Also... What are the average prices of coconut palm seeds and/or baby coconut palms (already planted..)?

Its possible but its not the best palm for your area.The problem with coconut palms is they need to be above 50 most of the time and really warmer than that.In Orlando your daytime temps are below 72 degree average and that hurts also.Here where I live it is 10 degrees warmer in the daytime during the winter than Orlando many days.But your nightime temps are very close to ours and coconuts grow good here.What I believe is that the daytime temps added with the cool nights is to much for them.If you want to try it cant hurt you might just be out a palm.I have lost some trying them out of there zone but hey you dont know till you try.good luck

Hi
Yes they do grow and seem to flourish in zone 10 florida
but go to any tropical country and look at them. They make the ones here look pathetic. Bigger greener and more robust in every way. if i were you I'd choose an easier palm more suited to your climate but as David pointed out you'll never know til you try!!
You can frequently get seedling at Walmart for under 10 bucks. have no idea which specie ,don't forget about lethal yellowing some are much more resistant than others. Good luck
gary

What part of Orlando are you in? There are many microclimates in Orlando and the climate can vary. The metro area and Winter Park are the warmest areas being zone 9b/10a. North and northwest are the coldest areas, sometimes 10-15 degrees colder than downtown. Parts of Tampa are wamer than Orlando, especially close to the water and Palm Beach is definitely warmer, it is zone 10a/10b.
Plant the biggest Coconut palms you can get, larger ones handle cold better than small ones. The seedlings you often see are very sensitive to temperatures below about 42F. In the last 10 years I have seen many Coconuts being planted around Orlando. Not all have survived but there are some in nice protected locations making it.
Below is a link of some around Orlando. Some of the photos are a few years old and the palms have grown larger since. There are many varieties of Coconut but none are really any hardier than another. There are also some nice Coconuts planted at Sea World and some I just saw at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon.
Eric
Orlando,FL z9b/10a

Here is a link that might be useful: Coconuts in central FL

As Eric said, a bigger, mature coconut has a better chance of making it. Also, stay away from the Golden varieties as they aren't as hardy. I believe Maypans and talls are hardier than the commonly sold malayan dwarf, so if you have the choice, go that route. Best of luck!

Shaun

Maybe you can keep one in pot. I don't know how tall your ceilings are but you would only need to bring it in for a handfull of days over the winter.

Thanks, Eric! I've seen many coconuts in the Cocoa/Cape C. area. I think I'll give it a go. But, if I cover it during the cooler nights during the winter with something, would that increase the chances of it staying healthier and relieve a bit of stress? ..Oh, and also, I'm real close to Disney and Universal. Bout 5min from Universal and 10 from Disney (Dr. Phillips area). So, is this a good area for coconuts? I've seen a few on the banks of the Big Sand Lake just up the road, but they're young.

Also, so definitely go for the Atlantic Tall or the Maypans? Are they commonly sold at stores like Lowes, Home Depot, and/or Walmart?

Thanks SO much for all your help, y'all.

The Dr. Phillips area is kind of middle ground; its not the coldest area but also not the warmest unless you are on the south or southeast side of a lake.

Sometimes Lowes or Home Depot has big ones mixed in with the other large, balled palms they have up front. Usually the ones sold are 'Green Malayan', 'Golden Malayan' or 'Maypan'.

Eric
Orlando,FL z9b/10a

Someone said coconuts look pathetic in zone 10 Florida compared to tropical places? Maybe in borderline Fort Myers or Sarasota. Anyone who was in Boca Raton/Fort Lauderdale/Miami & of course the Keys up until the 1970's knows that we were awash with towering coconuts that rivaled any I've seen since in Puerto Rico, the South Pacific, or Thailand. LY did us in.

Okay.. So, I'm going to go check out Home Depot by Millenia and Target.. Hopefully, they'll have some ones that have started growing or some seeds. If not, I'll hit up Target, they might have seeds. I just found out one of my neighbors down the street started growing a coconut in the ground in March. It's looking really great!! I'm going to give it a shot...

Thanks for all your help!!

I got mine at Walmart 3 years ago for $10. It is doing great potted and comes indoors ever winter. With pot and fronds it is almost 7 feet tall now. Not sure how long I will be able to enjoy this and it may have to take a trip down south for release into the wild.

Webgator-
When do you bring it in? November? and when do you take it back outside?

I've been reading many prior posts about coco palms in Orlando and it seems the Tall specicies and more trunk the better off they'll be. After my move to Orlando this fall, I'm looking at planting a VERY large coconut in the spring. Perhaps one that is already 15ft in height, as this should help with the cold hardiness. Are coconut palms this large difficult to transplant, or is it relatively manageable with the proper care and knowledge?

I know it won't be cheap, especially for that size, but it's worth a shot.

If you could plant it next to your house on the south side so it would get some heat from the wall or near your pool if you have one, and it would get heat from the water. THis would be your own microclimate and it might help.

I have seen some beautiful Green Malayan Dwarf coconut palms about 30ft. tall with coconuts on them near the dolphin pools at Sea World last summer.

orlando is really fillin up with coconuts. its such a beautiful site to see. i wish all the robustas, queens, and date plams would disappear and be replaced wit coconuts. its becoming like south beach if you look in the right places here. only need the ocean a but closer now and get rid of the damn disney poeple.

Nice to hear that the coconut palm is getting well established in the Orlando area. It's by far my favorite, and is becoming quite popular here in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, where our winter climate is similar to that of Orlando. The only problems here are: 1. a regular supply of them (the nurseries only sporadically have them), and 2. lack of rainfall (though this year has been really wet and we look as green as South Florida normally looks when you guys aren't having a drought). We do occasionally have to worry about a hard freeze here, but the last coconut killing freeze was the '89 freeze and it was a doozy here. 16 degrees in Brownsville! I agree with getting rid of all the Disney crap. It's a shame that Central Florida has pretty much staked its entire existence on Disney and the other theme parks, when there is such great natural beauty there between the beautiful beaches on both coasts and the great springs to the Kissimee River Basin.

Orlando is an a unique location in florida it is the gateway to to the tropical south.Yes you can grow coconut palms here They are better off on the eastern half of the city where the chances of freezes drop the further east u go.The reason is the gulf stream that travels up the east coast of florida.I live in waterford lakes where it is very common to see coconut palms,foxtails, cubanroyal palms.I am only 30 miles from cocoa beach zone 10 where there are a flood of coconut palms everywhere.

Yes, I have seen a few large ones around my neighborhood in Kissimmee. I personally grow 5 of them and they are doing nicely. Here is one I just spotted today that is huge and full of coconuts. I think if you manage to get it well established and it is big enough, it should be strong enough to weather a few cold nights each winter.

Here is another pic by lake Toho.

Here is another one around the block.

There is a large one that survived the Jan. 2010 freeze by the Charley's Steak House on International Drive: I-Drive Coconut

Getting one this week to be planted in Saint cloud fl crossing my fingers

@HU-289797433

Siting is everything for these. You'll want to plant them in some sort of protected microclimate if you have one available. If you can provide overhead canopy and protection from wind coming from the north and the west it will increase your chances of success. Close to a heated building helps, especially if there is a lot of brick and/or concrete in the area. Ideally, a southeast facing alcove with some form of high overhead canopy that lets light in underneath is the best bet. If you want to cheat a little, wrap it with the old school Christmas lights (aka not LED) and keep the bulbs away from the plant tissue. Even with all of the protective factors in place, there are still times where you'll have to tie up the fronds and wrap at least the growth point to keep it alive.

If you get one at a big box store, it will likely be some kind of Malayan Dwarf. If possible, get the Green Malayan Dwarf. If you seek out one of the special cultivars, keep in mind their strengths and weaknesses:

1. Jamaican Tall/Atlantic Tall: Grows extremely fast with an almost spherical crown, tends to have a touch more cold tolerance (not always), but very susceptible to Lethal Yellowing and Lethal Bronzing and does not tolerate root disturbance very well.
2. Panama Tall: One of my friends grows these and says that they tend to hold a few less fronds than the above with similar strengths. Tend to be slightly less susceptible to disease.
3. Maypan: A hybrid between a Malayan Dwarf and a Panama Tall. Decent compromise with a little bit of a fuller crown than the Malayan Dwarf. The coconut on these palms is huge. Mine sprouted from a coconut larger than an NBA basketball. I recently had to do some digging near this one and it did not immediately go into decline when I trimmed a few roots, so it shouldn't be as intolerant of root disturbance as the Talls.
4. Green Malayan Dwarf: Not a true dwarf - just slower growth than a Tall cultivar. Their crown tends to be more umbrella shaped and the trunk a little more straight up and down. A technician from Spectrum decided to take it upon themselves to trim half the roots on mine without me knowing and sent it into decline. It had one frond and a spear left. I fertilized with Florikan, covered the exposed healthy roots and gave it supplemental water. It regrew its crown. Much more tolerant of root disturbance than the Talls.
5. Golden Malayan Dwarf: Similar to above but the petioles will be golden and the coconuts will be too for a period of time before they turn brown and fall. From my experience, these seem to be the least tolerant of cold out of all the common varieties.
6. Fiji Dwarf: Some growers are experimenting with this cultivar. It is a true dwarf that I've not seen grow over 6 feet of trunk. Supposedly almost totally resistant to Lethal Yellowing. Because Lethal Bronzing is a similar disease, it might be resistant to this as well. The crown is very large, but this would be the easiest coconut cultivar to keep alive since a blanket or two would allow you to easily protect the growing point at maturity. Another advantage is that you don't have to worry about being sued because someone died from a falling coconut. The other cultivars carry this risk since they get very tall. At least the initial reports from folks who have this cultivar are that it didn't take an inordinate amount of cold damage compared to the others.

The coconut on I-Drive looks to be a Tall of some kind and has a lot of concrete and running cars around it at all times. If you provide your palm with the appropriate care, you will be successful. Here is a photo of one of my Jamaican Talls: