Unusual looking seeds

[Tyrone]

I just thought some would like to have a look at these seeds. Both are weird and interesting. I got this shipment through yesterday and after a nights soak, I've put them into the incubator today. I also got some Burretiokentia hapala, which are a weird little seed in their own right.

The first two are Ptychococcus, the second lot are Dypsis bejofo, the brainseed palm.

Best regards

Tyrone

[BS Man about Palms]

Tyrone, do you know if those seed are "Bejofa" or "Bejofo"? Both are brain seed types, but the Bejofo is pinnate very early whereas the Bejofa stays bi-fid a long time. Or so I've been told.

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for the seed photos Tyrone

Bigger and unusual looking palm seeds are a favourite to me and its one of the reasons i am growing palms...I like watching photos of them and spend some time now and then admiring mine

[Tyrone]

Kostas, I'm glad you like the pics.

Bill, They were labelled on the website as D bejofo. "bejofa" isn't a valid name anyway. I've never seen it available anywhere. Of course that doesn't mean you can't get it.

I've grown these before, and had very low germination rates, but that is what you have to go through to grow some of this rare stuff. The first leaves are bifid, and by about the 4th or 5th leaf they're still bifid.

Best regards

Tyrone

[BS Man about Palms]

Kostas, I'm glad you like the pics.

Bill, They were labelled on the website as D bejofo. "bejofa" isn't a valid name anyway. I've never seen it available anywhere. Of course that doesn't mean you can't get it.

I've grown these before, and had very low germination rates, but that is what you have to go through to grow some of this rare stuff. The first leaves are bifid, and by about the 4th or 5th leaf they're still bifid.

Best regards

Tyrone

Cool Tyrone. Good luck on those babies!

[Tyrone]

I'll post pics when/if they come up. I should be positive, "when" they come up.

Best regards

Tyrone

[ariscott]

When you have WAY too many seedlings... remember your friend here in the Top End

Regards, Ari

[Tyrone]

Ari, I won't forget you I promise. The D bejofo really have very bad germination figures. Out of 110 seeds I'd be happy with maybe 6 seedlings. Unfortunately the seeds don't have good viability because they come from a very remote site in Madagascar, get transported by donkey, then on a plane in the capital of Madagascar, then get to Germany, then sent on a plane to Sydney where quarantine take there time sending them on, then back on a plane to Perth. I don't know how old the seed is, but they came from the new section on the RPS website, but they'd perform much better if they were picked and then immediately planted I'm sure.

Best regards

Tyrone

[John in Andalucia]

Ari, I won't forget you I promise. The D bejofo really have very bad germination figures. Out of 110 seeds I'd be happy with maybe 6 seedlings. Unfortunately the seeds don't have good viability because they come from a very remote site in Madagascar, get transported by donkey, then on a plane in the capital of Madagascar, then get to Germany, then sent on a plane to Sydney where quarantine take there time sending them on, then back on a plane to Perth. I don't know how old the seed is, but they came from the new section on the RPS website, but they'd perform much better if they were picked and then immediately planted I'm sure.

Best regards

Tyrone

Tyrone,

I bought 100 of these as well. I wonder how they'll fair. I always worry about fungus on seeds with little nooks and crannies, but I gave mine a bleach rinse and threw out a few sweet-smelling ones! Some seeds just look tricky to germinate, don't they? I hope I get a few sprouters.

[Tyrone]

John, mine were delivered with some sort of white substance which kept them moist but would have made them excellent places for mould to reside. So I got them into the sink with a nail scrubber and cleaned it out. I found a few that were suspect, and any floaters were thrown out, as they're ticking time bombs which will spoil a few other good seeds. I then soaked them in Mancozeb fungicide and then put them into a bed of perlite and vermiculite overlying a lesser perlite mix, and have put them into 32C heat. If they're good they will germinate.

I've got some Acanthophoenix rubra coming down from RPS at the moment. This is a species I haven't had any success with. Hopefully this time I will.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Tyrone]

I had my Ptychococcus seeds on the heat with temps from 22-30C day night fluctuations, but nothing after 5 weeks or so. Maybe I'm just being impatient, but I thought that these may need the day night fluctuation of the New Guinea highlands, so I put them outside in a plastic bag to seal in the moisture. At night they've been getting down to 12-18C and during the day 22C-30C. Does that sound like a good idea? There's no germination info on this species on the internet, but I thought a palm that doesn't like Cairns that much, and loves Brisbane and further south, would need cooler night temps than 22C. When they were being heated they were next to some Euterpe precatoria seed and they've just sprung up in no time.

So do you think putting them outside where they cool down at night would be better than keeping them warm all the time? Has anyone germinated these before?

Best regards

Tyrone

[SubTropicRay]

Hi Tyrone,

My Ptychococcos haven't germinated either. I'm not doing anything special except keeping the container fully enclosed so the moisture stays trapped. This has worked well for other seeds recently. I have a feeling these may normally take longer than a couple of months to pop.

Ray

[Tyrone]

Ray, what temps would theybe experiencing?

Best regards

Tyrone

[Tyrone]

Ray, How are your little Ptychococcus seeds going? Any up yet?

Best regards

Tyrone

[SubTropicRay]

Tyrone,

I just checked yesterday and nothing yet. My greenhouse is only getting up to around 80F each day. Hopefully, these seeds don't need bottom heat.

Have yours popped yet?

Ray

[Tyrone]

No not yet. They're under my back patio and are getting mins around 15C and max's from 25-30C. I dug a couple of seeds up and they look fine. Encyclopedia of Palms said that they take 45 days to come up. I think the day night temp fluctuation should be beneficial for this species.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Tyrone]

Ray, let me know if you get any germinating, and if I get any starting, I'll let you know too.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Tyrone]

Ray, any movement on your lepidotus seeds yet?? None here still.

regards

Tyrone

[JakeK]

My Ptychococcus seeds haven't done anything either in the two months I have had them on bottom heat. They're in a sealed container and that method has worked for me in the past, so hopefully this species just takes a bit longer to germinate.

[Tyrone]

My Ptychococcus seeds haven't done anything either in the two months I have had them on bottom heat. They're in a sealed container and that method has worked for me in the past, so hopefully this species just takes a bit longer to germinate.

Thanks Jakek. So you've germinated these before. What temp are you using?

Best regards

Tyrone

[Tyrone]

No movement then Ray???

Tyrone

[SubTropicRay]

Tyrone,

I'll have to check later. As of last month, there was nothing yet. My winter is your summer so you have an advantage there. Hopefully, the heat in my greenhouse will be sufficient.

Ray

[Tyrone]

Yeah it has been cool, but this isn't my usual summer that's for sure. Summer is usually around 32C and 18-20C at night, not this 23C day, 13C at night stuff. But for this species the cooler weather shouldn't hurt it. I really want to germinate these, and if someone gets them going I want to compare notes, as I may not get the opportunity again. I'm doing a similar thing by not heating my Chambeyronia lepidota which have similar requirements.

Best regards

Tyrone

[surferjr]

I just thought some would like to have a look at these seeds. Both are weird and interesting. I got this shipment through yesterday and after a nights soak, I've put them into the incubator today. I also got some Burretiokentia hapala, which are a weird little seed in their own right.

The first two are Ptychococcus, the second lot are Dypsis bejofo, the brainseed palm.

Best regards

Tyrone

Hey Tyrone,

Any results from the D. Bejofo yet?

best,

clark

[Tyrone]

No D bejofo yet. But my friend who I've split the order with, has them popping everywhere. The difference is, he doesn't have his in a big plastic bag, and lets the top dry out and rewaters every day. I'm going to move these into my hothouse today and pull the bag off. The bag technique seems to work quite well for many other species including Dypsis ambositrae true form which popped everywhere for me. Hopefully they haven't all rotted on me. A couple I've pulled out have rotted.

Best regards

Tyrone

[surferjr]

No D bejofo yet. But my friend who I've split the order with, has them popping everywhere. The difference is, he doesn't have his in a big plastic bag, and lets the top dry out and rewaters every day. I'm going to move these into my hothouse today and pull the bag off. The bag technique seems to work quite well for many other species including Dypsis ambositrae true form which popped everywhere for me. Hopefully they haven't all rotted on me. A couple I've pulled out have rotted.

Best regards

Tyrone

I think the bag tech is not the best!!! I aborted it years ago

You also need to stay away from watering...and if so use rain water!

Just a minute ago I checked my stash and 15 new seeds had cracked from 2 days ago.

You want to get thoughs brainteasers going, your friends are counting on you!!

Happy growthings mate,

clark

[Tyrone]

Thanks Clark. The bag technique I use is a pot in a plastic bag that light can get through, not the "baggie method" where you throw all the seed and a heap of spaghnum moss into it and all the roots tangle up and grow up and down and round and round. I haven't done that in years either.

The pots are now sitting in my hothouse tunnel where they get mist sprays and will get near 30C in the day and will breath with high humidity. The nights stay a few degrees warmer too. I'll see if these D bejofo come up. The good news is my two D bejofo plants from a previous batch are starting to kick along better now with my new Netafim misters. I can keep the humidity closer to the optimum without over watering.

Best regards

Tyrone

[SubTropicRay]

Tyrone,

I checked this morning and nothing yet. Hopefully, these things are still viable. It's been a few months now.

Ray

[JakeK]

My Ptychococcus seeds haven't done anything either in the two months I have had them on bottom heat. They're in a sealed container and that method has worked for me in the past, so hopefully this species just takes a bit longer to germinate.

Thanks Jakek. So you've germinated these before. What temp are you using?

Best regards

Tyrone

Hi Tyrone,

I haven't germinated ptychococcus before. I was just referring to my method of sealing seeds in a container with a moist medium and bottom heat. I have a feeling these seeds will take some time to germinate given their hardness. They are hard as rocks.

[Tyrone]

Hi Jakek,

It sounds like we all need to wait a bit longer then.

I was looking at some Ptychosperma elegans seeds lately and they look like miniature versions of the Ptychococcus seeds. For me Ptychosperma take about a month to 6 weeks to germinate, but I guess that the big seed may need a bit longer to get moving. I suppose it's a bit like a motorbike vs a large truck taking off from the lights, the motorbike wll always be quicker. That's my theory anyway.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Utopia Palms]

Hi Tyrone,

Check your ptychococcus seeds about now there should be some movement their now..!!

Regards,

Clayton

[Tyrone]

Thanks Clayton. Will take a look tomorrow.

They're now sitting in the shade in my garden near a sprinkler outlet. So far in January we've been 20Cmin-35Cmax on average which is about 28C overall average. Hopefully they've liked that.

Best regards

Tyrone

[SubTropicRay]

Clayton and Tyrone,

There are still no signs of life from my Ptychococcus.

Ray

[Tyrone]

Had a look at my seeds this arvo and yippee. One sprout above ground. I'm sure more will follow.

and Clayton knew what was going on my garden from the other side of the continent. Spooky.

[cagary]

I've been waiting on my Ptychococcus lepidotus seeds since November 16, still nothing.

Been using bottom heat. If any pop, I'll let you know.

Any one else here waiting on some?

[SubTropicRay]

I still have no Ptychococcus seedlings. How long are they viable? Has anyone gotten these to germinate yet?

[Tyrone]

I've had one and no more.

Best regards

Tyrone

[SubTropicRay]

No luck here. I would guess the seeds could get tossed now as they are likely no longer viable.

[Tyrone]

I hope not. I'll keep mine in the mix for a year or two. Too little is known about this species to give up on them just yet. Also seed is almost never available so I'll keep them in the pot until they're really gone.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Jeff Searle]

Sorry to hear about all the bad results. Sounds like a bad batch of seed. These are hard to come by, but should of germed by now.

Jeff