Jubaea chilensis - calling all experts

[Tassie_Troy1971]

When i was cruising around San Diego with Matty B we stopped at the giant Jubaea grove @ Mission beach where i collected about 20 seeds .

Anyway i want to get good germiantion so i can share the seedlings with Tassie palm members Jonathan and Nomolos (Sol) .

Any advice would be appreciated ,is it best to avoid bottom heat etc ?

cheers Troy

[Perito]

I've had good results with community pots on bottom heat using 3 Gallon containers which puts the seeds about 6 or 7 inches above the heat source. Perry

[Zayin]

I had really good success by cracking the seed first and then dousing it in fungicide and then resting it on 100% perlite in a sealed ice cream bucket above a heat source ( hot water heater closet worked well ) Mass germination.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Cracking the seeds sounds like a dangerous exercise given that i have a limited supply.

[Tampa Scott]

Troy, I am not a expert, but I collected 6 seed on a trip out in Calif. in the fall of 2008. I soaked seed for 3 days, and did the baggie method with no bottom heat. Germination took 14 months, but all 6 seed sprouted. Here is one of the little guys as of today.

[BS Man about Palms]

Cracking the seeds sounds like a dangerous exercise given that i have a limited supply.

Use a vise, it works pretty good for that.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Thank you Bill for your Sound Ad-vise ! LOL

[Alex-v]

natural temperature and high humidity ... and germinate.

[DoomsDave]

Troy:

Good to see you got them back to Oz!

I will concur: Bottom heat will get you faster germination. The warmer the better, up to about 90 F (I used a heating pad).

Small plants often get a fungus, so I'd be prepared to either lose a few or treat with some daconil once in a while.

Once the babies start going pinnate (after a number of years) the problems with the fungus usually cease.

Good luck and keep us apprized!

[Tyrone]

Troy, all the ones I've successfully germinated I cracked in a small vice. Did lose a couple of them to being crushed. I think if your seed is good and conditions are right you'll get good germination but over an extended period.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Mel]

Troy,

I am no expert but I have an interesting article for you to read. http://www.palmsociety.org/public/english/chamaerops/021_1.shtml

I used a vise and slowly cranked the handle until I heard a cracking sound. When I opened the vise the shell fell to the floor. Some seeds germinated in a couple of months. about 50% germination. I had an abodance of seeds and took some uncracked seeds and palnted them in my garden just for the heck of it. It was November in Texas and we had a could winter. Around July 3 of the seeds came up. What a happy surprise that was.

I still have an occasional shoot from the bags, cracked and uncracked, a year later so don't throw those seeds away.

I hope that this helped in some way.

Good Luck,

Mel

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Thanks everyone for the great advice although i think i will go for the uncracked method to play it safe .

[chris.oz]

Troy,

I believe the cracking method is not necessary if the seed is fresh and from a good source [ some palms produce more viable seed than others]

I soak in 10% bleach for 60 seconds, then in water for 3-4 days then plant in moist peat / perlite mixtur with bottom heat in winter.

However, since your seed is from the northern fall, you will not need bottom heat.

I have some seed here if you want to try it.

I have only ever germinated seed from the Queens rd Jub, and it is very very reliable.

[Jubaea]

I have been planting Jubaea seeds for the past few years and the most important thing I learned was to be patient with them. I have had some seeds come up after almost 2 years. These were fresh seeds planted outside in ground in California. I plant them in an area where they receive some irrigation then forget about them. Now I need to figure out how to dig them up.

[MattyB]

I think the more important question is "How do you get them to not germinate?". Seriously, they are very easy to germinate. They do not need very much moisture either.

[Jonathan]

Troy,

I believe the cracking method is not necessary if the seed is fresh and from a good source [ some palms produce more viable seed than others]

I soak in 10% bleach for 60 seconds, then in water for 3-4 days then plant in moist peat / perlite mixtur with bottom heat in winter.

However, since your seed is from the northern fall, you will not need bottom heat.

I have some seed here if you want to try it.

I have only ever germinated seed from the Queens rd Jub, and it is very very reliable.

Hi Chris,

I'd like to take you up on that offer, if Troy dosn't.

I've tried a couple of times with seed from the lone tree at the RTBG in Hobart, but with no luck at all, so I'm wondering if the tree sets viable seed.

Cheers,

Jonathan

[swamptreenelly]

Cultivate a seed bed in a partly shaded area, soak the seeds in water for three days, change water daily. Lay seeds on top of bed buried 1/3 the way. Soak area, let it dry out now and then, One to two years they will start sprotting. I have hundreds in one gallon pots started by B.J. Bunting and his son in Fremont, California.

Edited October 12, 2010 by swamptreenelly

[chris.oz]

Cultivate a seed bed in a partly shaded area, soak the seeds in water for three days, change water daily. Lay seeds on top of bed buried 1/3 the way. Soak area, let it dry out now and then, One to two years they will start sprotting. I have hundreds in one gallon pots started by B.J. Bunting and his son in Fremont, California.

One to two years????? That must be poor quality seed. In my experience 90% of the fresh seed will germinate in 1-2 months [ not including floaters] but that may be just the quality of the tree I have collected it from. Its been very reliable 4 years in a row.

The only way to account for the variability of experience people have is seed source and age.

[swamptreenelly]

Whoever establishes the most Jubaeas is the winner, no matter how long it takes to germinate them. Planting Jubaeas for Jubaea lovers who have not yet been born.

[Alex-v]

2-3 months after germination.

[OB Burt]

A few years back I traded some Jubaea seed with a dealer. The floaters I kept and threw into my vegetable garden. Don't know the % that germinated, but quite a few did, and again they were all floaters.

Burt

[Jonathan]

I've now got some Jubaea seeds (thanks Chris!) soaked and ready to sow, and having read back through this thread I'm going to treat them in the following way: crack them and not crack them, keep them humid and dry, put them on bottom heat and no bottom heat, then wait for two months or two years for germination....hmmm, seems we cant agree on this one.

So really I'm just going to treat them as if they were Parajubaeas, which I've had good luck with, and put them in the greenhouse and wait. My guess is that being a temperate zone palm, fluctuating day/night temps is the go.

Cheers,

Jonathan

[Takil-Explorer]

The Jubaea seeds taste very nice. Its just a little coconut with similair taste! And the fruit itself is edible as well.

HEY PRESTO A CALIFORNIAN COCONUT!!!

Cheers,

Alexander

[Moose]

Did they sprout Tassie? How big are they?

[Tassie_Troy1971]

On 2/7/2018, 9:12:52, Moose said:

Did they sprout Tassie? How big are they?

Massive mate !