How to grow coconuts

Have a taste of the tropics in your own backyard. Photo: Thinkstock

Every gardener who goes to the tropics falls for the tall, slender coconut palms that lean out over the beaches, and dreams of taking one home. And, you know, most of us can. But whether you can grow them outside and how long they’ll last there depends on where you live.

Warmth is the key

Coconuts are only found naturally in the tropics. There, they enjoy plenty of rain, mostly in summer, high humidity and constant warmth, night and day, winter and summer. They can be grown outside south of the tropics, but the further south you take them, the more they need the warmest, most protected spot in full sun that you can find. Dwarf species, which can grow about 6m tall, are somewhat more cold tolerant than the regular, tall-growing types that can reach 30m.

Southern success

In southern Australia, you can still grow a coconut but think of it as a summer project; a souvenir of your tropical holiday. Without a heated greenhouse, the plant won’t survive winter, but it will live outside in a pot in full sun whenever night temperatures are more than 12°C – that’s

all summer at least.

RECIPE: Fast Ed's strawberry coconut slice

Will you get fruit?

Yes, definitely in the tropics. Yeees, probably in the subtropics, though the quality may not be up to tropical standards. Too cool a climate affects their ability to make fruit so, at the limit of their range, fruit is unlikely. Dwarf types can fruit within four years, tall types take a few years more. The familiar, brown, globe-shaped fruit is contained within the tough, fibrous husk, usually removed with a sharp machete.

Choose a dwarf for home

The dwarf varieties are usually best in suburban-sized gardens, but they’re said not to be as cyclone-resistant as the tall types. Check out the ‘Malay’ series of dwarf species, ‘Bronze’, ‘Gold’ and ‘Green’.

RECIPE: Karen's coconut rice pudding

Ways to get and grow

- Pick up a fallen fruit from a tropical beach. They’re the size of a football. How you find it is how you should plant it, so mark the top so you know which way is up. When you get home, plant with just the top of the fruit exposed. Remember, hot spot, full sun, lots of water, nights above 12°C. Any free-draining, average-quality soil will do.

- Buy a sprouted plant. You’ll only find these in the tropics, or you can order one by mail from Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery (daleysfruit.com.au) in Kyogle, NSW. They have a limited stock of dwarf coconut only.

- Germinate a coconut bought at the fruit shop in four easy steps.
1. Immerse it in a bucket of warm water. Hold it down with a brick.
2. Put the bucket in full sun and bring it in at night to keep warm. Do this for two to three days.
3. Put the soaked coconut, pointy end down, in a big plastic bag with half a cup of water. Seal tightly and place somewhere warm for two to three weeks.

4. Check the coconut after that period. One of the three “eyes” on the rounded end will sprout a shoot and a root. When it does, plant the coconut, shoot up.

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