Coconut Palm
Cocos nucifera
Palms Difficulty: Hard
📖 About this plant
The Coconut Palm is the most economically important palm species, providing food, oil, fiber, and building materials throughout the tropics. Often called the ‘tree of life,’ a single tree can produce 50-100 coconuts per year for 70-100 years.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
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Light
Full sun (8+ hrs)
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Water
Every 2-3 days
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Humidity
High (70-90%)
🌡️
Temperature
25-35°C
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Soil
Sandy, well-drained coastal soils; highly salt-tolerant; pH 5.5-8.0
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Fertilizer
Palm-specific fertilizer (8-4-12) quarterly; extra nitrogen and potassium support fruit production
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Tropical Indo-Pacific region, likely Southeast Asia or Melanesia
- 📏 Max height
- 1500-3000 cm
- 📐 Spread
- 300-600 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Year-round
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Yellow
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Green
- ⏳ Lifespan
- 70-100 years
- 📈 Growth rate
- Moderate
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Fruit flesh and water are safe and edible; coconut shell fibers can be a choking hazard for pets; falling coconuts pose physical danger
- 🌱 Propagation
- Seed — plant whole coconut with husk, laid on side; germinates in 2-6 months
🛡️ Health & Safety
🐾 Pet safe
✅ Non-toxic
Fruit flesh and water are safe and edible; coconut shell fibers can be a choking hazard for pets; falling coconuts pose physical danger
Common issues
- Lethal yellowing phytoplasma disease, Rhinoceros beetle damaging growing bud, Coconut mites, Bud rot
💡 Care tips
- Iconic tropical palm that produces coconuts year-round,Requires consistently warm frost-free conditions to survive outdoors,Cannot tolerate temperatures below 4°C even briefly,Needs sandy well-draining soil and salt-tolerant conditions
🪴 Add to My Plants
One click — added instantly. Watering every 3 days, fertilizing every 30 days.
