It looks very nice. I think it should do good in your area but it will need protection. I actually did hear of a very large nice grove in sea world orlando which is at about your latitude, but much more inland, but they do protect them below 40 degrees and the heated dolphin pool helps buffer temps too. I also saw 1 sad looking coconut palm in port canaveral on the parkway and it wasnt thriving, but it was surviving (I assume that the palm receves no protection during the winter).
With soe protection I woulding be surprised if you got a few fruit on it in a few years. Its growing at about the right speed and looks like its in a nice protected spot.

Good luck and defiantely post more pics as it gets older!

Actually, the cut off point for reliability is costal St. Pete, and not ft. myers. If you go to anna maria island, you'll see how this is true. There are many Jamaican tall coconuts there, some 50 feet tall and more. It doesn't look too bad for the cold it's been through actually. You're doing a pretty good job. I'll give you some advice though if you decide to plant another one say, on the other side of the sidewalk, for what to do next time. Your coconut palm is a golden Malayan dwarf, actually one of the least hardy coconuts. If you decide to get another one, search ebay for Jamaican tall coconut, sold by sue70. The Jamaican tall grows better in sandy soils like yours, it grows faster, and it is more cold hardy. The only problem is it is very LY susceptible, but LY isn't more north than Ft. Myers so you'll be fine. Plant it and put black stones, black sand, or black lava rocks around it. These will absorb heat from the sun and disperse it when it's cold. This will add more cold protection than you are already giving it. Do these things with your next one and it'll have an even better chance of survival than the one you have had for 3 years. It'll grow faster too.

Just a note about the SeaWorld Cocos... I visited SeaWorld 4th of July weekend and noticed one of the Cocos near the heated Dolphin pool was fruiting. Nice large green fruit. And the trees looked very healthy. So that's encouraging for anyone wanting to grow Coconut Palms in central Florida, especially after last winters harsh freezes. I may have some pics I can post later.

Thanks to all of you for the very useful tips. I think I'm going to try to plant it to the ground next year in the Spring time. The burlap with Christmas lights is a great idea and it would even make the tree look Christmasy in the Winter. Sometimes I've also thought of wrapping it with bubble wrap, but don't know if that will work better.

The FL planting zone map is very helpful. I'm in the bay area, close to st pete, so I would say at the fringe of 10a, but not quite.

I think planting close to the house definitely will make a great difference. Actually, last Winter, many of my bananas were damaged because of the cold. Only one little one in a pot set close to the house was spared.

Johnob, I meant to post the previous message in the thread I've started. Sorry for the mess up.

Your coco here looks very healthy and large for its age. You gave me the idea of planting close to the house. I do have a spot close to the house on the southend to plant it. I think I'll also see how big it gets next year. I do have a question though. What is a safe distance to plant from the exterior wall of the house?

Since mine is still in the pot, I feed it with Miracle growth once in a while. What do you feed yours with?

It looks like your coco is going to do very well from the way you've been taking care of it. I hope it will achieve more growth for you before the cold hits. Look forward to more updates from you.

My green Malayan coconut near Orlando has many maturing coconuts and doing very well. I did have to wrap in Xmas lights and burlap last winter when we hit 30 on two occasions. 2 feet of trunk and 20 feet overall height.

Bananafan, mine is actually planted only about 1.5 - 2 feet away from the house. You're actually in a lot better area to grow then I am so yours should do fine. I'm up in the new port richey trinity area. Yours looks very similar to mine so it should be interesting to keep comparing pics to see how each are doing. Good luck keep updating photos and I'll do the same.

Sorry to bring up an old thread!

Hey Johnob, how's your cocos doing?