a pot. I live ina highrise, so it's not even outside, but I have it next to my window on the 10th floor where the sun hits it every afternoon. It's doing very well, and it is now pushing a new frond. It yet has to get pinnate fronds. I smuggled the nut from my native Panama and it grew here in Cali. I was living in SoCal (O.C) at that time, weather was hot. Kept it outside for the most part. I've been in SF for about 9 months now and it's still doing great. I wish I knew how to post a pic here....

Panamajack,

I had a lot of trouble figuring how to post pictures myself. Finally, I got it, so I would like to share the info with you and anyone else who has difficulty doing so. Follow these steps to get your pix posted:

1. Sign-up with www.photobucket.com (it's free).
2. Once you sign in as a registered user, you'll see
"Upload Images & Videos." You then click on
"browse," and select the picture you want to
post from your picture files.
3. Then you click on "upload," and wait for a few moments.
4. Your picture is now in your photobucket album.
5. There are three ways (I suppose) to post your pictures.
The one I find works for me is by clicking on the "HTML
Tag." Once you click on it, your mouse automatically
copies the link.
6. Now go to your message posting and paste your picture
link inside the message box itself. Do a preview first.
You should be able to see the your picture like the one I
posted here.

Hope you'll be able to post your pictures pretty soon and look forward to seeing a picture of your coconut tree.

Bananafan
These pictures are a couple months old, There has been some additional growth but I'm having some difficulty with my camera so i can't post a more recent one. The larger one came grom Hawaii. I will have had it two years next month. It had a couple of little fronds and stood about 9 and a half inches. It's now 7 feet (including pot). With a hot summer it shpuld produce three fronds and may not fit back in the house. The smaller one to its left is a green malayan dwarf. I brought it back from Florida in February of last year. It was about 7 inches. The 3rd is another tall from Hawaii. As far as what soil to use I just used miracle grow standard potting mix and sand. Well draining soil is a must. If you grew a potted coconut it would grow much faster than mine in your hot and humid summers. In addition you would probably only need to have it inside a total of 1-2 months. I have to keep mine indoors 8 months. I took all of my palms including these cocos out yesterday I was actually able to leave them out overnight as ir only fell to 59. As far as getting a potted one to fruit that would be tough. You would eventually need a pretty big pot as the trunk would probably be 8-10 inches thick before they can fruit. I would love to see you try though. It would never work for me as my growing season is so short and cooler tha=n yours. Under normal conditions dwarfs can fruit at three years old and talls at 7. I don't know how tall your ceilings are. My coconuts would probably be at least twice their size if I lived where you do. They get very heavy also considering the size pots needed as they get bigger. My oldest one and pot way about 40-50 pounds. Good luck whatever you decide. It's a lot of fun to see their growth rate especailly in the summer. If you have a 90 degree day and 75 degree night the spears can shoot up 2 inches a day.

Here is a link that might be useful:

AndyAndy,

Looks like you're having a lot of fun with your coconut trees. The large one looks very impressive and all of them look very healthy. I think I would have to get a dolly for my coconut tree when I transplant it to a bigger pot. Do you think I should transplant it to a slightly bigger pot for now or should I just plant it directly into a barrel perhaps. It would be fun to try to grow mine and see if it fruits. If I put the plant on a dolly in my patio, it would be easier to roll it into my sunroom when it gets cold. The tallest part of my sunroom is about 10ft. To imagine that it would grow to 10ft would be like counting the chicken before they're hatched. I guess right now I'll just repot it and then see how it goes from there. Hopefully, as you said, when summer comes, it will pick up speed. Of course, I do wish that it would fruit some day, but as for now it's just a tropical paradise dream :). I'll try to post some pictures some time into the summer, so you can see how it does in this weather.

Bananafan thanks much for the tips I will post my coconut's pics later on today, I appreciate it. Andy, those coconuts look amazing! that one is HUGE!...I guess one can keep them planted in pots. See I can never take my coco out cause I live in a highrise..sometimes I do take it to the courtyard, but that makes me look like the freak with the weird plant (LOL)...so it's a totally indoor palm. I will just post some pics later on aand you guys can give me ur opinion on it.

Bananafan and PanamaJack-
Thank you for the kind words. Banana, I would gradually move your coconut into larger pots. Maybe put it in one that is about 5o% bigger than the one it's currently in there's no reason to make it a big pain to move around yet. Try and move it into a pot that is about 2-3 inches deeper than it's current one. That will last you more than a year before it MAY need to be re-potted. My oldest one I re-potted last summer in the same pot. I just added a few inches of soil to the bottom as I had a few inches to play with. If you have a sun room with 10 foot ceilings you are in business. It sounds like the perfect spot to move it when you have your coldest winter days because it would still get full sun. Is it heated to where it would still be in the low 60s on an overcast day? I would assume it really warms up even on cold days when it is sunny.
Panama-
It would be tuff moving any large palm around if you are in an apertment. Do you have a balcony and what direction does it face if so?

Here are the pics guys. My window faces NW, so it does get a lot of afternoon sun. My bedroom gets very warm when the sun hits it (I might turn the heater in to make it even warmer LOL). It sits on top of my TV cabinet, which is pretty tall and helps get the most sunlight during winter. During spring, summer and fall, I can put it in the floor and the sun will hit it directly. It is pushing a new frond so, I guess growth is a good thing. Here are the pics...there are 4 so make sure to scroll thru all of them on the right hand side of the page.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Panama-
They all look great. Mine have gotten a little ruff the last couple of weeks. I've kept my house set mainly at 65 all winter as opposed to 70 last year. Acouple of weeks ago we lost power for about 12 hours and it fell into the low 50s. Shortly after that my cococnuts started to show some browning and withering on the tips of some of the fronds. Nothing terminal the spears remain uneffected but I do look forward to a long hot summer. They all look "cleaner" after they were able to spend about 26 hours in my back yard having 6 months of dust and crapped blown and rinced off by wind and rain. I will continue to drag them in and out all spring until late May when they can stay out for the summer. It's very important for their hygiene and getting them acclimated to full sun again.

Andy...mine is just starting to yellow and brown on the older, lower leaves, although it is still very green...it's annoying....but what can u do? I spoke to my parents in Panama yesterday Sunday and they have a coconut growing...it is only 6 months old yet they say it's HUGE!...twice the size of mine and completely green...my dad said it looks as if they've been feeding it multivitamins or something like that....but they haveng given it anything...it is in the right environment...the tropics...temps in Panama are at a constant 85-93 degrees with very high humidity year round and enough sun and rain to make it grow very fast and healthy. Oh well...us here in temperate areas trying to pursue the impossible...lol....

Panama-
I can imagine how big they get and how quickly in a place like panama. I get spurts like that in July and August. I hope they are correct when they are predicting a near record hot summer for us. I should have a good full 6 pinnate fronds on my older one and it should look more 3-dimensional.

Panamajack,

Nice plant! I guess it keeps you entertained when you're not watching TV :) I always love to see new growth appearing. It's like the plant's talking back and telling me that it's happy. Do you feed it anything else besides water? I wish there was some kind of a vitamin to feed it to make it grow faster.

Andy,

When you get a chance to take some new pictures of your coconut trees, it would be fun to see how they've grown. Has the tallest one touched the ceiling yet? I know what you mean about keeping the leaves clean. I went to check on mine today and it already has spider webs on it. Not a pretty sight, plus I don't know what the spider is after? Could it be a sign of some kind of a disease?

Bananafan-
It's not touching the ceiling yet. I won't have to worry about that until September when it comes back in. The mites eat plant tissue. Keep them off at all costs. Any rime it hits 60 yake it outside ans rinse it off.

Hi: you have a coconut sprout with strong golden Malayan characteristics. You can tell this by the golden color of the petioles (leaf stalks) and the smaller, rounder coconut that it emerged from. This is the common coconut palm sold in Florida nurseries. It is slightly less susceptible to Lethal Yellowing disease than its Tall cousins.

Still, your tree may well be a hybrid since coconut palms naturally cross-pollinate. It is a semi-dwarf; that is, it will attain a height of about 60 feet after many years in optimal growing conditions. This is in contrast to the Tall varieties of coconut palms, like the Atlantic and Pacific Talls, which often attain a height of 80 feet, with some reaching 100 feet. The semi-drawfs are a little more diminutive than the Talls; that is, they are not as robust, and they lack the characteristic bowls at their bases. They are nutritionally more demanding than the Talls, as they evolved in the richer soils of Southeast Asia, and not in the sandy soils of tropical islands. They can easily develop nutrient deficiencies in the poor, sandy soil of Florida, particulary after periods of extensive rain fall. So keep an eye on the leaves as the tree grows.

I hope this helps. If you need any more information, let me know.

Regards,

Rick Filkins
Cape Canaveral, Florida

Bananafan,

What city do you live in? If your normal lowest temp in your area is 30F or above each winter, then you are technically in Zone 10 and your coconut should do just fine in the ground in most winters. Anyway, let me know what city you live in and I can probably tell you if it stands a good chance of making it in the ground. Jamaican talls are hardy down to 28F, and dwarfs down to about 29F, which means that when the palm is mature, they can handle a brief cold snap down to these temps with moderate frostbite. I have hear stories of mature talls in Florida surviving temps to 24F and dwarfs to 26F, but they were severely frostbitten.

John