A salt-tolerant palm that gives drinking water, meat, oil, and fiber. A classic coastal tree.
Overview
Coconut palms thrive in sandy, salty coastal soils where few other food trees will grow. A healthy palm produces nuts all year: young green nuts for drinking water and soft meat, and mature brown nuts for grated coconut, milk, and oil.
In a food forest, coconut works best as a tall, open canopy at the edges or near the coast, with shorter trees and shrubs beneath it.
History
Coconut palms grow along tropical coastlines around the world. Besides drinking water and food, they provide oil, husk fiber for rope and mats, leaves for weaving and thatch, shells for containers, and trunks for building.
Growing on Kauaʻi
Best at low elevations in full sun; tolerates salt spray, sandy soil, and wind.
Grows on both wet and dry sides, but young palms need regular water on the leeward side.
Choose dwarf varieties for home gardens. They fruit sooner and are far easier and safer to harvest.
Plant away from houses, paths, parking, and play areas. Falling nuts and fronds can cause serious injury.
Planting and propagation
Start from a mature nut that has already sprouted, or lay a mature nut on its side, half-buried in moist, well-drained soil, until it sprouts (often 2–4 months).
Plant the sprouted nut with the top of the husk at or just above soil level.
Mulch well and water regularly for the first year.
Care and maintenance
Remove dead fronds and old nuts before hurricane season; in high wind they become dangerous projectiles.
Check the crown regularly for coconut rhinoceros beetle damage (see below).
Mulch with husks and chopped fronds, spread thinly.
Green drinking nuts are ready about 6–8 months after the flower opens, when they are full and slosh only slightly. Mature nuts (about 11–12 months) turn brown and fall on their own. Harvesting from tall palms is dangerous; hire an experienced climber or grow dwarf palms.
Uses
Food and drink: coconut water, fresh meat, grated coconut, coconut milk, and oil.
Materials: husk fiber for cordage and mats, shells for bowls, fronds for weaving and thatch.
Soil: husks hold moisture as mulch or in planting holes; spread them thinly.
Problems to watch
Coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) is now on Kauaʻi. Adults bore into the crown and leave V-shaped cuts in fronds; repeated attacks can kill the palm. Larvae breed in piles of rotting mulch, green waste, and palm material. Report damage to KISC or 643-PEST and see Challenges.
