I found the coconut in the picture in the forest near the farm. Notice how it sprouted horizontally, the sprout curving upwards.

Like many other people I was confused about the right way to plant non-spherical seeds, but now I have with the tip of a friend found that seeds should always be placed horizontally and so far I have not found an exception to this rule. It applies to coconuts, mango, rambutan, chayote, squash, gourd, cashew, etc, etc; basically most big seeds.

Most seeds have 2 points, 1 point where the stem shoots out and the other point where the roots grow out of. Logically we want the point with the stem to be up and the points with the roots to be down; however this never happens in nature and is thus an incorrect way of planting.
When a non-spherical seed falls to the ground it always falls horizontally on the ground. You can test this yourself, take any non-spherical seed and drop it, it always lands horizontally and that is the way it should be planted.
When I found this out I started checking the forest and doing my own tests to see if I can find non-spherical seeds growing vertically in natural conditions, I never found a single one.

What happens when we plant a seed horizontally?
The stem part will sprout on the side underneath the soil, then it will naturally grow upward in a curve. This curve is important because it stabilizes the plant by having a “hook” anchored in the soil which during strong winds will help the plant or tree remain upright. Especially when the tree grows taller and bigger this curve is very important to keep the tree stable.

So if you are ever confused about the correct way to plant a seed just drop it to the ground and see how it lands; that’s how it should be planted as happens in nature.