We just bought a beautiful 14 foot coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). As a last resort we can keep it potted and move it inside in the winter. However, we'd prefer to ground plant it and try our luck if we think there's a fair chance of success. My research so far leads me to think we might use chicken wire around the base with straw (we were originally thinking mulch...), with a heat pipe up the trunk and delicately through the crown, and then cover it with burlap. Any ideas if this might work, or how else we might be able to keep it safe? Thanks!
Not gonna work sorry. I tried to grow them outdoors in Tampa Florida... Too cold there and they died. I don't see any way to keep them unless you have a very warm Greenhouse or Conservatory.
Building a temporary greenhouse around him for the winter months may actually be an option... thanks!
Don't forget to incorporate soil heating cables or similar. Nights should be 60F or warmer, daytime 80ish.
I own a tropical greenhouse in zone 6B and our four footer did not last one winter. Our atrium never drops below 55 degrees and the coconut palm stayed in a very large pot. We grow several palms in the ground along with hundreds of rare rain forest species both in the ground and in pots. Steve www.ExoticRainforest.com
