"Memory" Coconut Palm

In the winter of 2008/2009 a gardening customer of mine came across a coconut laying on the beach with a small sprout working it's way out. He brought the coconut back to his oceanside condo in Boca Raton, FL, potted it up and brought it back with him to Illinois for the summer.

I babied the "nut" during the summer of 2009... seeing very little growth during that cooler-than-normal summer. I assumed it wouldn't make it through the winter, even though it was headed to a greenhouse at a local high school.

But, to my surprise... the coconut palm did live and started to look even more like a palm with the hot summer we enjoyed during 2010.

But, then... my customer died suddenly in August of 2010. The family said I could have any and all plants that I wanted, which meant I had many plants to choose from... several palm varieties of many sizes, red and green bananas large and small, large leaf philodendrons, bromeliads, anthuriums, aglaonemas (chinese evergreens), and more. I did keep many of the plants for my personal use, to use at other customer's houses, and at BCC. But, I ended up keeping only one palm... the coconut palm.

It's still living Scott... and I miss my Monday afternoon stops at your house.