My Coconut Is 'Growing'....

......I only recently came across a few threads etc on growing coconuts bought from the supermarket, apparently easy to germinate (but more difficult to keep alive) if you get a decent one (one with milk inside and looking fresh). Well I thought it would be worth it for a bit of fun and bought 2 from Asda, I half buried them in a 50/50 mix of compost and perlite and popped them in a warm cupboard. After about 2 weeks one has a 1/4 inch shoot coming out of one of the eyes - success

 

Ive never seen a sprouting coconut well done bilbo

 

Sounds interesting must have a go at that.

 

Bilbo keep us update , I`ve managed to germinate them many time but they keep die down , perhaps once again someone told me to try with a different coconut and not use the caribbean ......apparently impossible to keep alive in all mediterranian area , but find out that there is a bolivian variety that can stand really low temperature , I`ve recently found some afganistan dates and apparently they are really though palms , tryed also the acai from fruit but die down as well

 

Hi Sal, yes I will keep updating; I too have read that once they're removed from the initial area of heat to germinate them (a warm cupboard in my case) they then struggle and many cases die if sufficiant heat isn't provided. Still its something else to add to the list that I've germinated from a supermarket, its all about the fun aspect for me..

I still have a Halawi Date growing slowly on the windowsill that I grew from a date bought from Tesco... I did read on the internet that they are grown a lot in California but the original Halawi Date Palms are in Iraq???

 

Well I never, well done!!!!, yes keep us updated on its progress.
I saw a fruit last night on an Australian Come Dine With Me programme (daughters choice not mine ) 'Pigface Fruit'!!!!!!! didn't think I'd heard of it before until I googled it and found its a form of Hottentot Fig, quite salty apparently

 

Bilbo it would be interesting how big they get in a single growing season as wouldn`t mind to use them as annual plant ,my peoples think that is the lack of light that kill the plant and not the low heating , plus to buy a coconut from ikea
it`s more expencive that one grown from seeds , sometime I buy 4 for a pound.


they sell fresh Halawi Dates around here , fresh from pakistan , but the one I`m after are the mazari palm , apparently the fruit are edible .

 

Well done Michael. I have bought a couple of them here with fronds 1.5 meters tall but neither lived into the second year for me.

Simbad, we watched that also (I like it because of the diverse recipes) and laughed at the Pigface Fruit but I guessed it was Hottentot Fig. It grows wild here along the beaches and cliffs. I planted three lots six weeks ago and it has rooted and is growing fast. I have never eaten the fruit but will be brave and do so when I find some!

Following in Michael's footsteps, I am going to grow Goji berry from dried fruit but you have to soak them for 24 hours in warm water to rehydrate, then remove seeds and dry. I had some cuttings from a friend which took then died!

 

Bet its lovely to see it growing wild Victoria, I was sent a cutting a few years ago and grew it in a tall pot so it would trail over the sides it kept going for a few years, moving it into the greenhouse overwinter, never noticed any fruit on it though probably not warm enough here, the cold winter finished it off like lots of other plants, I'd never seen the Australian version of Come Dine With Me before, yes some interesting recipes

 

Just checked the coconuts and to my surprise the other one has now germinated, yesterday there was nothing showing at all but now a little white 'shoot' has broken out of the eye, only very small yet but its progress

These coconuts were reduced at Asda when I got them (about 50p each), they were just about the only two in the box that you could hear milk in them and looked healthy, the others looked very old and dry..

 

Your coconuts may survive a year or possibly two if given high temperatures, lots of ligh and very high humidity, they will root and feed from the nut for the first year and after that the nutrient intake is so much less (from potting compost) that it just fades away.
Sorry to sound pesimistic but that is what I understand, I hope you have them for some time though.

 

Strongylodon , you just made me think !!!! in the past I lost the coconuts in summer and in winter beliving that it was something to do with the light .

Usually we see coconut growing direct on the beach , could it be that they need a big of salt to stay alive?

perhaps never feed mine ....

 

Simbad, this is where I got my cuttings from this year ... damned if I can remember if they are yellow or purple ... sadly I think yellow and I would prefer purple. My Portuguese friend said that there is an orange one ...



Sal, I think the coconuts need constant heat, which even I don't have.

 

Victoria , there must be something else , for the simple reason that i was looking on a different forum and was reading that a guy had is coconut palm from Ikea for the last 5 years and was still alive ......
But maybe a constant temperature is the key
overall , Victoria you should find different form of coconut , the most hardy of all is the
bolivian , that will sure grow in portugal.


for anyone who want to try .

 

I haven't got the space Sal and I think we here even in Algarve go too cool in the winter as we can have a day or two of light frost.

Edit: Sal, I think the guy may have had his indoors.