Hello,

I bought a couple of Coco palms about 1.5 months ago. However, in the last
week, the leaves have started to turn brownish. I am following the lighting
instructions. As a matter of fact, ever since I noticed that they are
starting to turn brown I have kept them outside, misting them etc. However,
the leaves are continuinig to get darker. It is not as if they are
completely brown yet but they are on they way I think.

Any ideas?

R

On Tue, 29 Jun 2004 06:27:54 GMT, "R" wrote:

I bought a couple of Coco palms about 1.5 months ago. However, in the last
week, the leaves have started to turn brownish. I am following the lighting
instructions. As a matter of fact, ever since I noticed that they are
starting to turn brown I have kept them outside, misting them etc. However,
the leaves are continuinig to get darker. It is not as if they are
completely brown yet but they are on they way I think.

Young coconut palms are notoriously difficult to maintain in good
condition. The problem is that they are germinated on hot beds in
pots of fibre, pine needle or similar and as soon as the shoots are
about 3 or 4 feet high, shipped out for sale. Little or no
consideration is given to the fact that they have a continuing need
air temperatures of 35C or more, soil temperatures no lower than 26C
for proper root formation and very high relative humidity over 90%

In the first 6 months following the appearance of the shoot, all
sustenance is drawn from the seed not from the emergent root system.
Normally, the main root grows down through barely moist, sandy soil
for several feet until it taps into a regular moisture supply. Very
little root branching takes place until then and if there is any
damage in the early stages, the entire root system dies with no
reserves for a new one to develop.

The peculiar thing with coconuts is that the plants will appear to be
growing healthily when they are in fact dying. They are simply using
up stored foods within the nut. Usually, by the time you've bought a
plant it has already been subjected to lethally low temperatures
(around 15 - 20C when young). The few roots that may exist cease
growing below 23C and start to die 5 degrees below that. No
subsequent roots can be formed even if the plant is returned to
optimum growing conditions.

Unless they are bought from a specialist supplier with a full
understanding of their very exacting needs, young coconuts are doomed
when they reach the shops or garden centres and should be treated as
temporary curiosities. Some barely last 2 months, while others will
struggle on for 6 or 7. Maybe one in a thousand will make it - which
may be a blessing in disguise because if they do survive, they can
grow embarrassingly large very quickly. Even the 'Dwarf Malay' or
'Maypan' varieties reach 30 or more feet with a leaf canopy of around
20 feet+ across. I'm sorry I cannot be more optimistic, but these are
truly tropical palms that are exceedingly difficult to maintain and
grow away from their natural habitat.


Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C.
Growing season: March - November