My coconut palms are struggling!

In December, I believe, hubs bought two lovely little coconut palms for my (then) new garden. Set them inside the pallet fence and went to run errands. Came back and saw the campus puppies had squeezed through the pallets to chew on the trees, breaking them up pretty bad. But the roots seemed interact, so I planted them.

Goats got in and nipped the fuller leaves, then got in again (all holes have now been plugged) and ate off all remaining green. I watered and tried to baby them for several months. Was finally giving up, and up pops green leaves on both of them. But that was a couple of months ago, and growth is EXTREMELY slow. The new leaves are sticking up only a few inches from the ground.

What should I do?

Those little plants have been extremely traumatized. They're in shock, and just the fact that there IS new growth is a good sign. They're also going into their "winter," which I presume means slower growth anyway. My guess (and it is only a guess) is that shortly after the winter solstice they'll start growing again at a more normal rate. If the growth tips have been eaten off that might be a more serious problem, as the information I see says that all growth comes from the growth tip at the center of the plant.

Lauren Ritz wrote:Those little plants have been extremely traumatized. They're in shock, and just the fact that there IS new growth is a good sign. They're also going into their "winter," which I presume means slower growth anyway. My guess (and it is only a guess) is that shortly after the winter solstice they'll start growing again at a more normal rate. If the growth tips have been eaten off that might be a more serious problem, as the information I see says that all growth comes from the growth tip at the center of the plant.

They were eaten all the way down, and the whole thing turned brown until they both set up some new little shoots the same week. So the growth tips and all.

I'm not sure winter really has any relationship to things here. We have 2 rainy seasons and 2 dry seasons watch year. We're going into the rainy season, so that should mean more growth, not less . . . I would think? But I'm learning everything over again in this climate.

When I did a quick Google search it said that growth slows (doesn't stop, but slows) during the winter.

The information I found said if the growth tips are gone the tree is essentially dead, but it was talking about mature trees. Maybe younger trees could survive? I don't know. The fact that they're putting out new growth is encouraging.

Lauren Ritz wrote:When I did a quick Google search it said that growth slows (doesn't stop, but slows) during the winter.

The information I found said if the growth tips are gone the tree is essentially dead, but it was talking about mature trees. Maybe younger trees could survive? I don't know. The fact that they're putting out new growth is encouraging.

Yes, I'd heard that too, about three growth tips, which is why I was surprised they came back!

In my experience, rainy season brings growth. Dry season brings virtual dormancy. But that depends on the plant too. There is no winter equivalent here.

And yet "winter" is not only cold and snow, although that's the way we think of it. It's also a change in light, and often, as you pointed out, a change in moisture levels. Even though the coconut is a tropical and the change in light is minimal that close to the equator, it may still be adapted to slowing down during that period. Who knows? :)

Perhaps.