Buying Coconut Palms and growing them in Sydney (forum)

laisla starts with ...
Hi all,

I wanted to know if anyone knew of a reliable source for coconut palms, either in Sydney or elsewhere (who do mail order service). I have heard of a coconut specialist nursery around Port Douglas in Cairns but haven't been able to locate them online.
I've recently bought a house with a great microclimate in the inner west with an established tropical garden and so am keen to push the limits even further! Has anyone had any luck growing them down south?

Time: 16th May 2011 9:31am

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Brendan says...
Hi Laisla,
You may not believe this, but I've just poisoned about 60 small coconut trees, they were becoming a pest, sorry :-(

Time: 17th May 2011 6:47am

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BJ says...
Laisla, Daleys have listed a few dwarf coconuts. Dwarves are always a bit more $. Otherwise there are always shot nuts on eBay.

Time: 17th May 2011 9:52am

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About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas
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Laisla says...
Hi guys,
Unfortunately something off ebay probably wouldn't inspire confidence. In my experience, once the nuts have sent out a root they don't take well to bare rooting.

Brendon, how criminal! Coconut palms have all but dissapeared from Cairns, they were out of vogue when I lived there :(

Time: 18th May 2011 1:13pm

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amanda says...
Oh...I am addicted to the Nudie Coconut Water (straight up) - slurp!! @ $3 for 350ml - it's worth a few bob too..

Time: 18th May 2011 3:08pm

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About the Author amanda19
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trikus says...
coconuts will often have roots and a small sprout with no roots in the ground .. I have them sprouting om top of massive piles of old leaves and cyclone debris ..
tricky to grow well out of sub-tropics ..
expensive way to drink amanda ,when travelling Sulawesi, I always asked village boys to climb and get very young coconuts , the jelly ones are best, a few cents and they were happy

Time: 19th May 2011 8:01am

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About the Author trikus
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Brendan says...
Hi trikus & amanda,
I remember a grower in NT sprouting coconuts, he would peel them, then place the 'nut' in a plastic bag with moist sphagnum moss. He had about 98% strike rate.

amanda, I sometimes carry a cordless drill that has a 10mm drill bit, and a drinking straw. Find a good coconut, drill a hole into it, stick the straw in and drink the juice! Yum.
I've seen coconut water at coles in Mky(in a green bottle), 500ml for $1.

Time: 22nd May 2011 7:44am

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trikus says...
Dwarf nuts are very recalcitrant to sprout and a mate worked out an easy way to increase % , just by slicing off a bit just above the eyes .

Used to get coconut husks by the tandem trailer load , spread out , rough side up in big piles it takes approx 18 months to age and soften . Easy to dice up with a cANE KNIFE AND ADD TO BROMELIAD POTTING MEDIA ..

Another summer and the pile nearly is cocopeat , so soft you can crumble it in your hands .

Time: 22nd May 2011 9:16am

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About the Author trikus
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Rookie says...
Can you please tell me where I can find a fruiting cocoanut palm in Sydney or anywhere in NSW. I have been looking for years, and this forum has given me hope.

Time: 22nd May 2011 7:49pm

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John Mc says...
Stop looking, you won't find a fruiting coconut palm in sydney unless it's under a temperature controlled enclosure.
You can buy small known cv's through Daley's here:
http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/Dwarf-Coconut.htm

Good Luck

Time: 22nd May 2011 10:24pm

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John Mc says...
I couldn't resist buying a couple of dwarfs with half price tags on them today, at a nursery in Newcastle, $13ea. I thought I'd post up my temp range to see what chances I have of keeping these babies alive, let alone getting them to fruit.

Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 25th July 2011 9:38pm

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Original Post was last edited: 25th July 2011 9:45pm

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BJ says...
What type of dwarves did you get?

There are a few full sized coconut palms around Brisbane's west, where it gets cold - around what you've listed. Not sure about the dwarves though.

If you think it'll be too much work, I'd be happy to take on off your hands... ;)

Time: 25th July 2011 9:46pm

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John Mc says...
The nurseryman had no idea what variety, only to say that they are a cold tolerant dwarf coconut. He couldn't offer any more info.
There's one more left on sale.($13).

Time: 25th July 2011 10:44pm

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nguyentran says...
go www.nationaltropicals.com.au you can get young dwarap coconut $39.99+$50 shipping to sydney.

Time: 16th December 2011 12:27am

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trikus says...
nursery guy was just telling you, what you want to hear .. no such thing as a cold tolerant coconut . The Village Dwarf is a tiny plant and fruits very close to the ground for a long time . Sprouted nuts are not cheap and postage is very difficult .
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 16th December 2011 9:31am

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snottiegobble says...
Amanda I now cook everything with coconut oil because they say it has no cholesterol, no transfat & rich in lauric acid. It has plenty of Vit E & other goodies , has a very high burn rate( yeah OK that suits me) & tastes great even raw straight out of the jar instead of other spreads. You can guess how good your skin is after using it for a while!
I wish I could grow coconuts for the oil, but really $82aus ( inc postage) is nothing for five 1 litre jars of BANABAN Fijian organically grown ,cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil is it?
You can buy less of course & there is a list of delightful coconut goodies also to choose from including Jigjig oil!
Guess what thats for! :)
Check out the mob in Burleigh Heads who import it www.naturepacific.com
They offer a very prompt service & also advocate the return of the poor Banaban people who were displaced from their island purely for SUPER PHOSPHATE mining!




Time: 16th December 2011 7:34pm

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Brendan says...
Very good site SG!

Time: 17th December 2011 7:57am

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Brendan says...
Hey trikus, is that you in the photo? Looks like a mate of mine?

Time: 17th December 2011 11:45am

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trikus says...
Brendan , thats a mate from near Canberra .. I am a little slimmer than him , and he did not mind posing beside the skinny Village dwarf .

Time: 17th December 2011 1:33pm

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snottiegobble says...
Come to think of it trikus, he does look a trifle pale for a tropo! :)

Time: 19th December 2011 7:42pm

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trikus says...
Article in the new 'Rare Fruit Review' out now .

Time: 20th December 2011 7:39am

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John Mc says...
My three dwarfs got through winter very nicely down here, and out in the open air. They're in bonzai bags and waiting till I get my polytunnel built. I'm hoping to make a start before next winter, fingers crossed, and the Mrs doesn't want anymore reno's done.

Time: 20th December 2011 6:36pm

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Mike says...
The dwarfs can get quite big and 10m for old trees is possible but they never get as thick as the standard.Coconut enthusiasts have told me that the orange Malay Dwarf has the best eating coconuts but it is a less cold tolerant tree.

Time: 21st December 2011 6:15pm

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Laisla says...
Interesting to revisit this thread. JohnMC, you are an inspiration to us all. Last winter was one of the coldest, wettest in this part of NSW so you are doing well :)

Time: 3rd February 2012 9:55am

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