There's a local store selling coconut palms as houseplants.

It looks like it'd be fun to give it a try, but it'd have to come inside during the winter. I doubt it would ever fruit in those conditions, but who knows.

Mainly though, I'm just curous what type of growth rate I can expect on it, but I guess I'd need to know the cultivar first.

Any suggestions on how to ID it based on the leaves (or other traits) even when it is very small (about 2 ft. tall from base to tip of the leaves -- they have about 5 - 7 leaves)?

Also, how well are coconut palms suited to pot culture?

Thanks,

Pelham

PS - My cat is a plant mucher - I've read that some cultures even eat the new shoots of the cocnut palm (thereby killing the tree,though) so I'm fairly certain they're not toxic. But if anyone knows different, please let me know.

Coconuts are about the worst palm for container growing & a house plant. Coconuts need direct sun & can not be left out much below 60 F to grow properly. They also grow very quickly & will outgrow your enviroment in no time. Your much better of getting a Kentia Palm which should do great for you & also somewhat resembles a Coconut.

Coconut Palms, do not live very long when grown inside the home, or for that matter in greenhouses. My greenhouse coconut palm was planted in a 15 gallon container. It quickly grew to almost the height of the greenhouse. Mealy bug loves coconut palms. I agree with Laaz, that a Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) is most likely the worst palms you can buy as a container palm. I also have a Spindle Palm (Hyophorbe verschaffeltii) , Majesty Palm (Ravenea rivularis), Canary Island date Palm (Phoenix canariensis), Christmas Palm (Andonidia merrillii), Kentia Palm (Howea Forsteriana), Sealing Wax Palm (Cyrtostachys renda), Areca Palm (Not sure which variety). My favorate is the Canary Island Date Palm. I have grown this palm for 2 years now and it is 4-feet tall, and 5-feet wide. Its main problem is that it takes a lot of space in the greenhoue during the winter. In another 3-5 years it will be too big to keep. Canary Island Date Palms are the HUGE palms that you see growing on center divide of the Strip in Las Vegas. - Millet

Ahhhhh. Millet you can send me you CIDP as well when it is too large. They grow fine down here...

At the moment my CIDP is in a 15 gallon container setting on the south side of my patio. It really gives the yard a tropical look. - Millet

Laaz and Millet,

Thanks for the advice. I'll forgo the cocos. I knew it'd be trouble, but I didn't realize how much trouble. It seems better to focus my efforts on something I'll have better luck with.

I did some research on the Kentia and I like the looks of that one. I saw an 8ft containerized one today in a building (well, it was really several in one pot). It really had a great look to it. The taller ones had a smooth green trunk and a similar base to a coconut palm. Very attractive - unfortunately this one was overrun with mites - a common problem for indoor palms, I gather.

Also, a friend who is originally from Florida offered to bring me seed from a date palm. He says they line the street at his parents house and he'd ask them to send me some. I'm guessing that would be from Canary Island Date Palms? He says they're short - only about 8 - 10ft high.

Would planting seed from these be worth it, or should I look for a more mature palm in a store?

Millet, does your potted CIDP ever fruit? (I guess you'd need at least 2 for that)...

Thanks again for the advice. I think I'll be going palm & citrus hunting this weekend - still looking for a citrus to grow indoors next to the palm. I'm thinking of Oro Blanco, some Persian lime cultivar or a variegated calamondin -- but thats another forum

CIDP will grow to massive size. You can buy the dates in the grocery store & germinate them with ease... I have some I started from seed last summer that are doing great. They don't get as massive as the CIDP's.

A friend from Florida just brought me some "dates" from the palms near his parents house. He says they eat these off the tree, so its an edible variety - the trees are about 8 ft. tall he tells me.

The fruit are small - about 1/2 in diameter, and yellow-orange in color.

Do you know what variety these would be? I was thinking of planting them and giving it a go.

That sounds like Pindo palm fruit, not Dates. Have a look here & see if this is what you have.



http://web.fccj.org/~dbyres/flora/palm.htm

I don't know of any date you eat fresh off the tree...

Well, I haven't seen the tree it came from but the fruit certainly match in color and shape. I can't tell about size. And as he told me the trees are only about 8' high, that seems to match the description as well. Are the fruit very tasty?

I looked it up at this site: http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/edible-palms.html it looks like it would make a good container palm. It says hardy to at least 15 degrees. That sounds like I might even be able to plant an established one outside with a little protection and/or against a south facing wall (I'm now in Zone 8a with the new 2003 zone chart).

I'll try growing the seed in containers for now. He gave me fruit and also some dried seed pods he found underneath one of the trees. Do you think these will have a good chance of germinating?

It there anything special I need to know about germinating it? I thought I'd do it just like citrus - a moist peat/perlite mixture and use botttom heat.

Pelham

Hi Pelham. Yes they sound like Pindo's. The seed in the Pindo fruit is round to oval. A Date seed is somewhat flat. Almost looks like it was run over by a car. Pindo's resemble Date palms but do not get as tall or massive. Being your in zone 8a you should be able to grow them outside. Once they get some size to them you shouldn't have to protect them at all.

Yes Pindo fruit is sweet. They use the fruit to make jelly & wine.

Thanks for the info Laaz.

I took out the seeds he had given me earlier this week. There were 4 that were dried seeds that he had found at the base of the tree, and 3 fresh fruit. The fresh fruit were starting to mold as he gave them to me earlier in the week and I didn't have time to plant them until today.

I cleaned the pulp & husk off the fresh ones and rinsed them all in a 10% bleach solution, and then a good rise of water and potted them (fairly close together) in a potting mix of about 70%perlite, 30% cactus mix.

I have them sitting on the seed starting heating mat.

Does all this sound right? If not, let me know what else I should be doing for them. Any idea how soon I should expect germination (if I get any)?

Thanks!
Pelham

They germinate in 14-21 days here. Usually I don't bother germinating them as the fruit fall into the old boots & germinate & grow there. I can pull many plants right from the mother trees old boots. If you want some that already have a head start just let me know. Pindo's grow like weeds down here...