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snookpoon

Jamaica Tall Coconut Palm

snookpoon
12 years ago

Hello Palm Tree Enthusiast,

I live in SW Florida and would like to plant around 10 Jamaica Tall Coconut Palm Trees. I realize they are subject to the lethal yellowing disease but willing to take a chance. I'm having a very hard time finding fertile coconuts for germination, newly sprouted coconuts (that would be best), or Juvenal trees for sale or donation. I have called many nurseries all around Miami and here on the Gulf coast. No one seems to know where to get them. Is there anyone here that has an ideas? Your help is very much appreciated!! :)

Comments (16)

  • kinzyjr {Lakeland, FL - USDA: 9b, Record: 20F}
    12 years ago

    A seller on Ebay named sue70 has them.

  • snookpoon
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hi kinzyjr,

    Thanks for responding. Yes, she says she does. It's funny you mentioned her. I had just sent her a couple of messages today inquiring about them. I'm very close to her and had asked about being able to pick them up as opposed to shipping where the same care in route may not be given. I thought it might be nice to see the parent trees as well to verify they really are Jamaican Talls as well. While she did give a short response saying that she did not have 10 trees, the impression I got was that she was not that interested in selling what she had to me and she avoided the rest of my questions. I did ask her if she had 50 or so coconuts I could buy to try and germinate. She didn't have those either. I'm kind of weary as I would hate to spend the time and money thinking that I'm growing one type of palm only to find out a few years later that it's some dwarf variety. I've already had a couple of sellers in Miami try to convince me they are the same. Also, the mature Jamaican Talls produce maybe 100 to 200 coconuts a year. I was surprised that she didn't have any extras laying around. It could be nothing and she really does just have one or two of the real deal...not sure.

  • snookpoon
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Does anyone know someone who has this species growing in their yard, church, park, school, or anywhere else?

  • tropicalzone7
    12 years ago

    I find that the tall coconut varieties are very difficult to find for sale in Florida, probably because of lethal yellowing. Talls are definitely my favorite of the coconuts for lots of reasons... They are greener, obviously taller, and they are even more tolerant of cold and stress. I have a Jamacian Tall in a pot. I got it as a newly sprouting coconut in August 2010 when I got back from Hawaii (it didnt even have roots growing yet). Now 1.5 years later it is about 6 feet tall to the tallest frond, including the pot.
    Hope you find a Tall and more importantly, I hope it is disease free!
    -Alex

  • garyfla_gw
    12 years ago

    Hi
    Why on earth would you want to plant a variety thet is subject to a fatal and CONTAGIOUS disease??

  • snookpoon
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hi garyfla,

    For the same reasons as tropicalzone7 stated. They grow fast, produce nice big coconuts, are just absolutely gorgeous additions to your landscape, and I just plain love the way they look. :) With proper care you can prevent the lethal yellowing from infecting them. It's not contagious to humans only the other Talls and I'm just hoping that maybe one day there might be just one that sprouts that is immune to the disease. I know it's wishful thinking but people have been engineering traits in plants for thousands of years....just maybe.

    tropicalzone7 let me know if you ever have any sprouting coconuts. Anyone else know of a source for them?

  • tropicalzone7
    12 years ago

    You might be able to get them off of the internet from Hawaii. It seems like all the coconuts they sell there to tourists are tall varieties even though they dont state it. And another plus is that there are currently no cases of Lethal yellowing in Hawaii so if you dont have lethal yellowing in your specific area of Florida, then you might not have to worry about it as much since there is a good chance that you are buying a sprout that has not been exposed to lethal yellowing. The one good thing about Hawaii's strict agricultural laws is that they manage to keep out a lot of unwanted plants and diseases. Hopefully it stays that way!
    -Alex

  • kinzyjr {Lakeland, FL - USDA: 9b, Record: 20F}
    12 years ago

    snookpoon,
    Strange... I ordered one off her and it was here in Lakeland in 2 days. I don't blame you for wanting to check out the parents, as they readily hybridize.

    I remember reading a post about Hutchinson Island, which is near Port St. Lucie having a bunch of them that didn't get wiped out by the plague. That might be an alternative location to think about if you want to look for seeds.

  • snookpoon
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Ok, Thank you both! That gives me a couple more directions to explore.

  • kinzyjr {Lakeland, FL - USDA: 9b, Record: 20F}
    12 years ago

    Is there any way to tell the difference between the Malayan Dwarf and the Jamaican Tall when they are very little?

  • us_marine
    12 years ago

    I believe you can tell by looking at the fronds, and stems. The fronds on a malayan dwarf tend to be a light yellowish-green color with like goldish-orange stems where as the jamaican talls tend to be a darker green & have green stems. Also the dwarfs tend to grow mature fronds sooner and at a smaller height.

    - US_Marine

  • kinzyjr {Lakeland, FL - USDA: 9b, Record: 20F}
    12 years ago

    Thanks a lot US Marine!

  • palmeroinmiami
    12 years ago

    I have 2 jamaican talls i brought over from Puerto Rico. I brought them as nuts 7 years ago and now have about 5 ft of trunk. I know mine are atlantic talls. The talls can have a bronzish color petiole when young too so its hard to differentiate from malayans. And malayans can have a golden petiole depending on malayan so thats not the best way to tell. One sure way is by the size of the nut. Malayans tend to be more round smaller nuts where talls are more triangular and larger. I too prefer the talls beacuse they require less fertizler and water to stay green. I mean all you need to do is plant them and they just grow. Their fronds are massive though so keep them spaced apart. Compared to my malayans their fronds are a good 6 ft. longer. I love their appearence because their older leaves stay greener even when hanging down as compared to the malayans which begin to brown as they start to droop. I know in Miami you can find Pacific talls at a number of nurseries. I bought 4 pacific talls to plant in orlando area a few years back. They look just like the jamaican talls. I can not tell the difference between a jamaican tall and a panama tall. Another option is a Maypan. You can find them in miami nurseries quite easily as well. They are very similar appearance to jamaican talls. Good luck and am happy to hear of others planting talls. There should be more of us!!

  • tomasbaran9
    last year

    Hey guys. I too would love to get a Jamaican tall seeds or seedlings. I reside in Mexico. Any tips or ideas or maybe even anyone willing to ship. I'm happy to pay for them. Cheers.

  • PRO
    Bluebell Nursery
    10 months ago

    Just a thought. Make some kinda deal with a botanical garden who have to get rid of the excess anyways and they likely will be accurately labelled. That's what I've done and I donate rare plants and I get rare stuff in return. Doing it right now with Himalayan Honeysuckle to the director and he'll send some seed. It's worth atleast asking and the worst thing they can say is no.

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