I'm in, if the grocery store coconut will work.

Heat will be required, I presume. SB

I may be wrong, but I think a nut with the husk is needed.

Dave
Milwaukee

That's what I thought also Dave, but I was shown the light... I cannot see why a grocery store coconut wouldn't work. I bought two, just in case

Here is a link that might be useful: Planting coconuts

Hey Cactusfreak...You in?

I read somewhere that a coconut needed a temperature of between 90F and 100F to germinate.

Anyone got any ideas where I should stick my coconut if I buy one?

The link I posted says 75* so I planted mine in 3 gallon containers and set them on a propagation mat in a 60* GH. We'll see!

Not giving away any more secrets then......

Not telling anyone where I am going to stick my coconut, and hoping WalMart has a small one!

OMG I am NOT going to touch that one with a 10' Pole. I for sure would be banned!

Tried it years ago. Didn't work. I was told if you can get a fresh coconut it will work. But you never know how old the grocery store coconuts are. I have one that is over 2 years olds that I use for decoration. The last time I shook it it seemed dry inside.
They also maybe sprayed with insectiside before import.
It's always on my to do list to try it again.

i've done it in the coldness of jolly old england!

i just bought a grocery shop coconut, and dropped it in the greenhouse in one of the beds in early summer. The beds were warm in summer under glass and were also VERY DEEP. some people get 3 or 4 huge pots and stack them on top of each other to allow for root space. The root takes a while to go down before the plant sprouts and it is not very fast growing.

i believe the key factors are:

heat

rootspace

water (not too wet but moist)

and freshness of the fruit.

And by some chance i had all of them for a short while. the plant died last winter when the heater failed and the whole ghouse went down below freezing. It only ever grew to about 6 inches, who knows whether it would have carried on growing. Of course, this was all down to luck, i'd love to try again oneday next summer.

weebus,

I've only bought coco-palms after they've sprouted. Now the sugarcane, like bamboo, will root at the "joints", so you can chop 1 stalk into several "potential plants, but beware of ANTS.

SCalDude

I like to take the babies of Coconut Palms and plant them. I have 4 growing right now.

cfine,

Thank you for re-activating this thread!! I saw it and thought (insert a naughty word) "where did I put that coconut?"

Found it, of course the sand had dried out, no sign of any sprouts or roots....

Gave it a shake, no sound of the "milk" sloshing around but a sort of thumping noise.

Took a sniff at it... still smelled tropical so decided to do an autopsy on it to determine if germination had taken place, we are at the forefront of botanical science so we have to do these things.

Cracked it open. THE SMELL!!!!!!!

A totally alien stink that you cannot believe so you have to take another sniff at the brown lump inside just to be sure you smelled it correctly the first time!

Now some of you may thing I am being melodramatic here, but as I was typing this I had to go wash my hands for time number three and time number four and I can still smell that alien smell on my hands.

I think it is because the smelly stuff is oil based.

Anyway, back to the thread topic. I failed to germinate a coconut in zone 4b and I really tried to simulate a tropical beach (until I lost interest and forgot about it) As my hands still stink of rancid coconut tomorrow I will change the oil on a couple of mowers and my tiller and even turn the compost heap by hand so at least my fingers will smell normal again!

I am going to try. I will put it in the airing cupboard over winter. My sprouted coconut is enjoying the humidity and abnormally high temperatures because we've got the tail end of hurricane Gordon.

I recently brought home(Toronto) a sprouted Coconut from Bora Bora. It is in a pot planted half way down filled with a mixture of tropical plant soil and sand. I bring it outside on days over 70 degrees and bring it inside at night. I keep soil moist. Anyone have any other advice to assure a successful survival? It is my prized posession and my most momentous souvenir from the most beautiful island in the world! I would be so happy to be able to keep it alive and healthy :) (In 2 years I will be able to give it a proper home in a 25ft high green room in a house we are building)

Keep it warm like you are doing. I kill them at 50-55 degrees F.

Im on vacation in Singapore. I,ve been picking up ever coconut I see. Hopefully I can get one or two to sprout.

notsogreenthumb08, What is U.S. Customs going to say about bringing back coconuts? I'd hate if your next post to came from the slammer!

waternut

I bought a coconut from a supermarket in Montreal Canada 3 weeks ago and didn't know whether I should eat it or try growing it. After almost a week I removed it from its plastic wrapping and gave it a shake listening to all its milk swishing around inside. I thought to myself.."how can I get this thing to grow without a husk???" First thing I did was soak it in very hot water everyday for 2 weeks. I would then remove it from sitting in water for up to 3 hours a day and place it inside a sealed plastic bag (to trick it into thinking the plastic bag was its husk) with lots of air inside. I then sat it with its 3 eyes pointed up inside the bag and mounted onto a coffee cup into a corner of the room. Everyday I would continue the hot water procedure and then put it back into its bag sitting on the coffee cup. After about a week of doing this 1 of the 3 flat eyes suddenly swelled up and popped out like a nipple. After a couple days of putting it into the hot water bath..suddenly (today) the nipple wood gave way and behind it was a white sprout like a potato's eye sprout. This is where the story ends because I'm going to plant it and watch what happens..but so far my "grocery store" coconut is showing promise. The idea is to trick it into believing that it has its husk by placing it into a sealed tight plastic bag and letting the humidity increase around it and kick it into action. I will keep you all posted! :-)

Hi
Always curious as to what people do if they actually get a coconut to sprout. ?? Since even "dwark ones are 3 feet in diameter in the initial sprount.lol
What do you do if it actually grows???
gary

I work in Haiti and a number of years ago needed some coconut trees. The guys picked a bunch of nuts and stuck them in the earth (mud) under the eves of our house, still in their husks. In time, a number of them started and are growing well to this day. The roots on these trees are fairly limited, even on a large tree (relatively speaking). A six foot wide pot 18 inches deep would do for a very large tree. I would think you could grow a very large tree in a stock tank or plastic fish pond. It seems to me the roots don't grow much after the truck reaches its mature diameter.

I see people walking the streets with a basket of sprouted coconuts, seeking to sell them. The temp in the ground here is probably about 80-85 degrees. The nuts are about 2/3 buried in the wet soil. It may take several months to sprout. I suspect many never sprout. I've never seen any just pop up on their own. Of course, it is not likely they would be left lying about if any good.

The ones that sprouted here were shaded, so they didn't get any excess heat from the sun. I think it was some time, like maybe a couple of months before we moved them. As I remember, there was a foot or two standing green sprout when we moved them. Don't know if any of this adds anything to this discussion.

Hi
If that's true why are they so hurricane resistant??
When you see aftermath pix invaribly it's the coconuts that are still standing. They also have the incredible ability to withstand flooding ,extreme drought ,seawater
The nuts can float in seawater for a minimum of two years and still sprout yet it is NOT necessary In Florida as well as tropical countries you often see them in the so called "deadzone "
area between the sea and land often the only thing growing. The only sensitivity seems to be cold.
Another remarkable thing is that there is only one species all varieties are simply cultivars though they have been found in every tropical area of the earth.
The origin seems to be West Africa but were probably observed by Columbus. Certainly were already in Hawaii when discovered by Cook. also they are probably the worlds most transplanted crop. Were definitely cultivated by both Polynesians and Amerindians but may have already been in these locations.
I'm still trying to find if they are native to Florida lol. gary

I think being so flexible and only having the one stem and no branches helps. We occasionally see them toppled here after a storm and it is because the roots are washed out and loosened. The tree itself is incredible strong with the long fibers extending from the root tips all the way to the top of the tree. I think by growing taller but not bigger around, they maintain their amazing flexibility. Then, too, they can have their leaves stripped away and only have a flexible trunk to brave wind and waves. Lots of survival ability. It you have seen them move full-grown trees, you know they take a fairly small root ball. To knock over a tree, it is necessary to uproot it.

Hi
After the last major hurricane Wilma, the coconut was the only plant in the entire yard with any leaves. During Fay it stood in 3 feet of water for almost a month..
Only loss during this period in the entire neighborhood was a gigantic ficus tree. Frances tipped it over uprooting the major sewer system.
Anyway I know of no palm loss in the neighborhood but the cocos were so obvious, all had at least a few fronds . Amazing plant!!! gary

i won a coconut at a coconut shy, and it took quite a batter whilst winning it, i took it home and left it on the work surface in the laundry room and forgot about it, 2 weeks later i found and it was riddled with cracks forming complete rings around the hard shell. So i decided to put it in a pot in my garden for a laugh, i just placed it ontop of some compost and it sprouted in about 2-3 months, i nearly died when i saw it, because i again forgot about it, and then suddenly a small, pale green plant about 2-3 inches was poking out the top of the coconut, im now just leaving it to the british weather (like i did when i forgot about the thing) and will wait to see what happens :D