Favorite Tree

When I used to think about the tropics - before we moved to Florida - the image that came to mind was coconut palms blowing in a warm breeze. Actually, such trees won't grow everywhere in the state, as I've since learned. In fact, they survive only from Lake Okeechobee south.

I learned today that global warming may be slowly changing the range and has allowed a few coconut palms to live as far north as Orlando.

Most coconut palms grow near the coasts, where they can stand salt air and even high winds, although some trees fall victim to tropical storms and hurricanes. I've heard that coconut palms require salty breezes to thrive, but I don't believe that's true. If they do, please leave me a comment at the end of this post.

If you live in the right zone of hardiness for growing coconut palms - our zone is 10a - getting a nut to sprout isn't difficult, although it takes about as long as it does to grow a human baby. You lay a coconut on its side, bury it half way in potting soil mixed with sand, water now and then and expect roots to sprout in about 9 months.

When we lived roughly 600 miles south of here, on the island of Montserrat, the previous owner of our house had taken to throwing his cast-off coconuts just over the fence. Over a period of several years, a bunch of them sprouted, so we had a hedge of palm trees. At the golf club on the island, someone painted a coconut blue and laid it on the ground to mark the direction to the first tee. In due time, even though painted, this "dry nut" put out a green shoot and had to be replaced.