How to plant coconut

Plant a healthy one-year-old seedling in a large, well-prepared pit when the rains start, then shade it, stake it and water it through every dry spell.

When to plant

ICAR-CPCRI says that in well-drained soil, seedlings can go in with the south-west monsoon in June, or in October–November where the north-east monsoon brings the main rain; in low-lying land that floods, plant after the monsoon ends. As a guide, drawing on ICAR-CPCRI and TNAU Agritech: May–June on the west coast, June–July in the southern interior and the east, and October–November only on the east coast, where the main rains come with the north-east monsoon, as on the Tamil Nadu coast. Plant when the rains have properly wetted the soil in your district.

Choosing a seedling

ICAR-CPCRI advises a vigorous one-year-old seedling of a tall type that is more than 100 cm tall, with 5–6 leaves and a collar girth of roughly 10 cm; a dwarf seedling should be more than 80 cm tall with a girth of more than 8 cm (a guide for checking quality). TNAU Agritech says to reject stunted or deformed seedlings, and its pictures of discarded seedlings include one with bud rot.

Growing from a nut

TNAU Agritech says a ripe nut starts sprouting 6–8 weeks after sowing; keep only nuts that sprout within 5 months, and plant out seedlings at 9–12 months. ICAR-CPCRI says seed nuts can be sown upright or on their side, and on their side gives better sprouting when sowing is late. As practical guidance, half-bury it in moist, well-drained soil or sand in light shade and never let it sit in water.

Pit, spacing and protection

• Pit: for loamy soil with a low water table, ICAR-CPCRI recommends a pit of 1 m × 1 m × 1 m filled with topsoil to roughly 50 cm, with two layers of coconut husk, hollow side up, at the bottom to hold moisture; where the water table is high, plant at the surface or on a mound. Treat these as a guide for your soil.
• Planting: set the seedling in the centre and press the soil firmly, but never bury the collar or let soil fall into the leaf bases (ICAR-CPCRI).
• Spacing: ICAR-CPCRI recommends 7.5 × 7.5 m to 8 × 8 m in plantations; for a single palm in a garden, leave at least that much open space around it (our rule of thumb, not a safe distance from a house, wall, pipe or power line; ask your local horticulture office or KVK).
• Shade, stake and guard: shade the young plant with plaited coconut or palmyra leaves and stake it against wind (ICAR-CPCRI); a simple guard keeps goats and cattle off (practical guidance).

First-year watering (rough starting point)

Check the soil a few centimetres down and water deeply when the root zone is drying; skip watering after rain, and never let water stand at the stem. ICAR-CPCRI found watering once every 4 days in the dry summer months satisfactory for young palms; treat that as a rough starting point, not a fixed schedule.