Pronunciation: COE-cose new-SIFF-er-uh
Common Name: Coconut Palm
Cocos nucifera has not been included in publications on palms for California, but since some palms manage to survive BARELY it is being included here. 99% of efforts to grow these outdoors routine meet with failure, but every now and then a perfect microclimate is discovered and one manages to grow. The famous coconut of Newport Beach is the prime (and really ONLY good example). But it is most certainly the exception to the rule, having grown several feet of clear trunk. However it seems off and on to skirt disaster and sometimes looks like it will die soon. Some have had success inland near the Salton Sea as well, but that success sadly was fairly short lived (maybe 3-4 years?).
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Appearance and Biology
- Habit: solitary with a crown of 3-6 feather leaves (at least in California)
- Height: 10' estimate
- Trunk: single; 12" diameter; clean trunk; narrowly ringed; grey
- Crownshaft: none
- Spread: 15'
- Leaf Description: pinnate; flat; 10'+; yellow-green with prominent pale yellow mid rib on each leaflet; rachis yellow-orange; many narrow, long leaflets per leaf
- Petiole/Leaf bases: 1' long; wide; light yellow-green; unarmed; un-split bases
- Reproduction: monoecious
- Inflorescence: 1' long; dust-broom-like; from within leaves (no flowers like to ever occur in California)
- Fruit: spherical; light green turning yellow-orange when ripe; 8"-10" thick (the familiar coconut)
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Horticultural Characteristics
- Minimum Temp: 32F
- Drought Tolerance: moderate to good
- Dry Heat Tolerance: good
- Cool Tolerance: very poor
- Wind Tolerance: excellent
- Salt Tolerance: excellent
- Growth Rate: moderate
- Soil Preference: adaptable but seems to prefer sandy soils
- Light Requirement: full sun
- Human Hazards: outside of California severe danger from dropping coconuts- not a concern in California
- Disease or Horticultural Problems: potassium deficiency common problem
- Transplants?: unknown
- Indoor?: not a great indoor palm, but far easier to keep alive indoors than out- needs a LOT of light and heat
- Availability: common
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