Need some info about caryota gigas seeds

[manos]

This is my first post at the forum, so hello to everyone. I need some information about some caryota obtusa seeds i got last week. So last week i got 12 caruota obtusa seeds and i put them in a zip lock bag with some medium (perlite). Now, about a week later, i checked the bag and on three of the seeds has appeared this "thing" you can see in the photos. Its identical in all three of them. Is this the beggining of the germination? Isn't it too early? Do you thing its something bad that i should try to rip it of? if it is germination what should i do? Should i put the seeds back to the bag and wait more or should i plant them in a pot? Sorry if my questions are silly but i 've never seen a germinated caryota seed in the past. Thank you in advance.

[Kumar]

Greetings Manos. That is the stalk of the fruit, made more conspicuous because the flesh has shrunk due to loss of moisture.

On a seperate note, why not wash the pulp off and extract the seeds? Usually the fruit pulp contains chemicals that delay germination so cleaning it may speed up germination.

[manos]

I see... so i should wash off the pulp (for the rest of the seeds as well), put it back in the zip lock bag and then try to keep the medium more moist than before?

[Darold Petty]

Not so fast, guys. The first photograph looks like germination. Please wait several days before any action ! One cannot say that insufficient time has passed for germination, because one does not truly know how old the seeds are before acquisition. Photo # 1 clearly shows the emerging cotyledon with a little brown cap of epicarp tissue. These seeds are already cleaned. I would plant them in pots soon. Plant them covered with medium approximately their own diameter.

[gyuseppe]

I made ​​these caryota from seeds : urens, mitis, himalaya, ochlandra, obtusa,gigas

Manos is your seeds seem to germinate !

[Tyrone]

They're germinating. Don't touch that protruding bit. Very carefully put them back into the germination medium and plant them out when larger.

Best regards

Tyrone

[manos]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I don't know exactly when the seeds were collected as i bought them from an online store, but they are definitely older than one week. In fact, three weeks were only needed for the seeds to arrive to my place, although i got them in a small bag without any medium inside.

Anyway, thanks everyone!!! I will keep an eye on these seeds that appear to germinate and plant them in pots as soon as i see that it is definitely germination...

[greekpalm]

Καλως ορισες Μανο (συνονοματε)

Did you buy those seeds from overseas?

Where in Athens are you located?

I would agree with Tyrone .

Good luck with your germination !

[manos]

Καλως σας βρηκα!!!

Hello manos.

No, i bought the seeds from rarepalmseeds.com which is located in Germany. In the beggining, i was looking for some chambeyronia macrocarpa seeds, which is ofcourse impossible to find here in Greece. So by searching for some time, i found this forum and i was very impressed that another person from greece (you must know Kostas from this forum) has already bought, germinated and planted this type of seeds. So i sent him e-mail and he told me about that site. Apart from Chambeyronia, i was also looking for caryota gigas seeds, so i bought this type too.

I am from Nikaia, Piraeus but the place i intend to get the plants when they grow is Loutraki near Corinth Canal, where my parents have a small house and we go often.

I really hope many of the seeds to germinate! Thanks for your advice and have a good day.

[basilios]

Γειά σου Μάνο

It's nice to welcome another fellow Greek in the forum. I agree your seed seems to have started germinating, so good for you! How exactly do you keep your seeds warm?

Also, keep in mind that just as you can order seeds from Germany (rarepalmseeds), you can also order small or medium sized palms from several european nurseries...if you're interested pm me and I will give you some links.

Welcome again!

[manos]

Καλησπέρα Βασίλη!!

Guys, i think we can create a small greek neighbourhood in this forum. I feel very convenient with so many greeks around! Yes, what is strange is how can this happen so soon? At least very soon for me... from what i had heard caryota seeds need some time to germinate, but three of the twelve seeds seem to be germinating!

How to keep the seeds warm was something i 've been thinking for some time, even before i ordered the seeds. I heard that chambeyronia seeds need lots of heat in order to germinate so i was planning to put them on a heater storage with firebricks that we use to keep the house warm (you know these old stoves that absorb heat at night when the power consumption is cheaper). On the top surface of this stove, the temperature is about 30 - 35 C at day and around 40 C at night. But after a brief conversation with Kostas (from this forum), he convinced me that so much heat is unnecessary, so i decided to put the seeds (chambeyronia and caryota seeds) in the drawer of the table which is right above this stove. After leaving the drawer a little open, i manage to keep the temperature between 23 and 28 C all the time but most of the day around 25 C. Now, what could be a problem is how to keep the temperature after planting the seed in a pot, but i think that when the newly born plants require sun, the weather will be already warm so i wont be afraid to put the pots in the balcony of my house.

Yes i would be definitely interested to get some info about european palm nurseries because after an extensive search i have been unable to find at least one - i dont know why. Give me some links if you want, i think it will be very useful for me, at least in the future.

Do you (or anyone) have any suggestions about what growing medium should i use when i plant the seeds? Has it got to be different for chambeyronia and caryota or is it ok to be the same?