Nice Coconut palm! It looks very healthy and happy. How old is it? Looks like its about the same size as one of mine.
Heres a picture of mine! The shorter one will be 3 years old in April and the taller one actually wont even be 2 years old until July (I got both of them as just sprouted coconuts so I estimated the time of germination which was not probably just a few months before I got them).
I only have a picture of my smaller, older one. I'll try and take a pic of the other one and post!

I dont know why coconut palms have such a bad rep for being terrible indoor plants, however one thing I will admit (which was mentioned in another thread on here a few weeks ago) is that the Tall coconut varieties handle potted life and indoor life better than the Dwarf and Semi-Dwarf varieties (the one in this pic is a Semi- Dwarf and my other is a Tall).

mine is a bit more than 2 years old. I bought it as a unlabeled palm at a local grocery store so i had to rescue it from certain death.

yours looks great! very robust fronds.
how can you tell if it is a dwarf or tall? does it have to do with how soon the fronds go pinnate?

I have no idea how old mine is or what vareity, but I believe its golden malayan dwarf. Its coloration seems to match one anyway. I think we all have the same variety.

Heres mine:

I havnt had mine very long, only since about july. This one has grown more than any I have ever had. It already growing mature fronds, and it was the youngest I got. Not including the one from hawaii that didnt survive the shipping :(

If you can get them through the winter indoors, you have performed a great feat.

nice coco us marine
i noticed the rim of your pot is a bit cracked possibly from carrying the palm anywhere it can get sun? i have the same problem lol

Eric,
Dwarfs start dividing their fronds at a much smaller height (about the height that yours, mine, and usmarine's have begun to divide their fronds).
I didn't know that I had a dward until I got my Tall Coconut which is already taller than my Dwarf Coconut palm, but still has not divided their fronds. The Tall Coconut palm got taller, faster, but the fronds divide at about the same age (which means Tall Varieties will divide their fronds at a taller height than dwarfs). I also notice that dwarfs are a lighter green color than Talls.

Nice Pic Us Marine! Looks like a Dwarf to me thats about 2 years old.

-Alex

ericthehurdler- Thanks! Yours is also nice :)

Lol yup! :) The rim has completely broke, so I had to use an extra container floating around until it warms up more. Got to wait for warmer temps to transplant into a bigger container. Sand works, but container dont like sand. lol. Its been so nice here, in the 60f's. Hows it been where your at? The coco's got to be loving this odd winter sunshine. :)

tropicalzone7- Thanks! Yours has stunning fronds :) Reminds me of my original coco. I bet those fronds are huge.

Thats what I noticed too. I also think the yellowish-green tint of the fronds are signs they are golden malayan? From what I looked up, that could explain why our palms have lighter green fronds.

My palm could very well be 2 years old. When i got it it still had its first two baby fronds and 3 real fronds. It grew all the fronds you see except the bottom 2 since I got it.

- US_Marine

Hope to join in on this some day but mine is still a nut!

Mike in Chicago was kind enough to send me one..........
I don't imagine it will sprout until the summer sun gets involved
but it is taking up valuable space in a south window just in case(-;

Click for weather forecast

Us marine- the weather has been amazing, I bring my coco out almost everyday.
What part of nor cal are you located?

The valley. Looks like were about to get some rain and cooler weather coming up... Lets hope for an early and warm spring :)

- US_Marine

I took a pic of my 2 coconut palms back to back. The dwarf is to the left and the tall is to the right. They are pretty good indoor plants!

-Alex

tropicalzone7 that is a big papaya! did you start it from seed?

Thanks! I got it as a 1 foot tall seedling off of ebay back in late May. I put it in the ground and it took off! They are really fast growing plants, the papaya even made some flower buds, but the buds fell off with the 20 inches of rain we had in August. It grew about a foot of trunk every 3 weeks during the warmerst months.
-Alex

I'll try and take a picture of mine (which is a oacific tall) the next day I am home in the morning and it is sunny. That's when I get the best pictures. I have it in a north east facing window so it gets a few hours of direct sun in the morning. This time of year though it is cloudy 4 out of 5 days.

Look what I found LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqBgpD7XcTQ&feature=plcp
I have to go buy one and try to grow one :)

So, if I want to try growing a coconut, should I buy sprouted ones via Ebay, or can I try sprouting whole in the husk from the grocery store?

They are virtually impossible to sprout from a whole husk coconut unless you live in their normal range. I've read that they need to have fallen off the tree, when they are fully ripe, in order to sprout. The ones in the supermarket (even if they have a with hull; they usually don't) likely have been harvested in clusters while still on the tree, so their viability is questionable. I honestly would get one that is sprouted already to avoid a lot of wasted time and energy. They require lots of heat, humility and moisture for a long time. Northern summers just aren't long enough and indoors in fall and winter could never replicate the tropics.

I was lucky enough to have traveled all over the tropics with the USAF as a flyer. I was able to bring back small sprouted coconuts over the years and get them to head high before they started to fail. They are fun to raise, but few people can keep them happy for more than a few years. There are a few people on here who have some impressive potted coconuts. And one or two who have successfully sprouted grocery store coconuts, even without the hull. If you're up for that challenge!

I got my coconut palm from ebay as a small sprout with roots and I also got one from Hawaii as a small sprout with no roots. Both have done well for me, but get them early in the year so they have all summer to grow and establish in their pots!
-Alex

Thanks guys, saved me the bother of trying to sprout one from the store. They probably have been put into cold storage at some point anyway -- produce departments LOVE to refrigerate tropic fruits like mango and papaya, even if it says right on the box not to chill below 50 degrees.

I might order some from ebay. I think I would really like to be on the lookout for one at a mass merchandiser, since they (used to, anyway, guess they still do), pop up from time to time as a novelty foliage plant, complete with the coconut attached, and generally cheap, like $12-$15.

I just think it would be fun little project to try to grow one, several in the photos are quite attractive. And, I'll try anything once at least.

It is possible to germinate the ones you see in the stores buts its very very difficult. And even if you get one to sprout the chances of them making it long term is also slim. Its easier to buy one already sprouted. I say definately get one. :)

- US_Marine