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Got some mild weather, good growing weather for sub tropicals but would love 30 or 40mm of rain in a thunderstorm but it’s the driest time of the year and basically not a chance of that until mid late March if we get some thunderstorms from decaying cyclones etc.

Si vous êtes à l'île Maurice et que vous cherchez des graines de palmier fraîches et matures en novembre, sans vous ruiner, plusieurs solutions s'offrent à vous. Commencez par vous renseigner auprès des pépinières locales de l'île. Les commerces qui vendent de jeunes palmiers ou des articles de jardinage proposent souvent des graines ou peuvent vous indiquer où en trouver. On trouve de nombreuses petites pépinières à Bonne Terre, Vacoas et aux alentours de Trianon, et il n'est pas rare d'y échanger des graines ou des plants via des groupes de jardinage sur Facebook ou des bourses aux plantes locales. C'est généralement la solution la plus économique et elle vous permet d'obtenir des graines déjà adaptées au climat local, sans rien importer. Vous pouvez aussi chercher des graines dans les zones où les palmiers poussent à l'état sauvage ou dans les jardins privés. Si les propriétaires possèdent des palmiers adultes, ils vous laisseront peut-être ramasser des graines fraîches tombées au sol. N'oubliez pas de demander l'autorisation si c'est sur une propriété privée. Importer des graines de l'étranger est possible, mais peut s'avérer complexe. Le ministère de l'Agriculture exige des certificats phytosanitaires pour la plupart des graines importées, ce qui engendre des coûts et des démarches administratives supplémentaires. Pour le mois de novembre, le mieux est donc de vous adresser aux pépinières locales et de contacter d'autres jardiniers qui pourraient avoir des graines en surplus.

Then a totally mild Tuesday with the max at midnight.

Had a hot Monday.

Not a bad haul, yes I do sometimes but rarely and it’s more grower mistake than environmental, I would say more overwatering is the culprit for my loses, with so many varieties and a hankering for watering I have new seedlings in with larger seedlings and it’s just a habit of automatically watering them. Even an empty pot that has soil in it left in with the odd dead ones I water, the eye automatically clicks onto it and before I know it iam watering an empty container. Especially with tiny seedlings you need to really watch the watering, but container choices are critical for success. Round tubes are better than square tubes for seedlings, just an observation I have noticed. I lose more to rats than anything else, pithium and damping off are not a major issue but again watering control is the key to avoid such damage, oh and air flow you need rolling air over the top of your seedlings and plants, let’s just say it’s not rocket science but……… Richard

I just planted a paludosa and they are more lime green, the remotifolia has red colouring and tomentum. I did think it was a paludosa but did a comparison with the two together just to make sure. Do I don’t think it’s paludosa, remotiflora is the only other one but no new red leaf on the palm in question. Paludosa pictures below.

I think it should be alright, besides of course the sustained damage during the previous cold spell.

@Phoenikakias 14C, strong southern wind and rain at the same time right now; what you said Roystonea hates: cold + wind + rain. Unless 14 C doesn't count as cold.. I hope.. 🥲

So they get enough food from the seed for up to 6 months? Wow..

Up to 6 months or more,I never fertilise them in the original germination box. With some varieties some pop up way ahead of others and it can be six months or more before others appear. I have a box of masoala that are pretty old in the original germination box. I potted up a few a few months ago, they germinated 12 months ago. You just have to watch watering them run them on the dry surface side it’s still quite moist underneath.

Oviedo. Glimmer of hope I suppose. 400 areca’s, 3 royals, 1 coconut, 3 huge triple adonidias. Small hedge tropicals look like cooked spinach. 🤷‍♂️

An update about six months since I started this thread. This is what it looks like today. The top wound has dried up. and there are a total of seven new heads at the top. If this continues to grow, and given it's a slender trunk and with 7 new heads, I think it will be too top heavy in a year or two. Should I plan on making a cut at mid-height to let it regrow say 3-4' from the ground, and the top part to soak in water to get it to root?

Looks killer Brett!! 🙌🏻 -dale

@happypalms how long can seedlings stay in a medium with no nutrients like coco coir and perlite?

I feel you. Did you get them from seedlings or seeds? They look quite young!

This is what you need, they are made to keep pipes from freezing. It's called heat tape or heat cable, and it looks just like an extension cord that heats up. Amazon, lowes, and home deport usually carry them. There is an inline thermostat built in that clicks on at 38 deg clicks off around 45. If you wrap up the thermostat right up against the palm then it does a really good job of limiting the heat. I found then can get a hot spot where you have two parts of the cable crossing over and touching itself. I been adding a few wraps of frost fabric over the first layer if I plan on making a second layer of cable. thermostat package

Mid winter munchii.

Has anyone been past this Washingtonia in Fayetteville since the cold weather in that region? I was wondering how it was doing and what it had to endure.

A good quality store purchased potting mix should be ok and have no fungal issues. If you really want to go the extra mile you can bake it in the oven that will kill all the pathogens, but for queen seeds they are bullet proof, the first palm I ever germinated 36 years ago. I just used soil from the garden. Don’t worry about germinating them the biggest problem you will have is if all 400 germinate that’s a lot pots and soil and space to put them. But yes if you want a sterile medium perlite is your best bet, myself personally I would not worry too much about medium I have them popping up all over my property from the neighbours tree! Good viable seeds will germinate once they do remove the bag or lid and don’t overwater them, or put up they germinate.

Yes the same for Howea, plastic bag or lid over them. This lot in the pictures no bottom heating just in a warm place. Wait 12 months or more, red Howea seeds are less viable as well. Good luck!

i was doing some research and saw a youtube video with an interesting method to clean butia seeds. They used a drill with that circular wire brush attachment, with the seeds in a bucket of water, and made it a sort of blender except it just scraped the fruit off. I’m not sure if I have the drill extensions or the right circular abrasive attachment but I thought it was cool. also, is dirt not good for seed starting, like dirt and perlite vs coco coir and perlite or something? i’m trying to use what i have for the most part. generating heat will be my biggest issue

I can't remember if I've grown remotiflora, although the palm in my profile pic looks a lot like it, so maybe I did I think that was supposed to be Dypsis bosseri (the one in my profile pic). But the palm in the photos starting this thread looks like maybe Dypsis paludosa (formerly florencei) maybe? Matt

@happypalms, would you recommend the same treatment for Howea seeds, including the bottom heat ? Thanks

@JohnAndSancho Sorry to hear that papayas are giving you such a hard time. I had a hard time overwintering some 1 to 2 gallon sized papayas back when I lived in Oklahoma. They didn't die, but they struggled with the low light conditions indoors. I found that south facing windows and a grow light were still less light than they wanted. I have successfully gotten them through winter in pots though by starting the seeds in summer. When they are better established before I bring them inside they die a little slower...so at least I might have time to correct problems before they die.

I think we're all weary from these types of advisories. 😁